I just finished watching the Democratic Debate on CNN. It was surprisingly cordial. A sharp contrast to the Republican debate last night which was snippy, to say the least. Overall, I thought Obama made some key observations at a couple of important moments. I loved when he responded to a viewer question on immigrants being a threat to African-American employment opportunities with a sharp, "I don't think immigration is the chief cause of unemployment in any community in America today." He also mentioned Pakistan as a country that has been largely ignored in the war against terror.
Hillary seemed more PC, less substantive in some of her arguments. She took a beating on her change of stance on the Iraq war since first endorsing it, and now opposing it. Her speech writers are sure doing a good job though. She got a great response to her "It may need a 2nd Clinton to clean up after the 2nd Bush" comment.
All in all, it seemed like less of a debate, more of an amicable discussion. I wouldn't go so far as to call it an agree-fest, but they were so nice to each other, its unbelievable. Especially in the wake of the snarkiness over the last couple of weeks.
At least they both pledged to get out of Iraq quickly. Apart from just being fundamentally opposed to the Iraq war, it also hurts me as a researcher. NIH funding has been stagnant over the last 2-3 years. Owing almost completely to the Iraq war. (NB: The NIH budget is around $ 29 billion. Peanuts compared to what is being spent in Iraq.) Grant funding has become incredibly hard to come by. Less than 10% of grants (I believe the RO1 cut-off was 7% last year. I might as well have tried to get a PG seat in India. Its probably just as hard!) are being funded today. Contrast this with 30% a few years ago, and its hard not to feel aggrieved. I've had at least one rueful professor tell me he'd love to have me in his lab, but doesn't have the resources for it. I'm now witnessing another PI gradually being phased out of the department because his funding is running out. Scary stuff.
All this rambling just means that I like Obama. (In case it wasn't obvious enough.) The real question is: Is America color-blind enough to vote Obama? I guess we'll find out. My sneaking suspicion is probably not. I think Hillary could well give McCain a tougher fight eventually. We shall see.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Zombies for dummies OR Zombie-ology 101
1). Zombies happen because people catch a zombie-virus.
2). If you are bitten by a zombie you also become one (ala vampires).
3). Zombies prey on human beings...so I wonder how enough of the prey is left to actually turn into a zombie. Its a problem.
4). If you shoot a zombie in the head, it dies. Which brings us to another complex problem...how can you kill something that is already dead?
5). Zombies walk slowly and with their feet spread wide because they have to. They have a painful rash on their inner thighs that flares up with friction. (OK..I made this one up, but the rest is 100% true. I have it from a very reliable source.)
6). Zombie movies are mindless and kitsch. But nevertheless, they are FUN.
2). If you are bitten by a zombie you also become one (ala vampires).
3). Zombies prey on human beings...so I wonder how enough of the prey is left to actually turn into a zombie. Its a problem.
4). If you shoot a zombie in the head, it dies. Which brings us to another complex problem...how can you kill something that is already dead?
5). Zombies walk slowly and with their feet spread wide because they have to. They have a painful rash on their inner thighs that flares up with friction. (OK..I made this one up, but the rest is 100% true. I have it from a very reliable source.)
6). Zombie movies are mindless and kitsch. But nevertheless, they are FUN.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Paper of the week
I am a fan of Joan Massague's work. I have read every paper his lab has published in the last few year. His lab is like a Nature paper producing machine that spits 'em out every couple of months. Agreed, they use the same damn system in every paper. Same nude mice tumor studies, using the same MDA-MB231 cell line (or its various metastatic variants), same BLI..everything is the same. Except they study a different gene, a different target in each paper. Ah..what it means to have resources at your disposal! And a super system set up in your lab. (As a relatively junior grad student in a very new lab I feel all the disadvantages of having to set up a system myself.)
His latest offering is a nicely done paper on the role of MiRNAs in limiting breast cancer metastasis. MiRNAs are, of course, the flavor of the month. The whole RNA field has exploded with the advent of siRNA and miRNA. Especially, now that MiRNAs have been found to regulate practically every physiological process there is. There is a problem with the study of MiRNAs...its very hard to conclusively prove that a particular gene is regulated by a specific miRNA because every miRNA regulates 100s of genes. Given that there is just a 7nt specific sequence regulating miRNA binding to the 3' UTRs of their target genes, specificity is a major issue. The knockdown approach doesn't cut it, IMHO. If you can rescue..thats OK..but still not good enough.
Of late, genomics has been the way to go. With people's personal genomes getting sequenced, the future is ripe with the possibility of being able to tailor treatment for diseases(in this case breast cancer) based on individual variations and mutations. Massague's paper scores big in being able to show the variations in his miRNA's variation in expression level in metastatic vs. non-metastatic breast cancers and also associating this with patient survival rates. Except for the odd result or 2, by and large, its a great paper. Whether the target genes he showed in his paper are actually responsible for the repression of metastasis, is still a question in my mind. But they definitely showed that the miRNAs in question have an effect on metastasis. So..tres cool. Made my day.
His latest offering is a nicely done paper on the role of MiRNAs in limiting breast cancer metastasis. MiRNAs are, of course, the flavor of the month. The whole RNA field has exploded with the advent of siRNA and miRNA. Especially, now that MiRNAs have been found to regulate practically every physiological process there is. There is a problem with the study of MiRNAs...its very hard to conclusively prove that a particular gene is regulated by a specific miRNA because every miRNA regulates 100s of genes. Given that there is just a 7nt specific sequence regulating miRNA binding to the 3' UTRs of their target genes, specificity is a major issue. The knockdown approach doesn't cut it, IMHO. If you can rescue..thats OK..but still not good enough.
Of late, genomics has been the way to go. With people's personal genomes getting sequenced, the future is ripe with the possibility of being able to tailor treatment for diseases(in this case breast cancer) based on individual variations and mutations. Massague's paper scores big in being able to show the variations in his miRNA's variation in expression level in metastatic vs. non-metastatic breast cancers and also associating this with patient survival rates. Except for the odd result or 2, by and large, its a great paper. Whether the target genes he showed in his paper are actually responsible for the repression of metastasis, is still a question in my mind. But they definitely showed that the miRNAs in question have an effect on metastasis. So..tres cool. Made my day.
Monday, January 21, 2008
MLK day blues
1). Still sound like a foghorn.
2). Lost my favorite cap while shopping.
3). Bitterly, freakishly cold outside. 7F(-1F with wind chill) cold. Bone-chillingly cold.
4). Struggled up the stairs alone with 16 shopping bags.
5). Random guy who was taking a corner at breakneck speed on the wrong side swore at me...for driving sedately and giving him way.
6). Labmate regaled me for about 1 hour today on her lack of progress in her project. Very depressing.
It needed roommate's and my concerted efforts to change the sofa covers to cheer me up. The new covers fit fine but look hilarious. Like roomie said...our sofa looks like its wearing a frilly frock.
2). Lost my favorite cap while shopping.
3). Bitterly, freakishly cold outside. 7F(-1F with wind chill) cold. Bone-chillingly cold.
4). Struggled up the stairs alone with 16 shopping bags.
5). Random guy who was taking a corner at breakneck speed on the wrong side swore at me...for driving sedately and giving him way.
6). Labmate regaled me for about 1 hour today on her lack of progress in her project. Very depressing.
It needed roommate's and my concerted efforts to change the sofa covers to cheer me up. The new covers fit fine but look hilarious. Like roomie said...our sofa looks like its wearing a frilly frock.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Kabhi khushi...kabhie goal!
Someone should seriously consider shooting the scriptwriter/director of Goal. Because of this:
Bipasha to John: Tumhare naak se khoon beh raha hai. (Giggles coyly)
John's response: Laughs shyly, and jogs off happily. Almost as if she said- Tumhara nose bahut cute hai.
I should probably just shoot myself for watching Goal. But, what to do...Sunday afternoon. Still sick. Bitterly cold outside. Nothing to do.
Even as I type, Boman Irani is unleashing a tearful diatribe on his pathetic team. Its like he's crying for the movie...even while shooting for it he recognized what a dud it was going to be.
In other news...I endured a cheerless (I was sick. Sick people don't like cutting open animals. Sick people like to curl up in bed and sleep.) hour-and-a-half with the boss, dissecting a mouse. The high point came when after extracting the spleen, he kept poking around in its innards.
Me: Whatcha looking for?
Him: The other spleen.
Me: There isn't one. (very straight face I had, to my credit)
In his defence..his last anatomy course was in Undergrad, which as he sheepishly confessed, was 20 years ago. And..to my utter surprise, the experiment worked pretty well. (Props to him. I had serious doubts..just goes to show, you don't always need to put too much thought into it. Sometimes..you gotta just do it!)
And in yet other, intensely surprising news (seriously...I'm amazed at myself!) I have gotten off my butt and actually started studying. Its funny. I'm totally out of touch. But everything seems familiar. Sort of. I'm just waiting to remember exactly how the bike is ridden, so I can get rid of the training wheels, and coast. Hope it happens soon.
Life goes on. Kabhi khushi, kabhi gham.
Bipasha to John: Tumhare naak se khoon beh raha hai. (Giggles coyly)
John's response: Laughs shyly, and jogs off happily. Almost as if she said- Tumhara nose bahut cute hai.
I should probably just shoot myself for watching Goal. But, what to do...Sunday afternoon. Still sick. Bitterly cold outside. Nothing to do.
Even as I type, Boman Irani is unleashing a tearful diatribe on his pathetic team. Its like he's crying for the movie...even while shooting for it he recognized what a dud it was going to be.
In other news...I endured a cheerless (I was sick. Sick people don't like cutting open animals. Sick people like to curl up in bed and sleep.) hour-and-a-half with the boss, dissecting a mouse. The high point came when after extracting the spleen, he kept poking around in its innards.
Me: Whatcha looking for?
Him: The other spleen.
Me: There isn't one. (very straight face I had, to my credit)
In his defence..his last anatomy course was in Undergrad, which as he sheepishly confessed, was 20 years ago. And..to my utter surprise, the experiment worked pretty well. (Props to him. I had serious doubts..just goes to show, you don't always need to put too much thought into it. Sometimes..you gotta just do it!)
And in yet other, intensely surprising news (seriously...I'm amazed at myself!) I have gotten off my butt and actually started studying. Its funny. I'm totally out of touch. But everything seems familiar. Sort of. I'm just waiting to remember exactly how the bike is ridden, so I can get rid of the training wheels, and coast. Hope it happens soon.
Life goes on. Kabhi khushi, kabhi gham.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Fall from grace..
I am now officially one of those gross people who blow their noses in public. I used to really hate it when someone did that. Now...I'm one of them. Whad to do...bleddy cold is jusd choking me widh mooku-shali.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Whatta month! (Updated)
1). Letdown of the month: Why don't they just bend over?
Don't they know...nice guys always finish last. Apparently not.
2). Weight-loss tip of the month: Comes to you courtesy my "I'll-try-anything-once" roommate. Turn the heating down..your body will burn more fat to keep you warm! Apparently she heard it on TV. Which is why the house was an igloo when I got back. I turned up the heating, and suggested she sleep out in the cold...much more fat would be burnt, ergo she'd lose weight much quicker. And I'd still be warm.
3). Dash-of-cold-water of the month: My colleague at work said she was waiting eagerly for me to get back. I was just dredging up the beginnings of a warm, fuzzy feeling when she said..I can't wait to hand the mice back to you. Mouse work is such a pain. Nice!
4). WTF statement of the month: (Overheard in a town far, far away) Education and all is OK..we can adjust. Oh..dark-aa. Then forget it. We don't want dark.
Talk about priorities!
5). Song of the Month: Its more than a month old, but its been buzzing around in my head for the past 30 days:-Khoya Khoya Chand from the movie..err...Khoya Khoya Chand. Lovely tune, sincere lyrics and melodious singing. What else is there?
6). Coup of the month: Hillary's strategically timed tears that definitely contributed towards her narrow win in NH. Its funny how the most manly woman I have ever seen is not above using her feminity (whatever little she possesses!) when she needs it.
7). Best moment of the month: DK and KK making it to the airport to say goodbye. The general feeling of depression that infects me when I leave home disappeared, and I made the journey back feeling light-hearted and happy.
8). Hypocritical response of the month: Now they rediscover sportsmanship?
9). Movie of the month(for me..and I'm always late..just like the hero in this one): Ek Chaalis ki last local. Totally whacked out, trippy movie.
10). Question of the month: Can one actually die of a trifling cold?
2). Weight-loss tip of the month: Comes to you courtesy my "I'll-try-anything-once" roommate. Turn the heating down..your body will burn more fat to keep you warm! Apparently she heard it on TV. Which is why the house was an igloo when I got back. I turned up the heating, and suggested she sleep out in the cold...much more fat would be burnt, ergo she'd lose weight much quicker. And I'd still be warm.
3). Dash-of-cold-water of the month: My colleague at work said she was waiting eagerly for me to get back. I was just dredging up the beginnings of a warm, fuzzy feeling when she said..I can't wait to hand the mice back to you. Mouse work is such a pain. Nice!
4). WTF statement of the month: (Overheard in a town far, far away) Education and all is OK..we can adjust. Oh..dark-aa. Then forget it. We don't want dark.
Talk about priorities!
5). Song of the Month: Its more than a month old, but its been buzzing around in my head for the past 30 days:-Khoya Khoya Chand from the movie..err...Khoya Khoya Chand. Lovely tune, sincere lyrics and melodious singing. What else is there?
6). Coup of the month: Hillary's strategically timed tears that definitely contributed towards her narrow win in NH. Its funny how the most manly woman I have ever seen is not above using her feminity (whatever little she possesses!) when she needs it.
7). Best moment of the month: DK and KK making it to the airport to say goodbye. The general feeling of depression that infects me when I leave home disappeared, and I made the journey back feeling light-hearted and happy.
8). Hypocritical response of the month: Now they rediscover sportsmanship?
9). Movie of the month(for me..and I'm always late..just like the hero in this one): Ek Chaalis ki last local. Totally whacked out, trippy movie.
10). Question of the month: Can one actually die of a trifling cold?
Monday, January 14, 2008
Welcome home!
Scene from my living room window at 7.30am this morning. Jet-lagged and jobless...I took a pic.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Lessons learnt from a wedding
So, as the 5 readers of this blog know, I'm big on looking on my life experiences as learning experiences. Last week I was at a wedding. A very nice wedding, as weddings go. I managed to embarrass myself about 6 times in the space of 3 days. So...I learnt a lot.
I walked past the bride's brother without saying hello.(Didn't recognise him..it'd been 4-5 years) Luckily he's the strong, silent type, so he didn't say much. Not wanting to repeat the same gaffe, I identified the wrong woman as the groom's mother and said hello. I received a cold "No, I'm not his mother!" accompanied by a very dirty look for my pains.
Lesson 1: When in doubt.....shut up!
I walked into the day-before-the-wedding pooja dressed to the nines (the word is jhang!), to find everyone in cotton salwar suits. I looked like a Christmas tree. It was mortifying.
Lesson 2: Better to dress down than up. Inconspicuous is way better than curious stares.
If you take enough pictures, you will be mistaken for a photographer. Then you have to oblige random people by taking their pictures.
Lesson 3: Err...the delete button exists for a reason!
I heard about 5 times in the space of 2 days...."tumhara number kab hai?"
Lesson 4: Its not hard to pin a smile on your face and mutter something polite, while thinking...I don't give a rat's ass and neither do you!
But, really my embarrassments pall in comparison to the poor sod I met at Mumbai airport. He was standing behind me in the queue, and he asked if I was just married, because of the mehendi. I said No, and he said he was. Then she showed me his right hand. He had the most florid, intricate mehendi I have ever seen. I couldn't help laughing. He had a pained expression on his face, as he explained how they "made him do it." However, he managed to restrict them to one hand. But then, he annoyed me by complaining about the chaos, the attitude(whatever that means!) and how he dislikes India etc. So, I didn't feel sorry for him anymore. He deserved 2 full hands of dark, red mehendi for being a stick-in-the-mud.
Lesson 5: I need to be more sociable. God knows how many funny stories I've missed in planes and trains and buses because I can't be bothered to talk to the person next to me.
Oh well..back to work tomorrow. Fun!
I walked past the bride's brother without saying hello.(Didn't recognise him..it'd been 4-5 years) Luckily he's the strong, silent type, so he didn't say much. Not wanting to repeat the same gaffe, I identified the wrong woman as the groom's mother and said hello. I received a cold "No, I'm not his mother!" accompanied by a very dirty look for my pains.
Lesson 1: When in doubt.....shut up!
I walked into the day-before-the-wedding pooja dressed to the nines (the word is jhang!), to find everyone in cotton salwar suits. I looked like a Christmas tree. It was mortifying.
Lesson 2: Better to dress down than up. Inconspicuous is way better than curious stares.
If you take enough pictures, you will be mistaken for a photographer. Then you have to oblige random people by taking their pictures.
Lesson 3: Err...the delete button exists for a reason!
I heard about 5 times in the space of 2 days...."tumhara number kab hai?"
Lesson 4: Its not hard to pin a smile on your face and mutter something polite, while thinking...I don't give a rat's ass and neither do you!
But, really my embarrassments pall in comparison to the poor sod I met at Mumbai airport. He was standing behind me in the queue, and he asked if I was just married, because of the mehendi. I said No, and he said he was. Then she showed me his right hand. He had the most florid, intricate mehendi I have ever seen. I couldn't help laughing. He had a pained expression on his face, as he explained how they "made him do it." However, he managed to restrict them to one hand. But then, he annoyed me by complaining about the chaos, the attitude(whatever that means!) and how he dislikes India etc. So, I didn't feel sorry for him anymore. He deserved 2 full hands of dark, red mehendi for being a stick-in-the-mud.
Lesson 5: I need to be more sociable. God knows how many funny stories I've missed in planes and trains and buses because I can't be bothered to talk to the person next to me.
Oh well..back to work tomorrow. Fun!
Monday, January 7, 2008
"Monkeying" around: The Great Indian Media Circus
Really, its been fun to hear them all have a go. Sometimes at each other. Mostly at the Aussies. My take on their take, and more importantly, how they looked and what they wore:
1). Sidhu: Usually wears the most immaculate turbans and ties. But yesterday's pink monstrosity was blinding. Absolutely blinding. And he was as grandiose and full of hot air as always. But interesting sound-bytes. Nonsense is always fun to watch.
2). Sanjay Manjrekar, is somehow, way better looking today, than he was 3 years ago. And he makes sense as well. Eye-candy and intelligence...that was a fun 10 minutes.
3). Kris Srikkanth: Aiyyo. Verbal diarrhoea personified.
4). Bishen Singh Bedi: Pompous old so-and-so. His suggestion to "take it lightly" was the joke of the day. This one has leapt beyond the realms of serious, into potentially, series threatening. But he was always a bit of a maverick.
5). Mandira Bedi: Hmm...she seemed genuinely upset. I can't really laugh at anything she said..which is kind of unfortunate..cos' she's an easy bunny otherwise.
6). Sonali Chander: Oh God! Brown bandh gala kurti. Fashion disaster, Sonali. I think she was going for the "tough woman" look. It just looked like she was too wound up. That said, she did try to keep "Sherry-sir" in check. Koshish karo Sonali. Aksar koshish hi kaamyaab hoti hai.(stolen from The Big B in one of his best movies-Sharaabi)
7). Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami: RD always had a high pitched voice. And he usually chooses to yell his opinion rather than voice it. Its surprising how much like him Arnab has become. Bad, bad TV. They're not anchoring the show, they're weighing it down!
8). Srinivasan Jain: Ah...the very cool "Vasu". Seemed a trifle more in control than the other news anchors. Plus, the beard has always been very sexy. Therefore, very watchable. He's like the Harsha Bhogle of the Indian news media now. (Where's Harsha when you need him, btw?)
9). A word about Anil Kumble. Anyone who saw his interview with Harsha after the match could see how upset he was. He looked anguished. I'm glad he took the step of calling the Aussies for their churlish behaviour later on. Poor guy..captain for a month, and he has this to deal with. But, if there's a man for the situation..its him. He's da maan.
10). Burning question of the day: Did Sachin actually send an SMS to Sharad Pawar, or is it just media hype? Ratnakar Shetty says no SMS was sent. Sachin, of course, doesn't say anything. Unnamed sources say an SMS was sent, and it is primarily responsible for the BCCI's tough stance. Hmm...intrigue, suspense, drama. If Deepika would just shift camps from Yuvi to Bhajji(y'know...from spoilt brat to troubled, but upright underdog!), it would make it the complete Bollywood potboiler. Is that too much to ask?
1). Sidhu: Usually wears the most immaculate turbans and ties. But yesterday's pink monstrosity was blinding. Absolutely blinding. And he was as grandiose and full of hot air as always. But interesting sound-bytes. Nonsense is always fun to watch.
2). Sanjay Manjrekar, is somehow, way better looking today, than he was 3 years ago. And he makes sense as well. Eye-candy and intelligence...that was a fun 10 minutes.
3). Kris Srikkanth: Aiyyo. Verbal diarrhoea personified.
4). Bishen Singh Bedi: Pompous old so-and-so. His suggestion to "take it lightly" was the joke of the day. This one has leapt beyond the realms of serious, into potentially, series threatening. But he was always a bit of a maverick.
5). Mandira Bedi: Hmm...she seemed genuinely upset. I can't really laugh at anything she said..which is kind of unfortunate..cos' she's an easy bunny otherwise.
6). Sonali Chander: Oh God! Brown bandh gala kurti. Fashion disaster, Sonali. I think she was going for the "tough woman" look. It just looked like she was too wound up. That said, she did try to keep "Sherry-sir" in check. Koshish karo Sonali. Aksar koshish hi kaamyaab hoti hai.(stolen from The Big B in one of his best movies-Sharaabi)
7). Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami: RD always had a high pitched voice. And he usually chooses to yell his opinion rather than voice it. Its surprising how much like him Arnab has become. Bad, bad TV. They're not anchoring the show, they're weighing it down!
8). Srinivasan Jain: Ah...the very cool "Vasu". Seemed a trifle more in control than the other news anchors. Plus, the beard has always been very sexy. Therefore, very watchable. He's like the Harsha Bhogle of the Indian news media now. (Where's Harsha when you need him, btw?)
9). A word about Anil Kumble. Anyone who saw his interview with Harsha after the match could see how upset he was. He looked anguished. I'm glad he took the step of calling the Aussies for their churlish behaviour later on. Poor guy..captain for a month, and he has this to deal with. But, if there's a man for the situation..its him. He's da maan.
10). Burning question of the day: Did Sachin actually send an SMS to Sharad Pawar, or is it just media hype? Ratnakar Shetty says no SMS was sent. Sachin, of course, doesn't say anything. Unnamed sources say an SMS was sent, and it is primarily responsible for the BCCI's tough stance. Hmm...intrigue, suspense, drama. If Deepika would just shift camps from Yuvi to Bhajji(y'know...from spoilt brat to troubled, but upright underdog!), it would make it the complete Bollywood potboiler. Is that too much to ask?
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Headline of the day!
Is this from the Nature website:
Drunken flies get hypersexual!
So...men get drunk and get horny. Duh..we know! Women get drunk, but not horny. Very debatable!! Read the article, its well written. The Shakespeare reference had me in splits. Apparently art and science do go hand in hand.
The vacation is almost over...I received a reminder in the form of an email (friendly reminder he calls it!) from the Graduate director of the cell bio program...I have a committee meeting due in a few months. I can see the mice I have to kill, the cells I have to transfect, the Co-IPs I have to perform, the Real-time PCRs that are waiting,the shRNA experiments that I shelved. In vivid technicolor. Not doing anything is boring. I've eaten, slept, shopped, and watched very bad TV until I want to scream. So, the prospect of going back to work is actually kind of exciting. Until I actually get back to work of course. When I will start complaining about my boss, labmates (for smelly food..they're very nice otherwise!), failed experiments and gloomy weather.
Still a week to go though..and with the wedding coming up, things might hot up a bit!
One other very random observation. This vacation, people have been strangely obsessed with my nose-stud. OK..its new. I just had my nose pierced 6 months ago. But who cares whether you like it or not? Every single person I know has an opinion.They like it. Its traditional(the oldies), its cool(the younger ones). They don't like it. Its looks like an impediment(the mamis). They like it, but shouldn't it have been a little lower. They like it, but the left side would have looked better. They don't like it, because they think it chokes up the entire nostril thus depriving me of oxygen!(Duh!!) Someone even wanted to know if I'd just stuck something on my nose to make it appear as if I'd pierced it.(Why, why, why would I do that?) I almost invited him to check it out for himself. Next time, I'll make sure to really shock them by piercing my eyebrow or something equally repulsive!
Drunken flies get hypersexual!
So...men get drunk and get horny. Duh..we know! Women get drunk, but not horny. Very debatable!! Read the article, its well written. The Shakespeare reference had me in splits. Apparently art and science do go hand in hand.
The vacation is almost over...I received a reminder in the form of an email (friendly reminder he calls it!) from the Graduate director of the cell bio program...I have a committee meeting due in a few months. I can see the mice I have to kill, the cells I have to transfect, the Co-IPs I have to perform, the Real-time PCRs that are waiting,the shRNA experiments that I shelved. In vivid technicolor. Not doing anything is boring. I've eaten, slept, shopped, and watched very bad TV until I want to scream. So, the prospect of going back to work is actually kind of exciting. Until I actually get back to work of course. When I will start complaining about my boss, labmates (for smelly food..they're very nice otherwise!), failed experiments and gloomy weather.
Still a week to go though..and with the wedding coming up, things might hot up a bit!
One other very random observation. This vacation, people have been strangely obsessed with my nose-stud. OK..its new. I just had my nose pierced 6 months ago. But who cares whether you like it or not? Every single person I know has an opinion.They like it. Its traditional(the oldies), its cool(the younger ones). They don't like it. Its looks like an impediment(the mamis). They like it, but shouldn't it have been a little lower. They like it, but the left side would have looked better. They don't like it, because they think it chokes up the entire nostril thus depriving me of oxygen!(Duh!!) Someone even wanted to know if I'd just stuck something on my nose to make it appear as if I'd pierced it.(Why, why, why would I do that?) I almost invited him to check it out for himself. Next time, I'll make sure to really shock them by piercing my eyebrow or something equally repulsive!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Getting Retro!
I've been peeking into ancient family albums.(very jobless of late!) I found all these wonderful pictures of people I grew up with. I'd forgotten how much fun we'd had together. All of the people in the 1st two pictures are now married with kids(barring self). Seems like yesterday that we were dressing up in silly clothes and painting our faces for a photo-op! The first picture has Shyam, Meera, Me, Priya and Rads with Prem looking on with a beatific smile. In the 2nd photo Shyam is carrying Vivek, while us girls do our thing...we giggle!
A few years have passed by since the last photo(awkward teenage mode has set in!) Meera holds Anand in her arms, with me and Priya completing the picture. Its the Nineties...hence the striped hairband and the ugly green shirt. I was a walking fashion faux pas those days!
Many years later... we're all party animals! Rads' expression in the second photo (almost apologetic for dancing) is priceless!
Prem ko ITNA gussa kyon aata hai? God...I hardly need a photo to remember that look! Right girls?
This is a rare, rare, event. Therefore, I felt it deserved to be recorded for posterity. Me...exercising!
My favorite of them all. I couldn't take my eyes off this one...Amma is just gorgeous in this photo. She's simply glowing. Oh...and I think I may have put that look on her face, seeing as thats me in her arms!
A few years have passed by since the last photo(awkward teenage mode has set in!) Meera holds Anand in her arms, with me and Priya completing the picture. Its the Nineties...hence the striped hairband and the ugly green shirt. I was a walking fashion faux pas those days!
Many years later... we're all party animals! Rads' expression in the second photo (almost apologetic for dancing) is priceless!
Prem ko ITNA gussa kyon aata hai? God...I hardly need a photo to remember that look! Right girls?
This is a rare, rare, event. Therefore, I felt it deserved to be recorded for posterity. Me...exercising!
My favorite of them all. I couldn't take my eyes off this one...Amma is just gorgeous in this photo. She's simply glowing. Oh...and I think I may have put that look on her face, seeing as thats me in her arms!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Its a mad, mad, mad world!
Because:
1). People are actually leaving their money to dogs. I'm just suprised they didn't build a grand mausoleum..ala the Taj Mahal, for the dead dog. People are far too vela and far too rich for their own good.
2). Steve Bucknor is still officiating in International cricket. The man is past it. Today's nick was atrociously loud. Deaf, senile Bucknor is testament to the poor standard of international umpiring. Usko nikalo yaar!
3). There is this shop called Tulsi in Tulsibag. Has everything under the sun. I've never been there, asked for something, and not gotten it. There is this ruthless efficiency coupled with general joie-de-vivre which makes me enjoy shopping in this place, inspite of the mad rush. Crazy thing is..no computer. No computer for the 546,846 things he stocks. Its all catalogued in the owner's head. Makes we wonder about what would happen if I went to a Shop and Stop in the US, and there's no computer. The pimply 16 year old who mans the checkout counter would probably have a panic attack.
Speaking of Tulsi, the owner is actually a classmate of a cousin of mine. They studied together till Class 8 or some such thing. Cousin stayed in touch with him, and went to visit him several years ago. Owner and cousin are chatting at his huge, plush 6000 square foot home. Owner's wife emerges with Tea. Owner introduces her to cousin saying: "This is the wife!" I kid you not. He said, "This is the wife." Like..this is the coffee table. Poor woman. To be "the wife". Cousin swallowed his mirth and his tea, before hastily leaving so he could laugh his heart out.
Anyway, by sneakily referring to this distant connection(she is attya to cousin who schooled with him) while paying the bill, my mom managed to wrangle a 150 Rs. discount from him today. No mean feat, I think.
4). There is a phrase in Tamizh for a person like me. It goes: Yemanda shonagiri. Loose translation: Loser! There's a reason why I'm affectionately (I assume!) referred to as "Gullible Bubble" in close family circles. The Lukkha wanted an ice-cream from the Kavre store in Tulsibaug. Being a good sister, and seeing as how he was laden with bags, I obliged. 2 minutes later he says..taste it..it doesn't taste like Chocolate..more like butterscotch. So, I take it from him and give it a lick. I pronounce it to be chocolate, and try to give it back.
Lukkha says: I don't like it. You can have it.
Me: But I don't want it.
Lukkha: Too bad. Its in your hand and I'm not taking it back. He has the gall to coolly walk away.
Me: Standing in the middle of Tulsibaug with an ice-cream that I don't want, feeling hard done by. I can't even throw it away. (lack of trash can + misplaced civic sense)
As usual, its Amma to the rescue. She finishes the orphaned ice-cream, ticks off errant lukkha, and soothes my rather frazzled feelings in about 3 minutes. The only reason this world stays sane: Moms.
1). People are actually leaving their money to dogs. I'm just suprised they didn't build a grand mausoleum..ala the Taj Mahal, for the dead dog. People are far too vela and far too rich for their own good.
2). Steve Bucknor is still officiating in International cricket. The man is past it. Today's nick was atrociously loud. Deaf, senile Bucknor is testament to the poor standard of international umpiring. Usko nikalo yaar!
3). There is this shop called Tulsi in Tulsibag. Has everything under the sun. I've never been there, asked for something, and not gotten it. There is this ruthless efficiency coupled with general joie-de-vivre which makes me enjoy shopping in this place, inspite of the mad rush. Crazy thing is..no computer. No computer for the 546,846 things he stocks. Its all catalogued in the owner's head. Makes we wonder about what would happen if I went to a Shop and Stop in the US, and there's no computer. The pimply 16 year old who mans the checkout counter would probably have a panic attack.
Speaking of Tulsi, the owner is actually a classmate of a cousin of mine. They studied together till Class 8 or some such thing. Cousin stayed in touch with him, and went to visit him several years ago. Owner and cousin are chatting at his huge, plush 6000 square foot home. Owner's wife emerges with Tea. Owner introduces her to cousin saying: "This is the wife!" I kid you not. He said, "This is the wife." Like..this is the coffee table. Poor woman. To be "the wife". Cousin swallowed his mirth and his tea, before hastily leaving so he could laugh his heart out.
Anyway, by sneakily referring to this distant connection(she is attya to cousin who schooled with him) while paying the bill, my mom managed to wrangle a 150 Rs. discount from him today. No mean feat, I think.
4). There is a phrase in Tamizh for a person like me. It goes: Yemanda shonagiri. Loose translation: Loser! There's a reason why I'm affectionately (I assume!) referred to as "Gullible Bubble" in close family circles. The Lukkha wanted an ice-cream from the Kavre store in Tulsibaug. Being a good sister, and seeing as how he was laden with bags, I obliged. 2 minutes later he says..taste it..it doesn't taste like Chocolate..more like butterscotch. So, I take it from him and give it a lick. I pronounce it to be chocolate, and try to give it back.
Lukkha says: I don't like it. You can have it.
Me: But I don't want it.
Lukkha: Too bad. Its in your hand and I'm not taking it back. He has the gall to coolly walk away.
Me: Standing in the middle of Tulsibaug with an ice-cream that I don't want, feeling hard done by. I can't even throw it away. (lack of trash can + misplaced civic sense)
As usual, its Amma to the rescue. She finishes the orphaned ice-cream, ticks off errant lukkha, and soothes my rather frazzled feelings in about 3 minutes. The only reason this world stays sane: Moms.
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