Archive for November, 2006

Thursday November 30, 2006


2006
11.30

These days I don’t need an alarm call to tell me the time. Lassie the pom starts bobbing her head next to my bedside everyday at precisely 7 am. Mostly I am already awake wondering about dad’s progress for the day.

Dad’s student gave him a positive vote of confidence today, which was very sensitive and tactful of him.

We had relatives dropping in most of the day. And some who planned to, I (hopefully) inoffensively discouraged from doing so. Their intentions may be good but many of them much to my chagrin end up saying the wrong things.

Lapses of lingy like ”O you have become so thin”. Or ” You know this other chap who had this disease did not do so well”. Or “Is this a good hospital. How many rooms do they have? Who is your doctor? (followed by an thorough and pointless investigation)”. The small talk and inseccent chatter only ends up tiring both mom and pop. Someone brought — and I am not kidding — 24 bananas for me!

The usual suspects are dependable, kind and sincere and this is the first time that I am personally so indebted for their being there.

Right my brain feels like it’s gonna fry, mostly from all the conversations of the day over the phone and in person. Need slumber. Sweet slumber badly.

 

 

 

Share

Wednesday November 29, 2006


2006
11.29

Last night a doctor dropped in to check on dad’s temperature. He took one look at dad’s face and said: “Are you Mr Diniz?”

Dad: “Yes”

Doc: “Remember that boy in Navelim school who would score well in Maths? That was me (the school in question is based in Navelim, a little Goan village. My dad taught here way before he went to Muscat, almost more than 30 years back)”

Dad: “Yes, I remember you. You scored 95 per cent in Maths and 97 per cent in Physics. I remember telling your dad to admit you to Loyola’s (a better school).”

Later on we learnt that the doc recognised my dad because of a little scar he has on his chin. The doc was delighted to see his school teacher once again and my dad was proud to learn that the boy who scored 97 per cent and was from a school that’s not exactly on the A-list is now a cardiologist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share

Wednesday November 29, 2006


2006
11.29

Waiting, waiting, waiting…that’s what we’ve been doing in the past few days.

Share

Tuesday November 28, 2006


2006
11.28

Pop was in much higher spirits today and bore some semblance to his wtty, wicked self. He perked up on hearing about the latest guffaws on IFFI and world politics, so read him the headlines and highlights from the newspaper.

Ankur, the baby photographer, popped in during the lunch break and clicked a dozen pictures of Lassie the pom, our antique furniture, banisters, curios and moi. Says I should model because I have a very clear skin tone. Yeah, right!

Spoke to a single gal who posed an important question: Can a single guy/girl share a platonic friendship with someone of the opposite sex (provided you are straight) if you have met recently? We’re not talking college/school mates here, but someone you’ve recently met say at a bar or a party etc. She thinks there’s probably at least a smidge of attraction between two people (could be one-sided or mutual too) if they keep in touch and not start seeing each other. Interesting…

Other than that, my sis has suddenly metamorphosed into a pillar of strength. Hmmm…

Share

Monday November 27, 2006


2006
11.27

Dad has finally been admitted to the hospital and tests are currently happening. The hospital is clean and warm and well-equipped. Lots of medical tourism. So, fingers crossed. Our little pom Lassie is trying to figure out where everyone went. She’s a bit of an emotional fool (like me) but also a ferocious watchdog (unlike me). Now, it’s time to grab some dinner and wait for tom before I see pop again.

BTW chanced upon an unexpected blog entry by one of my best friends’ Poornima. I was touched…

 

Share

Monday November 27, 2006


2006
11.27

Currently in Goa to visit my dad who’s having a  bit of a health hiccup. Well, it’s more than a hiccup and his condition  is a little painful. He hasn’t had the time or inclination to dye his hair (which started going grey at the age of 14). So, white hair plus the weight loss sent me into shock mode. But he’s in good hands and on the road to recovery. People at work and friends are all being tremedously very supportive and am glad to be in the midst of such wonderful people.

The weather here is hot, hot, hot and the ongoing IFFI has been labelled as the ‘invasion of the delegate pass-holders’ because the festival is wraught with chaos due to severe mismanagement and it’s really quite difficult for delegates to gain entry sans a fistfight. By the way, the Goa government has spend a whopping Rs 2 crore on the festival. However, the grapevine has it that it’s more of a carnival than a film festival. Now, if only they’d spend that money on infrastructure. Sigh!

Ankur, the baby photographer was supposed to visit as he is currently in Goa. However, his visit is on hold cause of dad’s visit to the doc. I told mom that Ankur would be more a homebody than a guest, so most probably he’ll be over tomorrow.

 

Share

Thursday November 23, 2006


2006
11.23

I admire people with a solid sense of self-esteem. It’s something I am always in short supply of no matter what I do.

Share

Wednesday November 22, 2006


2006
11.22

Watched Casino Royale last night AND Daniel Craig and his character ARE the film. This Bond is ruthless whilst in the game, but vulnerabile whilst falling in love. Isn’t that a dream combination in any man? The roomie and me were quite ruthless too; whilst a butt-naked Bond’s buttocks were being lashed to peices, we were salivating over those very same buttocks and of course, the rest of him.

The dialogues were pretty drab and the plot never thickens. However, there wasn’t an overkill of gadgetry or brands being flaunted. This gets a thumbs-up from me. The bearded chap at the gambling desk has lots of panache and I liked his gangta-neets-sophisticate’s way of identifying himself as ‘a brotha’ to Bond.

I dug Eva Green’s drawl and of course the volley of repatees that fly between her and Bond. But at some places too much makeup and weird hairstyles spoil her fresh look. She looks best with less makeup and pretty dresses.

SPOILER WARNING!!! I felt a tinge of sadness for Bond when Green dies. There’s nothing harsher than losing someone you love, especially when the potential was never fully explored.

I liked the idea of M voicing her thoughts on Green’s intentions with Bond when he refers to her as ‘the bitch’. She’s his boss and does not have to say them. But she does, knowing that they could give Bond some respite from his episode with Green. What a nice boss! However, I didn’t dig Dench as M too much. I would prefer someone with a REAL stiff upper lip. Dench is a little too headmistress-y, too Maria Vontrapp for my taste.

But we’d definitely like to see more of Craig…

Share

Tuesday November 21, 2006


2006
11.21

Am doing absolutely nothing that means anything to me at work. CAT fever, how to make more money, be more successful, impress at work, dress for success…at the end of the day editing these stories doesn’t fuel my fire.

So, three words to describe the current work mode: mundane, monotonous and mechanical. Sigh…

An artist needs a muse. Well, inspiration is my muse and I hope it comes my way soon.

Share

Monday November 20, 2006


2006
11.20

Amidst the clutter of everything that makes up your universe in a bustling metropolis, and all the spiel that people, magazines, colleagues, radio, movies, books dish out, it’s important to listen to one thing in particular: Your heart.

Whether it’s about work, friends, relationships, passions, compassion, books, television, charity, lifestyle, anything and everything, your heart always knows what you really want. If you don’t listen to it, you will start getting jaded, cynical, maybe conceited too. This bit of wisdom dawned on me in the last one week in the course of a eries of conversations.

‘Taste’, ‘Touch’ — these words kept cropping up in the lingo used by this chap I met about a week back, a personal fitness trainer who helps people understand their bodies and mind and get fit from within before working on the outside. His words are coming back to me as I write this. He says we tend to stop ‘tasting’, as we go along.

Maybe that is what is happening to me. My attention span as somewhat reduced to 10 milli seconds I think, and I get so caught in my list of must-dos for the day, that the big picture gets lost. One fine day I wake with my energies going helter-skelter, thus doing a wee bit of damage to anyone who comes in my path. Al has left and the dust has not settled just yet. A couple of things he said have stirred a hornet’s nest in my head. And this chap does not mince words. So, have to attend to these things soon, or else I will become that jaded person soon.

Still Single sucks! The lighting was decent, but of course it can’t redeem a play, which reeks of a bad script. When the script is bad, nothing can redeem it, not even good actors (by the way they were not great).

What was good though was the wok buffet at All Stir Fry, an oriental restaurant at Gordon House, in Colaba.

You have a wide spread of raw veggies, seafood, meat and pasta. Piled up my bowl with broccoli, squid, prawns and some eeky-green-but-great-tasting pasta. The chef tosses the contents of your bowl in any sauce of your choice, sweet, medium or spicy. Once you’re done, you can go back for a second, third, sixth helping, as you like it. All for Rs 325 bucks. I had fun.

Next stop was Polly Esther’s where I almost passed out on the couch courtesy a lack of sleep, besides being especially frustrated that phenomenally boring work was awaiting me on a Sunday. According to Al, who somewhat considers himself to be an authority on DJ music, said that the mixing was at best just ‘basic’, whatever that means.

Other than that, have just touched base with an old friend who used to be quite obnoxious but claims to have reformed himself to become a more normal human being. Let me be the judge of that. Either ways, he’s a nice and in fact very talented, charismatic individual, except for his erstwhile obnoxious tendencies to do things like tell a guy he wants to bed his girlfriend. Such candidness would usually get him beaten up.

Share