Sunday, November 23, 2008

JONES WEDS CARTER

Sharon WEDS Aaron

We arrived at the church half an hour early. Vee told us that Jones was standing outside and we caught a glance of her from behind standing there. We walked towards them and they disappeared towards the side of the church. Vee then introduced me to a couple and a young boy and I assumed those must be Jones parents and her brother. Before I could open my mouth as ask anything a decorated wedding car drives in and I see Jones in it.

They wait in the car and I thank God for preventing me from stuffing my foot into my mouth. As we waited and watched the bride to be, enjoying the ac conditions while we stood out in the heat, Carter’s car drives us and out steps the groom to be. He heads straight for the bride of the previous wedding and while we hoped there would be some drama, his father in law comes to the rescue and saves him from the blushes. Imagine grabbing someone else bride who just got married right before you just get married.

Mass started and we seated ourselves on the 8th row near the choir. Some very animated faces in the choir and some major seconds and thirds in the chorus kept us entertained. I forgot to mention that Jones looked absolutely stunning when she stepped out of the car. Smooth. The rest of the mass was uneventful save for Vee’s timely comments and some modern art at the altar. Seriously what were they thinking? And then at the big moment they lift up the veil and … thadang… we see Jones hair… anti gravity. I guess it did look stylish but for a conversationalist like me it was as though they had just blasted loud music in the car as they drove to church. As you can imagine there was 5 minutes of laughter at our bench and Peter [Shel] and Tashu joined in. But for all of that I must admit it did not look odd on Jones at all who was very poised throughout.

Rest of the mass was uneventful, they exchanged the rings on the right fingers, said the right names, Jones sang a hymn that was almost a whisper, the bridesmaids did their part is looking good, Carter looked interested in the wedding and no one knew of any impediments why these two shouldn’t have been married. Yeah so we stepped out and met Keav [Kevin] who was all cleaned up and we exchanged a few laughs outside the church. While the family photographs were being taken, Peter was standing with the rest of the family and making weird faces, much like Kaalia and his two cronies from Sholay in the scene where they play Russian roulette with the loaded gun. He wasn’t sure whether to smile or not, and if he did he wasn’t sure how much to. It was so funny that Vee and me held our stomachs and laughed for a good 10 minutes while he waited in agony for the photographer to end his misery.

Post stomach pains from the laughter we all hailed a rickshaw to go to the reception.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Communication Training Workshop

click on the picture above to open the album.


Birthday Card
- I am the client and the groups had to make a birthday card for me

Chinese Whisper - I am not present. And I am not even present that I an not present. And because I am not present that I am not present I am not even listening.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Movie Review - Fashion

Fashion is a mix of Page 3 and Chandni Bar. The look is very Page 3 but the treatment is very Chandni Bar. Madhur Bhandarkar has done a good job with Fashion. The overall feel of the film is good and it leaves an impression on your mind. It could have been made better though. They could have woven a few more characters or shown the stories of the other characters as well as was the case with Page 3. Priyanka has done a decent job.

The Titles are well done[fonts and styles], Music is good without distracting you from the film. Considering the last few bad Hindi movies that have been thrown our way Fashion is a welcome break.

Atlantis Aquapark

My dear roomies decided to treat me to a splash at the Atlantis Aquapark as my birthday gift. We set out at 12.30, arrived by 1 at the parking lot and took the shuttle from the parking lot to the entrance. The entry is AED 285, another 50 bucks per locker and after being separated from all that money we entered the place.

The rides were good. I did not try the leap of faith but my daring roomie Vee, did it thrice and I was content with the next best thing. You can laze about the place, take a tube and venture into the river and try out all the rides that it has to offer. The best thing according to me was the wave pool and I did that ride thrice. The last time all eight of us held each others tube and braved the turbulent sea and that took some effort.

Shel screamed like a girl most of the time as did Tashu who also made me take her piggy back just for kicks. I lost a few pounds I reckon with all the carrying and the splashing around. The prices are a little steep [even for the food available inside] but it was a fun day and we were really tired at the end of it. It’s a good exercise for you stomach as I realized the next day and you pick up a good tan as well [not that I need one]. If you can afford it go for it.

Thanks Vee, Thanks Tahsu

Thursday, November 6, 2008

BanGalore

Back from my trip to Bangalore. The place has its highs and lows. Roads are wide, lesser potholes than other places in India, malls are good, the Airport is classy [international standards] and the young crowd is very switched on.

The people love to fight, witnessed three fights in my short stay [Bang Galore – I think they take their name pretty seriously], the angry young man influence still remains, people love keeping the city clean so instead of pissing on the walls now I see people standing with backs to the wall and pissing onto the footpath. All joints shut by 11 pm [Ban Galore] so did not really get to see the nightlife because there isn’t one. Traffic is a real bitch and there is absolutely no sense of lane discipline or following the rules.

Rickshaw drivers should be kept in a museum because their thinking is ancient and they are a rare specimen. I stopped four rickshaws. The place I had to visit was 5 minutes away by rickshaw hence they did not take me aboard but they went that same way empty. [Now would it not make more sense to make some money going that same distance rather than go there without fare?] Weird! And the two guys who agreed to take me there requested double the fare and refused to keep the meter on. [And the whole point of having a meter is?]

The street book vendors know good English and have decent knowledge about books. That’s encouraging. They know authors, they know how old the books are and they know the classics. It’s always good to see that knowledge seep down to those sections of society. I was mighty impressed with the airport taxi drop. As soon as I called “just call” and procured the number of the Easy Cabs they called me with a few seconds asking if I had enquired about Easy Cabs. I booked my cab drop and within a minute I had the details on my cell sent by the company via SMS. After an hour I get a call from the driver who gives me his name and car number and tells me that he will be there at a particular time and arrives 15 minutes earlier. While the ride is pretty expensive I don’t mind it because they are professional about they way they approach work. Kudos Easy Cabs.

BanGalore

Back from my trip to Bangalore. The place has its highs and lows. Roads are wide, lesser potholes than other places in India, malls are good, the Airport is classy [international standards] and the young crowd is very switched on.

The people love to fight, witnessed three fights in my short stay [Bang Galore – I think they take their name pretty seriously], the angry young man influence still remains, people love keeping the city clean so instead of pissing on the walls now I see people standing with backs to the wall and pissing onto the footpath. All joints shut by 11 pm [Ban Galore] so did not really get to see the nightlife because there isn’t one. Traffic is a real bitch and there is absolutely no sense of lane discipline or following the rules.

Rickshaw drivers should be kept in a museum because their thinking is ancient and they are a rare specimen. I stopped four rickshaws. The place I had to visit was 5 minutes away by rickshaw hence they did not take me aboard but they went that same way empty. [Now would it not make more sense to make some money going that same distance rather than go there without fare?] Weird! And the two guys who agreed to take me there requested double the fare and refused to keep the meter on. [And the whole point of having a meter is?]

The street book vendors know good English and have decent knowledge about books. That’s encouraging. They know authors, they know how old the books are and they know the classics. It’s always good to see that knowledge seep down to those sections of society. I was mighty impressed with the airport taxi drop. As soon as I called “just call” and procured the number of the Easy Cabs they called me with a few seconds asking if I had enquired about Easy Cabs. I booked my cab drop and within a minute I had the details on my cell sent by the company via SMS. After an hour I get a call from the driver who gives me his name and car number and tells me that he will be there at a particular time and arrives 15 minutes earlier. While the ride is pretty expensive I don’t mind it because they are professional about they way they approach work. Kudos Easy Cabs.