A girl's bestfriend.... Esprit, CK and Ralph Lauren?

Just like the next girl, I love shopping. I have complete faith in retail therapy and am the worse person to let loose in a shopping centre when I am feeling particularly stressed or upset. I think i agree with Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. 'I like my money right where I can see it; hanging in my closet'

Whether it is buying something for me or someone else, I love going out and searching for that thing that is perfect. I usually have something particular in mind to get when i head to the shops. Needless to say, I hate window shopping. Any window shopping I do lasts maximum 10 minutes...either I cave in or leave the store.
Most frustrating thing about me going shopping is not getting the size I want. I guess that happens to a lot of people, but you cannot imagine my despair when I found out I was too small for a Calvin Klein or Levis jeans, being the brand-whore I am. And the pair of Lee that fit me perfectly, they didn't have.

In my hunt for the perfect pair of jeans, the girl in the store handed me a fair few sizes and types for me to try on. I was in that dressing room for a good half an hour or so. Either they were not skinny enough and or they weren't the brand I would like to have worn.

The worst was when the girl brought me a pair that was too tight in the waist. They were the perfect fit for my skinny legs but way too tight at my waist (I half think the girl might have brought it from the kids section). So tight that I could not do it myself and had to hold my breath and get the girl do the button. And she kept saying that it would stretch. In about a month. There was no way that I was going to put through myself (or my mom, because I could not have done it by myself) of the torture of trying to do up those jeans everyday, in the hope that one day, it will stretch.

The girl and I bonded after that incident; we say hi and chat when I see her around now, but I never got to buy the perfect pair of Levis or Calvin Klein or Esprit. And I am still waiting on that to happen.

In the meant time, I have bought the favourite pair of Vogue and Ralph Lauren sunglasses, after spending almost a good hour in the store and trying out various different glasses. I think the girl there would forgive me for being the painful and indecisive customer when I bought two pairs instead of one.

Greatest gift ever..

An Australian politician claimed that a woman's virginity is 'the greatest gift you can give someone' and that it is the 'ultimate gift of giving'. Much controversy was sparked with the public, leading to sayings that we don't need politicians in our bedroom and he can't tell women what to do and stay virgins till we are married.

He has the right to express his opinion, but what I do wonder about is, whether a woman's virginity is the greatest gift you can give? I mean, yeah sure, once you give it, it's not something you can get back. But what about the other things you give up?

When you are in a relationship you give them your trust and love and isn't it much more heartbreaking when these things fall apart, rather than finding your girlfriend/boyfriend isn't a virgin.

And it's interesting that it is implied that a woman's virginity is more precious than a man's virginity. Can the man's virginity be thrown around however he likes, but women have to be picky? I was listening to a discussion they had about this issue on TV, where they were saying that a man's virginity had less value as time went on, whereas a woman's virginity increased in value. So it's ok for men to not be virgins, but not for women? In fact, one of my guy friends told me that if a guy was a virgin, he would be less likely to admit that was the case.

And getting married doesn't guarantee a happily-ever-after for you. And as Samantha from Sex and The City says, it would be wise to take your car for a test drive before you buy it.

Coffee culture in Maldives

Maldivian’s favourite past time: going for a ‘coffee’. This is synonymous with hanging out, catching up, having a smoke or killing time with friends. These ‘coffees’ are daily outings where you gather your best mates at your favourite coffee spot and enjoy a drink (which in Maldives generally consists of coffee, Redbull, fresh fruit juice or the occasional French fries potion).

As mundane as they seem (and it probably will be for people who live in Male’), things happen during these ‘coffees’ which makes them very memorable and extra special.

The perfect wedding present may be brainstormed at a coffee with best friends. Live stock and/or brick stones maybe the ideas they come up with, but they are sure to be a massive hit with the newly wed couple. The laughs shared and the time spent together won’t be forgotten soon either.

The first coy touch of hands can happen at a coffee. Two people, who have liked each other for ages, but never really had a chance together, finally meet and go for a coffee. Slipping their hands into each others, to find it fits just right, can be a sweet memory.

Two people can fall in love during a coffee. After a series of inexhaustible coffees, where they spend every afternoon together for months, talking and getting to know each other, the next step being in a relationship seems sensible thing to do. For them, each and every coffee together will be special and memorable.

Trying out new things at coffees can be fun as well, where friends go to check out the new places opening up. With drinks with adventurous names like the ‘Screw Driver’ or the ‘Oreo Shake’, memories are made as they sit around, trying each others drinks and commenting on them.

Feel free to share your coffee experiences... :)

Update about Austen and Jeffrey Eugnides

So far, I have not made any progress on Sense and Sensibility... I am still on page 327; exactly where I had left it when I wrote my entry about my experience with Austen.

I had not even thought of picking this book up, even at the moments where I am itching to read something. Even when I am rushing out the door, late to work, and wondering what to take to read during my lunch break, I had not thought of the half-read Austen. Mind you, it was buried under various pieces of papers and photos and blue tack on my desk.

The other book I had given up on reading is 'The Virgin Suicides' by Jeffrey Eugnides. I think there is a movies for this book. It is very well written, and interesting. The problem with this book is it is very depressing. Maybe, as the title suggests, it is not meant to be too cheerful, but this is definitely not my cup of tea. And I still cannot figure out why they would want to kill themselves, all five sisters! Finishing the book may help you say? I have read a good two thirds of this book, and I cannot generally find anything that catastrophic, that they want to stop living. Yes, their parents are quite strict and yes, their lives are not quite, what you would call normal. But lots of not-so-normal people, who come from dysfunctional families get on with their lives. I do not get why these girls felt so helpless.
Maybe I should just watch the movie first, and then attempt reading this book again.

Across the big oceans...

"That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for" is what Sam Gamgee says in LOTR: The Two Towers. Maybe I can't compare because right now, the fate of mankind (or even hobbits) doesn't rest on my ability to carry a ring to the top of a mountain, but still life is bloody hard work, with "all the headaches and heartaches", but that is also what makes life interesting.
In life, you find things to fight for, things that you want and things that you can't live without. And it's these things that makes you cherish all the things that make you smile. We all go through different sorts of troubles and I know that it is those things that make you stronger. I know that I would be a very different person if I hadn't gone through what I have in life. And funny thing is, I don't think I regret anything that has happened. Yes, somethings still make me sad, but I don't think I would want to go back and change them.

Yes, I sound very cryptic and ambiguous up there... and I will take a simple example to explain the hard stuff; my friends who live in Maldives and the relationship I have with them.

Long distance friendship is bloody hard. It takes effort, timing, misunderstandings and late nights on both sides to keep in touch and maintain the friendships. It also means, that when one of your best friends is getting married, you may not be able to be there, "to make her laugh and to tease her". Or you can't celebrate your birthday with that friend who makes you laugh and has the same birthday as you, however much you want to hang out with him on that day. You have to deal with that, and it sucks so bad.
But however hard it is, I don't intend on giving up on this fabulous bunch of people. They've been the people who know me inside out, and remained friends even after the messiest of mistakes. They've thrown me surprise BBQ's and farewell parties, even though they see me only once a year or less. It has been made easier for me, because of my friends responsiveness despite the distance and also thanks to Facebook, MSN etc. And it may take sacrifices and compromises on my part (and theirs), to be a part of their life, but I know that that is something I want to do.

The point I am trying to make is, things that are worth a damn, may be (and probably will be) hard work. Taking the easy road down and walking away is not the answer. Take risks in love and life... and have a ball while doing it!!

This blog is dedicated to the Gang, Sabadi and everyone else in my life, who makes me smile (you know who you are) ...

PS: Just to acknowledge what my friends have said, everything in quotation marks are direct quotes by them.

Simple pleasures in life...

- Waking up after a rainy night and smelling the eucalyptus trees

- Cutting into a watermelon and smelling the freshness and summer

- Getting postcards from India, Uk, Maldives etc.

- Waking up to a text messages.

- The smell of freshly mowed lawns.

- Having Kurumba (coconut juice) at 12am because of massive cravings.

- Having lunch at one of your best friends house...just because you can.

- Standing on top of a hill and seeing the Sydney Center Point Tower.

- Having a warm shower on a winter night right before bed.

- Grandma's hedhika (short-eats).

- Smell of coriander.

- Eating watermelon.

- Listening to that really old school song you've always loved.

-Photo albums.

- Feeling the ocean spray on your face

Boiling Potatoes and Eggs

I thought I would try a homemade potato salad for dinner. We didn't have any potato salad dressing so I just mixed up some mayonnaise and lemon juice for the dressing. That's what Taste.com.au told me to do. Technically, this is an easy salad to whip up. I just had minor problems with the boiled egg I was adding to the salad.

I was supposed to boil the potatoes and add the dressing onto the potato while it was still warm. That way the potato absorbs the flavor in. But when my potato was cooked, my eggs were still not done. Who knew it took more than five minutes to boil an egg? I had managed to crack one of them when putting them in the pan and when I checked it, it was still a bit soft. I had to again put some water to boil and boil the eggs for another five minutes to harden them.

I knew there were a lot of theories around boiling eggs. I remember listening to a conversation on the radio or TV, where they were having a quite passionate discussion about how to boil an egg. And it is not as simple as it sounds. I had thought it took only about three minutes, and had left it for five minutes just to make sure. But after looking up on how to boil an egg on a few websites, I see that I had done quite a few things wrong.
Wikipedia gives the run down of the theories behind boiling eggs. Some say you put the egg in cold water and then put it to heat, while others say that you boil the water first and then put the eggs in. All the other websites I checked was consistent in asking us to do the former. I had done the latter.

It was also important that we make sure that the eggs are in room temperature. I had just taken mine out of the refrigerator.

A Sydney chef, Brahimi reckons that the eggs should be covered with water when they boil. Half of the water had evaporated in my pan and they were only half covered. I did, however, run cold water on the eggs to make the peeling of eggs a bit easier, as he had recommended. I did not burn my fingertips at the process.

Mr. Breakfast said that we are supposed to let the eggs simmer in for about 12 minutes! I had no patient to let that happen for I had already struggled with boiling the egg for about 10 minutes. You can apparently just leave the eggs in hot water for about 10 minutes as well. I think that's where Mr. Breakfast is coming from.

After all this, it is pretty straight froward. Peeling the egg is the fun part. As long as you have not over cooked the egg, the shell comes off easily. A little tip: make sure you stir the egg when it is boiling in the pan, this helps the egg yolk to be in the center when it boils (I had forgotten to do this as well that day).

As for the potato salad dressing, I tasted it after I mixed in all my ingredients. At first it tasted a bit weird, maybe it was too much lemon juice or the dried basil I put in (I think it was either Maggie Beer or Nigella Lawson, or both, who always insists on fresh herbs and now I do know why). But I after I left the salad to rest, the taste was good and we had none leftover.
And for anyone who is curious about boiling an egg, here are the websites I looked into:

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/ask.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_egg

http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/crack-the-formula-on-boiling-eggs/2006/03/28/1143441128413.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12504/how+to+boil+an+egg