Downtown Calling !!

May is here,
D'Town living is near.

Let's get rolling,
And start our packing.
The space is tight,
But let's not fight.
Let's clear the fluff,
And donate most of YOUR stuff ;-)

We'll fuss over the budget
So that we don't regret
As expenses will rise,
We need to be wise.
But, let's not forget
Enjoyment IS the target

To Lake views, and Gorgeous sunrises
To Yummy food, and modern high-rises
To Trendy Bars, Discos and Lights,
To Hill-country Sunset & Glamorous Nights
To a new home
D'Town, here we come!!

By: Gautam Sarda

Green Green....

Ok...I have gotten into this argument many times now....sometimes with ppl who dont care at all...or sometimes with smart-ass ppl who juss wanna argue for the heck of it....or sometimes with ppl who dont blieve in it at all....My argument everytime is: "Forget abt everything else....juss stick to one motto...Reduce wastage....Dont use more than u need..."

Some ppl say 'Global Warming' is a religion....like Scientology....which brain washes u....well....personally i dont mind either....its a matter of perception.....I am ok with Al Gore promoting "Dont waste" and calling it 'Global Warming'....I wudnt have cared much if he called it something else....as long as the goal is the same....I am ok with Tom Cruise promoting Scientology....as long as I am not forced to accept it....

What i truely believe in is 'Dont waste'.....whenever I look at my cutie pie nephew....my mind goes....I want everyhting best for him....I want him to have everything i have and much much more....If I dont waste today....I am preserving for the future....for the next generation....My argument is always the same....why do any of us want to use more than we need??....Why do we want to pollute and spoil??....

Call it watever u like.....juss do it....Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.....

All said...."Reduce" is something my Hubby totally believes in....Today is Earth Day....here is how it goes....

Sumita: was thinking....kuch karna hai kya for earth day
Gautam: such as ?
Sumita: i dont know...go to whole foods
Gautam: go to whole foods ?? just to do grocery shopping or bcoz u expect somn else cld be happening?
Sumita: Grocery bhi and also maybe something is happening there...
Gautam: whole foods tak drive karke jaana is not helping the env.
Sumita says: hmmmm
Sumita: shane....
Gautam: hmm .. a li'l bit shaana .. but sach bhi toh hai .. ??

Sumita: how abt we run to whole foods
Gautam: sure .. looks whos the real shaana .. y don't u do it
Sumita: hmmmmm

I trust you...

I had a best frd in college....lets call her A....I use to tell her everything.....absolutely everything.....After 2nd year....I decided she is not adding any value to my life so I made a call of not hanging out with her anymore....I decided not to hang out with her and I also decided not to tell her about my decision....When i think abt it now....It is one of the most rediculous things I have ever done.... :( ....Ofcourse I never told her abt it....oh well....I never realised this before....We juss werent frds anymore after tat.....

One day....one of my other best frd, lets call him B, asks me "How can you do this to me?....I trusted u...."....apparently....my Best frd A told my best frd B abt some secret....I was very angry and desparate.....I went to A and lashed out....."How can u do this to me....I tursted u....u were my best frd and u are supposed to keep all my secrets....."....And the ans I got frm her was the most rediculous one....she was like..."Why r u lieing abt A?".....I shouted bak saying...."Tats none of ur business....u were supposed to be a frd and u failed me.....tats it....u broke my turst"....

Its been forever for all this to have happened....but still sometimes...I have an urge to set things rite.....Go and talk....argue abt how I trusted....tell them over and over again...."I trusted you"....how do we get out of this....even if we are all grown up, mature and all....still we can never forget the frds who broke our trust.....

What is this Trust?? What does "I trust you" mean?? At times it feels more like a burden than a compliment....what do u mean when u say..."I trust u"....is it plain and simple...I trust u...and i know u will get it/do it.....or is it....I turst u so dont let me down....its ur responsibility....

I have always been big on Trust....I have always talked abt trust.....I have said this a 1000 times to a lot of ppl who are dear to me...."I turst u".....or "I trusted u".....but somehow when i heard the same thing frm some1 else....it sounded a lil ridiculous....it sounded as if....we will never grow up....it sounded as...This trust thing is never gonna let us make the Past go and live in the moment.....

Oh well....if we juss can learn not to confuse trust with love, frdship and relations in general....it will be so much easier and better.....

Want to be Everything !!

I want to be an Actor. Actor's get to be everything. A lot of professions facinate me.....But....oh yes there are 'Buts'.... :)

I want to be a Doctor who saves a life and is thanked by the patient's family and considered next to God...But I hate any kind of needles pricking my body, so never want to use them.

I want to be a Freedom Fighter who fights against injustice ....But I cant bear pain so I never want to take a Bullet.

I want to join the Military and become a Soilder, fight for the honor of my country....But I dont want to take a life.

I want to be a Lawyer who fights for Rights of the underpriveledged....But I dont want to be caught representing the wrong party.

I want to be a Baby who looks at the whole world with big huge eyes, who loves everything and has a complication free life....But I dont want to lose my ability to Talk.

I want to be a Baker who bakes amazing Cakes....But I dont want to be patient and work very very slow.

I want to be a Chef who cooks the most amazing Dishes.....But I dont want to clean the kitchen.

I want to be the CEO of a Multi-National company.....But I dont want to constantly negotiate.

I want to be a Rich, spoiled Brat who spends and the only aim in life is to have Fun....But I dont want to set a wrong example.

I want to be an Alien who is super intelligent....But I dont want to look wierd.

I want to be a Make-up artist who can make anyone look beautiful.....But I dont want to put up with the people who dont like the end results.

I want to be a Teacher who is loved my all students....But I dont want to put up with extremely spoiled Brats.

I want to be a Guru who is a Know-all.....But I dont want to be responsible for anyone.

I want to be a Genie who can make all the wishes come true.....But I dont want to be anyone's slave.

I want to be a Home Decorater who makes any place look beautiful..... :)

I want to be a Dress Designer who understands Curves and Colors..... :)

I want to be a Potter who gets amazed by her own Creativity..... :)

Poker Retreat !!

I took my parents to Vegas....they loved it....they loved the Glamor, the Shows, the Gambling, the Decors, the Strip....They loved it as much as anyone who visits Vegas for the first time....they were amazed..... :)

I have been to Vegas 3 times now....specially if you go there the 2nd time in a year....there is not much to see and explore....it all pretty much stays the same....Gautam and I had discussed this a lot....Budget for Gambling....we came to some unreasonable amt and we agreed on it....rather I agreed.....I guess I agreed coz I know both of us won't rather can't spend tat kind of money on Gambling.....So it all started.....We finally got to the Poker tables....Gautam started playing and I was sitting behind him yawning my world away.....finally I told him....lemme go to the rest room....and if u win when i am gone....i am going to the room and sleeping as i am not lucky for u....so, I went and got bak and he actually won some money.....I decided to leave.....and suddenly, out of nowhere....as I was abt to leave....I thot....lets play some Poker on a different table....So, I started playing....

I started with $100 chips....and lost a few initial hand....again started yawning my world away....and then as soon as the Dealer changed came a good hand....I started making money.....The pile went from $100 to about $400.....I pushed a guy to come All-in and he lost....well he lost with a face-card pair to my card 2 - trio, that too the last one came as the River card....he was not very happy with me....I lost some and won some.....finally left the table with $300 something....tat was abt $200 up.....I won I won....I won money in Poker.....my Glory moment....winning money playing Poker in Vegas.....I was so excited.... :)

After we got bak...Gautam asked me....wat was the best part abt the trip?....I enjoyed the trip coz my parents loved the place and my Dad made some money playing "Rollette" and "Slots".....My Mom liked all the Hotels we visited and she lost money in "Let it Ride" and made some money in "Slots".....Gautam lost some in "Poker" and made some in "Craps"....oh but the best part was my "Poker Retreat"....my Glory moment.... :)

My Marathon 101 !!

It all started 8 months ago....and it all went well....not juss well but fantastic....health wise everything worked out perfectly.....otherwise, with some difficulties like nagging knee pains, ankle pains, lack of sleeping late on saturday mornings, missing out late nites on friday evenings, everything was alright....till the Friday before the D-Day....

Do you know what Bad luck is? Let me explain....as I happen to be the receiver of Bad lunck since forever.....when you desperately want something....it is almost in front of you and you raise your hand to grab it....and Puff....its gone....juss like tat by magic....reasons can be anything from Harry Potter doing some magic tricks to you cutting your hand by throwing it on a knife....Bad luck has always happened....sometimes i hate to desire....coz my sub-conscious keeps telling me that it wont happen for me.... :(

Something similar happened with my Marathon....Friday before the Sunday morning Marathon, I started feeling it.....my Bad Luck creeping on me....started with a mild throat irritation and body ache....and by night fall I was down with 101.5 fever.....my sub-conscious was saying "Told you so..."....I couldnt beleive it....after all the pains and all the energy I had put in....this was happening to me....first instinct was to throw a fit and just shout....I did that for a little while....then it came to me....I have always succumbed to by Bad Luck....and I have never even thaught about standing up to it or at least trying....this time....I decided....no matter what....I am not going to fall for my sucky luck....I am running the Marathon.....no matter how I do..... :) ....Saturday went by....we were watching the Ironman 2007 on CNN....it was a most inspiring and appropriate show for me in tat condition.....One person who has both prosthetic legs swam for 2.4 miles, cycled for 112 miles and ran for 26.2 miles to become an Ironman....watching tat wat amazing.....I kept telling my self.....if he can overcome such a huge difficulty.....101 is nothing....nothing at all.....

Sunday morning....was a little better.....fever was down to 98.3 as opposed to 101.7 on saturday nite....so was a little happy about it.... :) ....we started the Half Marathon around 7:00 am on Sunday morning....the start line was the only time I smiled.....it was a struggle and very very difficult....the consolation was Gautam on my side.....I walked most of the 13.1....holding Gautam's hand....I dont think I was in any condition to even walk a mile....but I did it....and Gautam pulled me through it..... :)

On the way, we met a 60 year old Stroke survivor.....he was like "If I can do it, u sure can do it"....some one commented...."hey hey, No making out on the course"..... :) .....I wont say it was a fun Run for me.....but it had its Perks.....As we were nearing the end....again all our near and dear supporters were there to cheer us.....I did it....I achieved the unthinkable and unachievable for me....I even sprinted the last block to finish my 13.1....My Marathon 101 !!

Runner's Runner !!

I am not a Runner, so I keep wondering “Why am I running the Marathon?” The first Half Marathon I ran was the 3M Half Marathon and Relay. While running someone commented “We are doing this coz we love PAIN”. Oh well…Not me…Heck No….I hate PAIN. I am someone who doesn’t like to get hurt or pain at all…well…no one really likes it….but I have absolutely Zero tolerance for pain. I love my Hair…and running means I have ‘Bad Hair Day’ almost 3 to 4 days a week….how about that? I am sweaty and smelly and cold after all my workouts and long runs. With all these inconveniences and pains…again…”Why am I doing this?”

I keep asking myself “Why?” and I get different answers. It all started with, I wanted to find out my Physical strength…my stamina. I wanted to check if I am capable of such patience and endurance. I knew I can never do something like this all by myself…so I convinced my Husband, Gautam to do it with me….he wasn’t very sure….but he took it up for me….he started it coz he wanted me to succeed in my goal. I love him for that.

Initially I hated it all. I remember my first long run on a Saturday morning….we reached the Runtex center where it starts and there were all these people and smiles and enthusiasm…I just fell in love with it all….just the feeling that I am part of it all made me Ecstatic. I think that is one of the main reasons I didn’t give up. I love it when people are encouraging you, running with you, motivating you. There is no competition; we all are in this together. We are in this for each other. It is simply amazing.

My first Half Marathon started with energy and enthusiasm. The crowd flowed together and everyone was happy to just be there and be a part of it all. First few miles just passed….there were people on the streets motivating us….children Hi-Fi’ing…..it was great. After around 11 miles, I was dead tired and didn’t feel like I could continue….and then it happened….I saw few of my friends waiting at the 11 Mile marker with tissues…..isn’t that amazing? Just when I needed it….they were there to cheer us up and pull us through it all….they were there to run with us and support us at our most difficult Final Mile….I drew energy and strength from them….their presence pulled me through…..We started our last mile with all our heart and strength…..then came few more friends and family to cheer us….our Coach, Holly was there too…..it all made it worth it….it all was amazing….. :)

I run for all the people, who are there to cheer for me. I run for all the Runners, who are in this with me. I run for my Gautam, who is running for me. I run for my Family, who is proud of me. I also wanted to give this all more meaning by associating this with a good cause. So, I am also running for AID now. I want to do my share by raising some money for this foundation that works for the underprivileged. I am running the “AT & T Half Marathon” on 17th Feb 2008, please support my cause.

http://www.runforindia.org/runners/sumita