A bit wet behind the ears, perhaps?

"Gopi, make sure you water the plants on Friday."

So with that ominous reminder, MJ, our office Manager left last Thursday for a two week leave. So I set myself a recurring reminder in Outlook. The first reminder popped up last Friday, the day after MJ left. So I duly watered the plants in the office but, for some strange reason, decided to ignore the tall plants in the receptionist area. I would feel guilty about that over the weekend but they looked sooo healthy.

Yesterday morning, as soon as I got to the office and turned on Outlook, the reminder popped up and I watered the plants inside the office. Suddenly a thought occurred to me as to why I didn't bother watering the plants in the receptionist area the previous Friday. So this time, I checked with Russ:

"Russ, those plants outside? They are real, right?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Becoz MJ had asked me to water them on Fridays"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. They are real."

So I went out, watered them and got back to my office.

10 minute go by and Russ walks by.

" Gopi, you do realize those plants out front are fake?"

I let that sink in for a moment.

I smiled. "Well, Russ, better safe than sorry...don't feel like being at the receiving end of MJ's wrath."
Russ gleefully muttered, "What a character. What a character." and walked off. I figured he would probably needle me about it on our fishing trip to the Cape on Sunday.

I swear, my dear reader. Those plants looked real. But then they also looked too good to be true...

The wetsuit

As summer gets ever closer and I start developing notions of spending sunny Saturday afternoons swimming in the blue atlantic off the coast of Cape Cod and flexing my ass to any eye candy on the beaches, my thoughts stray back to when I first took swimming lessons. I wasn't 5 or even 15 years old then. I grew up in Madurai, which had a lone swimming pool. I think it may have been operated by the Lion's Club. I have bicycled past that pool many times during my time there. And I barely had any interest in it other than a mild curiousity as to who was using it. So, as I passed by, I would crane my neck a bit to see over the compound wall that ran the perimeter of the club. I can't recall seeing anyone use it. Just before I immigrated to the United States, I vaguely remember hearing someone mention that that pool was closed down after someone found "something" in it...kinda like the blue humor that one would expect to see in an earlier Adam Sandler movie.


Those amazing Indians! They are exceptionally good at some things like coming up with innovative dance moves, the Sciences and making great music. But...

Anyway, fast forward to the late 90s. A few years ago after I had arrived here in the US, and the Internet was starting to become ubiquitous, I decided to take swim lessons and contacted this swim instructor through a budding website called Craigslist. We agreed on a lesson price of $30 per hour of swimming instruction. He recommended that I get a wetsuit as it was still April and the water in the outdoor pool in his apartment community, out in the burbs, would be cold. Good advice. And the "swim instructor" himself turned out to be a 14 year old kid. I wouldn't recommend doing something like this if you are an adult...which I was but then I was pretty naive: no mentors, no friends, nuthin'. I pretty much had to figure out a lot of things by myself. I am just glad I didn't get into any trouble! Yes, the lesson went well. I learnt that I couldn't tread water no matter what I did. I kept sinking (in 5 feet of water) like a shark that had given up...

A couple of weeks later, I joined the YMCA in Quincy because I wanted to start practicing my new found skills using their indoor pool. I decided to take one more swim lesson. Y'know. Just to be on the safe side. Again I couldn't tread water. Other than that, the lesson went well. But after seeing the video above, I remember what did make me feel very subconscious during my swim lesson at the YMCA: the wetsuit I had on...while everyone else was in swim shorts!

RIP Zabo

August 20, 1944 – March 29, 2009


An undated picture...probably from the late 60s or early 70s.

"The best way to never worry about getting into shape is to never get out of shape."
- Irvin "Zabo" Koszewski

Conan the Barbarian (1982) - A brief soundtrack review

Not many people really equate Conan the Barbarian to class. But that is probably because they label it as a "Schwarzenegger vehicle", dismiss it as a movie "for guys who like movies" and move on. Oh, they don't know what they are missing! The outstanding soundtrack aside, it really is a very well-made movie.

I believe that the only movies I've watched with music composed by Basil Poledouris are Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. I am not sure how much Schwarzenegger and the rest of the cast appreciated Basil's efforts after filming but the soundtrack is definitely one that even Crom, for once in his life, would bow to. For brevity, I have only listed the five tracks that I listen to most often.

5. Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom

Watching the visuals when this track is played is sure to get the hair at the nape of your neck stand on end...and the prime reason why the opening sequences in Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Gladiator (2000) didn't impress me...as much as those two were very well-made movies indeed.



4. Theology/Civilization

I don't recall in which segment of the movie this track is played but many would feel that the sometimes cheerful nature of the track does not quite reflect the grit that is the rest of the movie.



3. The Atlantean Sword

I believe the pictures in this video are from Age of Conan, the PC game. This mostly brooding track conjures up visions of magic and sorcery more so than any other from the soundtrack. A third of the way into the track, there gathers a very strong feeling of melancholy. Overall there develops an impending sense of something significant in the air, a drastic change of sorts.



2. Theme (Anvil of Crom)

The theme is majestic, draws you in with gutsy, warmongering chords and winds down with a surprisingly serene sense of direction...reminiscent of a father who toils under the sun and, at the end of the day, comes home to play with his son. And the way the track switches back and forth between the booming bass of a horn and the feminine chorals of violins is simply fantastic!



1. The Orgy

In my opinion, the abolutely best piece of soundtrack ever recorded for a movie. 'nuff said!

The little gray sock

One night this past winter, I found a little gray sock in my laundry. I picked it up and gazed at it for a while. It must have been left behind in the dryer by a neighbor. I can't quite think of who it might belong to as almost everyone I know in my building is almost as tall or taller than me - I may or may not find that exciting - and the little gray sock looked like it belonged on a kid. Maybe one of my neighbors was visited by a young niece or nephew for a few days and the kid left behind the little gray sock. Anyway, dormant emotions came to the fore on seeing the little gray sock. So I composed a little poem...about the little fella.


The lonesome little fella...

Ah mi dear little gray sock,
Ye gave me quite a shock.
And as thee made mi gawk,
Mi realized that thee totally rock.

World Class Eggs

Do you like eggs?

Hi!

Well, try this "recipe" then:

1. First hard-boil your eggs. I use a steamer for this purpose.
2. Next, in low-medium heat, prepare a nonstick skillet with your choice of oil. I use 1/2 tbsp coconut oil for 4 eggs.
3. Once the oil heats up, throw in a bit of salt, freshly ground black pepper, turmeric and move the oil around until there is an almost uniform distribution of spices in the skillet. I use 1/4 tsp of turmeric and about the same of pepper.
4. Next place the eggs (with their shells removed) in the skillet. Keep moving and rotating the eggs around in the skillet to prevent any one area of the egg getting burnt. For ensuring a better application of oil and spices on the eggs, use your finger. And remember: its your finger! You can do what you want with it!
5. After 1.5 to 2 minutes or once the oil and spices have completely wrapped around the eggs, remove from the pan and serve. You might find that the thicker part of the egg has more oil and spices to it.

You could stop here...

Or you could take it a delicious step further!

This has got to make a healthy breakfast!

Last Post - 2008

Well, I got a few things to take care of this winter like getting a technical certification and concentrating on ski season training. And with more hours of planned sleep every day, I have decided that something needs to give. I also tend not to socialize much during winter preferring to spend most of my time by myself. No dating either since I can't be bothered with putting on nice winter clothing and taking long walks in city streets in winter. This is my last post for this year. Here is some food for thought until my first post next year:

This is half a week's worth of shopping. A second trip to the market will be to buy chicken, vegetables and more fruit. I use eggnog instead of cottage cheese for a couple of months out of the year. I also prefer heavy cream to that half-and half stuff. The white package is wild salmon. I like to cook fish the same day I get it as I don't like storing fish in the fridge. So I make 2 to 3 trips a week to the market just to buy fish. Alright, so there is some stuff in there that is not organic.

Fish and vegetables washed down with some plantation rum: my flagship recipe!


Breakfast stuff including some piping hot PG Tips' tea.


Bison hamburger with sauteed onions and mushrooms. No cheese. I prefer eating cheese by itself.


Roast chicken and eggs.

Roast chicken and vegetables.

Roast chicken and rice.

Of course, I could always get stuff from the food court in Faneuil Hall, a five minute walk from my house, if I don't feel like cooking at home. Here we see lamb kabobs from a Greek shop in the food court. I wouldn't have minded a little more meat and a little less rice though.

This blog will now go on hiatus until next spring...