Mission shopping

Tents. Sleeping bags. Stoves. All these and more were on display on 'Black Friday' (which is the Friday after Thanksgiving, for the uninitiated). No, not on store shelves, but outside the stores. Undeterred by the freezing night, people were camped on the sidewalks outside Circuit City, Best Buy, Walmart and every other such store looking for a killer 'deal' on things they might or might not really want. Yours truly was there too, just to experience one of the craziest (in my opinion!) things in the US of A. I found it extremely amusing to see all these people huddled up there, some reading, some sleeping, some talking (our desi group was, of course, the noisiest :-)), and others just sitting quietly, ostensibly dreaming about the untold killings they were going to make in a few hours!

I would like to specifically mention two things that I personally found really interesting outside Circuit City that night: First, there was this group that actually had a portable stove with them to cook (or reheat) food as they waited (see pic) I realize it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do considering the temperature and time but now, those were men on a mission! Next, there was this guy who stepped out of a large Mercedes Benz and joined the hordes. Well, come on, if you have enough greens to own a Merc, do a coupla hundred bucks really matter that much?! All I can say is, it takes all kinds..!

If it were Madras, some young lad would have set up a small tea 'kadai' there to cash in on the tired shoppers but well, this isn't Madras so there was nothing around (maybe next year I should try this!). Anyway, the lines steadily grew longer until finally the doors opened at some weird time of the morning (?). The shoppers shopped, the billers billed and everybody lived happily ever after. Or so I presume, since a warm bed pulled me back home way before all this happened :)

Back to blogspot

I was just told that I lose my webspace in the cs.utah.edu domain when I graduate so I decided to just move back to Blogspot!

Of flips and flops

OK I’m *not* talking about those plastic things you wear on your feet; even I cannot be so bored as to focus my unlimited literary talents on something that insignificant (there will always be those who argue that nothing else I’ve written is really *significant* either but what the hell :P). Well anyway, now that we (I) have decided that this post is indeed of some importance, here goes.. And *no*, I’m not geeky enough to actually post something about those tiny clocked devices sitting on your processor!

I realize the title is probably not entirely appropriate but the flip is supposed to refer to the act of ‘flipping’ tortillas at which I’ve become fairly adept of late. And this is supposed to be a segway into the general topic of cooking at which also I’ve become adept over the last couple of months. Some say that an overdose of bland sandwiches and fatty burgers will make anybody interested in cooking but reasons not withstanding, I have really begun to enjoy cooking! The hiss of steam, the soft popping of mustard seeds in hot oil, the vibrant display of colors as stuff is added and cooked, the wonderful smell of spices.. aah.. heaven! And then of course, there’s the pleasure of tasting the results of all your hard work :) Just for completeness sake, here are a few things I’m good at cooking (completely self-proclaimed, modesty isn’t one of my strong points :P) - Carrot Halwa, Rasam, Sambar, Broccoli curry and of course, tortillas, where this all started!! Its an altogether nice feeling; wish I had enough time to do it more often and try new things!

Now that I’m done rambling about flipping stuff, let me get to the flop - this is supposed to refer to poker, another thing I’ve learnt recently. Its a really nice game, with burns and turns, flushes and straights, doublets and full houses. Its a mix of luck and skill and you just don’t realize time flying by. I can now actually flip the coins in one hand, Casino Royale style :) I may never in my life go “All in - forty million five hundred thousand dollars” but what the hell, its a load of fun anyway!

Ok I shall now stop boring you (I doubt you would have come all the way down here if you’re bored but its an obligatory thing to say) - its time for some hot Indian dinner followed by a game of poker! :)