My first review of a product

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Me-“we will stop eating rice and start eating chapathis for dinner daily”

Him-“no”
Me- “there was no question mark in my sentence”
Him-“you are going to make the chapathis”
Me-“you are not going to help?”
Him- “there was no question mark in my sentence”
Me- Grrrrrrrrrrrr…..(scratching)…Grrrrrrrrr Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Well I thought I can buy one of those tortilla/roti/chapathi makers and making chapathis will be as easy as…
as…mmm…
as easy as…mmm…let’s just say, as easy as scratching…
So I got this…and if anyone out there are in the thinking process of getting one read what I have to say and then decide if you want to get one…
So here is my review:

  1. 3 settings-low, medium,high. 4th setting-OFF
  2. it has to be on high, to make chapathis, otherwise hittu(dough) will just stick and sit there forever without rising
  3. 1st day I used that, they came out like tortillas. I shouldn’t have been surprised, it says tortilla maker!!!
  4. It says in manual the quality will improve as days go by and even some of the reviews said that. That’s why I ordered it.
  5. after 2-3 times of using it, they started coming out well.
  6. the pressing is so easy, no strain at all…
  7. but even at that high setting, I guess the heat is ~ equivalent to low setting on electric stove burner and hence it takes somewhat more time to cook each side or I felt it that way because you see nange patience kammi(=less)…
  8. I thought a few drops of oil has to be added, otherwise the chapathis will be like you know rotis or tortillas…
  9. I had read in review that the inside doesnt cook properly…well I found out its true for some of the chapathis, the insides were still kachka pachka…
  10. so I thought I will try pressing hittu in this and cook the chapathi on stove-top…guess what?
  11. that thing has to be ON and plates heated, otherwise the hittu just sticks there…
  12. So I thought, maybe I can set it at low-setting, so that it doesnt consume much electricity, since I am using the electric burner too, but at low setting the heat is not enough, so even if the hittu flattens out, its difficult to separate it from that plate…
  13. Which REMINDS me of MSK(Marimallappa PU chemistry teacher)…I used to attend his 6.30 am batch tuition and that fellow used to put fans so early in the morning…brrrrrrr…the switch for those two cealing fans were near the back benches where boys used to sit and as time went by, they would cm-by-cm slowly turn the knob so that that thing would still be rotating but no gaali(air) coming, hoping that MSK woudnt notice it!!! but we are talking abt MSK here, so he would shout at them “MAKLA THIRUSRO KNOB NAAAA, AAKADE CURRENT KARCHAAGBEKU EEKADE GAALI NU BARBAARDU HANGE MAADTHIRA NANGE ” and they would whimper back “current bill save maadi next batch tuition feees li adjust maadkoli saaaaar, namna bittu bidi, manege hogbekaadre daarili ondu stop maadlebeku number-one ge, ashtu chali maadthira illi”
  14. coming back: Hubby was saying the hittu probably had too much water thats why its sticking…hav to try making very gatti hittu(dough with less water)…
  15. Inbetween I had the Idea of returning this and just getting one of those tortilla press…but I could only find those metal ones and I know it needs some pressure to be put and after sometime hands start aching…havent used the ones here(but have used those metal sandige press in India which looks similar)…
  16. so this is what I am doing from past 2 days: set that thing to medium/high heat…press it on that and cook it on stove top…and this process is working for me and I am finding the chapathi making process effortless!!!! and chapathis coming out good!!! 
  17. now some of the reviews said that after 10 months the heating stops working!!! hope that doesnt happen to me…
Will update this after a few months…
and then back to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…scratch………….SRK singing ye ladki hai alla…hai haire alla……..wake-up,  no SRK, sob…..adjust pillow…zzzzzzzzz…SRK holding my hand again –“It’s alright Senorita, Bade Bade Deshon Mein, Aisi Choti Choti Baatein Hoti Rahti Hain.”….zzzz:)zzzz:)zzzzz:)zzzzz:)zzzz
Update: I changed the atta/chapathi flour brand and the chapathis are coming out really good now…

Mac-aio-Rama

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you must be thinking the title must have been a slip up for mac-o-rama ???
No, you read it right, Mac-aio-Rama…
A few months back I decided to take advantage of the Apple’s offer for students and get a mac. I made a deal with my hubby. 
me – “I get to keep the laptop and you get to keep the ipod-touch that comes free with it.”
hubby – ”  and the laptop will be registered in my name,  Deal ?” 
me – stared at him like this…
( later I began to persuade him to go for a Management degree, since he knows how to make good of  every situation …)
We went to the Apple store… Let me tell you, it’s something about the lighting in that store that mesmerizes us and makes us stay there longer… And the longer we stay, higher the chances we come out with something that has a bitten apple on it…
We bought the mac home…
Oh! I was so thrilled…I didn’t want to sleep that day…
next day, it dawned — I am not smart enough for a Mac !!!!!!!
I had a tough time figuring out the keyboard functions…
I thought there was no right click until she told me that it exists…
Every few days I come across a function that I believed didn’t exist and be totally awed by it…
I have had it for like 8 months now and totally love it !!! I don’t care if I am not smart enough for it, I still love my Mac…
Alright, but why the aio-rama ? 
… its because I have read such good reviews on the Mac’s reliability that people say it’s hard to find an excuse to replace it with the newer, gorgeous macs… that means 5-6 years down the lane, it will be very difficult to make another deal with my hubby…aio-rama…

mmm…

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                                                                                                         – Anonymous


I came across this when I was looking up some old files on my computer, probably forwarded to me by family or a friend. 
Whoever wrote the above verse deserves this.
I believe life is too short to waste time thinking about people who don’t care about you. Over the years I have learnt to be like a mirror — Reflect behavior. 
If people come to me when they need something and then ignore me; Here’s what I do – Ignore them.
I have learnt to focus my attention to people who really care and as a result have developed strong bonds with some truly wonderful people and feel very lucky to have them in my life…
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 Whenever I happen to talk to a friend after 2-3 years I happen to be lost for words even though there are lots to be said.The conversation comes down to mere formalities like “how is your family doing? how’s your work? how’s the weather?”
 Today I am feeling the same as I am trying to think of something to write after such a long gap…there’s lots to write about only that I dont know which one to pick first… so i thought why not write about the weather!!!………
 Today’s weather was fairly good… sun was out and thus my mood was cheerful… I hate gloomy, dark days. Can’t get anything done. It’s like there is no motivation to get up and move. My (our) existence depends on the sun. But I suddenly realized that when in distress I never happen to pray to the “Sun-God” !!!  mmmmm… has me thinking…
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A day came when i thought that there was something dull about my balcony, mmmm the plants looked oky…was it the positioning of the chairs??? naaah… they seemed alright…there was something that needed to be there…

aila!!!   a bird feeder!!!    thats what was missing!!! 

oh how lovely it would be to watch those birds zooming towards my balcony…the thought of drinking my morning cup of coffee listening to them chirp, ahh…

and so that evening i merrily shopped for a bird feeder & accessories with my hubby who seemed excited too (even while swiping his card)…he usually is never happy by the time we reach the billing counter, whenever the clerk asks the usual ‘how are you today?’ he replies ‘fine fine,how are you?’ which might as well as translate to ‘how do you think i am? had i known my wife would make me spend so much, i would have taken dowry from my in-laws’…

and so the bird feeder was all set…now i just had to wait for the birds to show up & then it was chirpy days ahead…
day one passed without any sign of feathers…maybe the birds didnt know yet that there’s food for them here…but how do i tell them…do i stand in my balcony & shout aaaoo aaaoo aaaoo…no no no…i would sound as pathetic as SRK in DDLJ…

it rained heavily on day two — no birds…

i thought i heard something on day three and rushed to the window, but nothing…

day four –i started to think maybe i should have just got a goldfish set when i saw something red among the branches of the trees outside…there it was!!! a Finch!!! & wait, there was a brown one next to it!!! but they just seemed to be content with watching from the branches…come on,those seeds are for you to eat!!!

day five –they came! they saw!! they went!!!

day six–there they were, on the tree… i was thinking maybe the birds didnt like the colour of the feeder & should get a new one… or they didnt like the decor of the balcony, maybe i need to buy some more plants…
and then it happened!!! oh they started eating from the feeder!! my bird feeder!!! what a lucky day!!! in the following days, more birds started arriving…

and then we all lived happily ever after…well, atleast some of us…

it seemed that the birds were very picky, each one had its own favourite type of seed and would scatter the rest all over my balcony. on the first few days they would come only at a particular time of the day, after which i would clean my balcony of the scattered seeds, but with each passing day they got more & more comfortable & would come and go as they pleased. and each visit would mean another round of cleaning for me…phew!! this was more than i asked for…but who was to be blamed? my husband, of course!!! if he had never agreed to buy me the feeder, i wouldnt have to doze with the broom in hand next to the balcony door…

nevertheless, i made sure that there was always enough food for the birds…as the days went by, the birds became more civilized & there were fewer & fewer seeds on the floor…and as each day ended i went to bed happy that those birds were getting a balanced diet and would have a normal BMI…
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Recently when I was talking to one of my friends she happened to ask me “how come your accent hasn’t changed?” I almost choked on my coffee but later on as I was thinking about it, panic set in…
why hasent my accent changed?
oh no, will i be an outcast when i go back to India?
what are the chances of me getting an”accent” in the next few years?
if i dont get it, do i fake it? or by a stroke of luck if i do get the accent will people then start thinking that i am faking it?
having lived in both northern & southern parts of this country which accent should i be faking for the time being? 
oh my god, what will be the long term implications of this issue?will my son feel ashamed to introduce me as his mom to his friends?will no one marry my daughter?i am losing sleep over this…i already have lost 5 pounds over the past couple of weeks…
I better do something before its too late, but for the time being let me go & prepare for my presentation in class which i believe i will be giving in whatever accent i(dont)have, unless lightening strikes me & i start thinking i was born in London…