Obligatory Transition Post - Confessions of the Chocolate Obsessed to Cookie Crumbs Inc.

Sometimes there are those things in your life which are precious but redundant. You carry them along on your journeys but your steps become slower, for the weight of the past keep pulling you down. Every once in a while, you need to shake yourself free and start afresh, even only if it is to ensure that you are walking in the right direction.…

.......Blahblahdoodlespapoodleladeedaa...

....

....... I could bore you with more speeches about what Confessions of the Chocolate Obsessed meant to me and my reasons for wanting a whole new place to write at or I could just throw the figurative door wide open and say “Welcome, have a cookie, won’t you?”

PC: Here

Poke around, see if you like anything, let me know if something doesn’t work, drop a line. Or two.
As for me, I start again from scratch. This time, the writer is going to be an adult (so to speak) who has spent a decent amount of time making lemonade in life, paid her own bills and fought with herself and everything she stands for to invest in a Kindle.

In a nutshell, welcome to the next phase of my life. 
Cookie Crumbs Inc.

PC: Here

P.S: I’d also suggest you invest in a bag of Chips Ahoy! and grab a glass of milk to go with it. They really should start paying me for the amount of good PR I do for them, no?
P.P.S: I was serious about the ‘lemme know if something doesn’t work’ bit.
P.P.S.S: I hate Wordpress -_- Justsaying.
P.P.P.S.S: Blogging when you’re supposed to be working be the shitza :P And I’m sure you’ll agree. 

FMS Prompts: # 1...

...that thing that happened in high school that pretty much changed your life forever.

***

I lost a friend.

In Grade 10, she sat next to me. She was a nice person, always smiling, always ready to help. But you know how high school kids can get, I was snooty about how much she talked to boys (trust me, I want to go back and slap myself too). But we still were good friends, we got through our first hurdle in the academic world, board exams, together. And in Grade 11, she shifted to another section but we still had lunch together, all of us. I loved the alu sabzi that her mom used to send with her lunch and she always put a little extra in my dabba while it was being passed around.

I think she had always liked me more than I liked her.

I remember the day clearly,  classes had been cancelled and three of us were sitting there in the last bench and laughing our heads off without any reason. You know, one of those times when you start laughing at ANYTHING and you can’t stop even though your stomach hurts - two straight hours at the end of the day we laughed.

That’s when three other friends came and said that this girl had passed away, nobody knew what happened and why. I sobered up like someone doused me with cold water but I didn’t believe it. I thought someone was playing a big, fat, sick prank. Then her Class In-Charge confirmed the news.

I won’t go into any more detail but to this day none of us know what happened to her, all we know was that she had asthma. I just never saw her after that, like she never existed except in my mind and memories.

The absolute worst part is that I didn’t remember the last time I spoke to her, the last conversation, exchange we had. I still can’t remember.

Her mom came to see us when we passed out of school and it was all I could do not to run away because I kept thinking how she would feel seeing all of us decked up and happy when her daughter wasn’t around.

I remember feeling incredibly guilty for being alive when she wasn’t.

And it subtly changed a 16 year old forever. From then on I have always kept a certain distance from people. I have made but one friend who is super close, everyone else was and is dispensable. I know it doesn’t say much for me as a friend but when I love, I love wholly without restraint, without any kind of self-preservation and if I lose that person, I know I won’t be strong enough to handle the devastation.

It took me a long time to work out why I never made the first move to make friends (because otherwise I am not antisocial and I love to horse around with everyone), I never keep in touch completely, I never put my all into keeping my friends together like everyone my age does. It might not be the lesson I should have learnt but yeah.

Dharani, I will always remember you for that million-watt genuinely happy smile that you were so ready with.

***

P.S: Sorry about kicking off on a sad note.

P.P.S: Leave your prompt challenge post links in the comments, please.

I really, really...

...want to do this. I have long admired Fat Mum Slim and her innovative ideas, tried the #fmsphotoaday a couple of times (and crashed and burned big time before the week was up) and have been secretly stalking her virtually all over the place.

I am (in)famous for leaving things incomplete - a dozen drafts, short stories, unpenned abstracts, laundry, sentences, ideas, messages, conversations... all hanging in the air like a menacing cloud as proof. This will be my one last shot to get myself to complete something, anything on the blog. I can be a little proud of myself for having the discipline, this way.

So, I'm thinking I'll do one topic a day for however long I can (and hopefully complete all 50 by mid-October-ish). And any of y'all want to do the challenge with me, leave your links below each post and I'll link back up in each post. Starting tomorrow? (This is me giving my OCD for starting things on a Monday or on a 1st a shove in the face.) 

Blogger discipline, here I come.
I think.

The One With The Makeover

So I finally found the inspiration to give ze pore ole blog a makeover, as best as I can. Updated the pages, found my long-lost awards page and showcased all my puranewale banners. The social media icons actually work this time and I am so proud that I did it myself AND got it right :P

But the creme de la creme is the banner; I realized, after my very first one, I never had a banner with chocolate in it, so I went overboard with this one. Two whole days of obsessive not-working-in-the-office and staying late (for the fast Wi-Fi) has payed off with the results you see. 

That's before and after, right there.

Anyhoo, the thing is, I never promote my blog in the real world, I don't share it on my personal Facebook. I never told my colleagues I had a blog even and when people ask me to give them the link, I brush it off and change the topic. Not that it is difficult to find if you know my real name, but still. I always thought it's because I write a lot of personal stuff on the blog, details, that I am more myself here than I can ever be in real life (because I find it difficult to open up in real life, as it turns out), but I realised yesterday that it's because I simply care too much.

The blog has become a very big part of me, it's highs and lows reflecting the highs and lows of my own life. I am immensely proud of everything that I have put in here (blonde, shrill, stupid posts included) and I am immensely proud of what the blog has given me. So when someone reads the blog for the first time, I get real nervous about what they will have to say. And I'd rather not show them, than hear something negative. Sensitive like that, I suppose. Not healthy, I know.

I'll stop with the Oscar speech now. Temme how you like the new stuff. And if anything doesn't work the way its supposed to. And if its taking too long to load.

And most importantly, thank YOU people, you know who you are. The ones who have stuck by through all the disappearing acts and still come back to check if there is a new post. Still say that you look forward to new posts. The fact that I still have comments despite not having been active around here in forever has been the biggest motivator to get going again.

Thanks a ton.

I Confess, I Cheated

Do you know what it's like to cheat on someone? Someone you love very much? Someone who has done so much for you, someone who's presence is why you still exist and have some pride in yourself, some self-worth?
One day, everything seems perfect, like you have everything you'll ever need from anyone and the next, you have slipped on the (w)hoary edges and fallen into the icy depths of faithlessness. 


You know it's wrong and the first few times you even try to stop. The guilt eats into your very soul invading your every thought, every action. You can't stop thinking about all the good times you have had, the kind gestures, the joy and the comfort of just having someone to call your own. You can't stop evaluating if it's worth it, if it's worth giving all that up for a few moments of pure pleasure. But once you start, you can't but go on until thoughts cease to exist and only ecstasy prevails. 


But they say, acceptance is the first step to cure. 
I confess, I cheated.


I am married to Words and I cheated. 


It was just one time, one action. I had even forgotten the Pinterest password. I did not even have an account on Instagram or weheartit. I pooh-poohed their advances and used them for my convenience. I used them all to make Words happy. I made Words meet them too, in hope that every time I feel like slipping, I will remember the scene of both of them together and be assured of who was better. 


But alas, they did catch up with me; they lured me in with the indescribable beauty they radiate, a beauty that the secret, crappy photographer in me lusted after. They made me their unchained slave, they brought me to my knees and do their bidding without so much as a bad internet connection... so much as 300 repins in a day. I became a junkie, I was out of control. Looking at beautiful photos from all over the world, funny quotes and out-of-this-world food porn till my battery drained out. No amount of control could stop me from getting out of bed without atleast 20 repins from Pinterest. I craved for Instagram's attention; I started taking pictures like a maniac on weed, JUST to impress her. I even pinned and hearted at the same time. 


Words never said a word. I'm sure he knew, which only made it worse. Slowly, I started making excuses to Words. I said, "I am busy with assignments, I need time to sort things out." Then I started outright lying, "I don't like your new interface, there is a general lull, none of my friends are here anyway." He still never said anything. Every time I opened Blogger, I felt the acidic guilt and the painful sadness of a relationship once cherished. And every time I turned away and went back, coward that I was.


Today, I scrolled down my baby with no intention of posting anything, when the archives' count caught my attention and screamed out at me all the abuses that Words refused to say to me. Words always kept faith in my love, never asked for anything in return. And somehow, like a bolt of lightning, sense prevailed while I realized where my true loyalties lie.


I might slip, I might fall. 
I might even go several miles on the wrong path. 
But I will always come back to you, my love.
For I'm married to you.
And I married you for a reason.


I'm sorry for all the hurt.
I promise to write and make it go away.
I promise to make it up to you any way I need to.
For I know you deserve much better.


I love you, Words.
Always did. Always will.


P.S: This was whimsical, to say the least :D
P.P.S: I know a picture says a 1000 words but without those words how does the picture intend to convey it's beauty to all and sundry? I became a picture junkie for a while but now I'm back where I belong :)
P.P.S.S: This is one way of making it up to Words, not using any pictures for the post :P

:)

Happy Blogoversary, Confessions of the Chocolate Obsessed.

Picture Courtesy: Varun Nanda

Merci.

It's been a wonderful three years.

Blog Makeover 101

I swore not to write abstracts because 
1) I tend to wander and get lost and write four page long 'philosophy' (which makes perfect sense to me but may not for you) that I'm sure you don't want to read.
2) Too many people already do. And they do it faaar better than me.
But I was surprised that so many people liked my abstract, thank you:)


***
Let me harp for a minute here.
You know how important the layout of any blog is? Well, it is. Very important, that is. 
Content is still king but a shabby blog puts off readers, while a well-aligned, well put-together blog, that reflects you personality... who you are, can earn you followers. More importantly, you rub your hands in satisfaction every time you look at your page, for you know that it was all you.


I have been meaning to write a post on these lines for some time now, but I don't have the technical expertise to. I learn through trial-and-error so I'm not sure I should be doling out advice. So when the Moolady asked me if she could guest post about this, I jumped right at it.


For those who don't know the Moolady, here's presenting Sumitra Madireddy from The Daily Moo. She's been making some changes on her blog and I have to say, I'm pretty awed by the way she's put together all of it.


Over to her now:
Six Steps to a Beautiful Blog

Hi there! I recently gave my blog a complete makeover, and I’d like to share a few things I learnt in the process.

Last year I started a baking blog. I wanted it to look delicious. So, I decided to hire a designer instead of doing it myself. The design was really amazing, it cost me only $50. This year for my personal blog I went back to the same designer. Guess what? They’d upped their charges to $500! Wow, right!

Being a true blue Indian, I decided to “make it at home for free”. Since I worked with the designer last year, I realized that it’s actually not a very difficult job. It would probably take me longer to finish, but that was okay with me.

So here I am, blog complete, and I really like how it turned out. I spent a lot of time on it, sometimes even trashing everything and starting over. In the end, it was worth the effort.

Here I present, the 6-step guide to a blog makeover!

Note: These tips are best suited for the Blogger platform. I’m assuming you know your way around the Blogger ‘Design’ tab.

Step 1: Choose a Design

A blog design could be simple, photo or graphic. There could be several others too, but these are the most basic ones.

Simple blog designs don’t have images, just the blog name done in a very elegant font, maybe with a few geometric shapes or patterns. Photo designs are based around photographs – of yourself, your family, or your work. Graphic designs use illustrations – we’ll talk more about these in a while.

Step 2: Choose a Header Image

The next step is to select the images you want to place in the header. If you already have your own photographs to work with, then great! Else, you’ll have to scourge the net for suitable images. And also deal with copyrights and permissions.

The easiest way of getting permission to use an image, is to buy it. Professional designers ask you to choose something from a stock image website like iStockphoto and charge you extra for it. But of course, you can always look for freebies and use them with the owner’s permission.

Illustrations can really brighten up your blog, just like the cow on mine. Try to choose vector images. Unlike bitmap ones, they are made of strokes and not pixels. So you can change the size of the graphic without worrying about losing resolution. Just google ‘free vector images’ and you’ll get a ton of options available for free download. That’s how I found that adorable cow.

Step 3: Create the Header

You need a graphics or image editing software to do this, like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. So beg, borrow or bug the hell out of your boyfriend/best friend/colleague, whoever it is that gets you software. And then it’s design time! There are so many options to play around with; you’ll be lost in it for hours. If you don’t have access to these, try free software such as Gimp.

Start by deciding how you want to place the image, the type of font you would like to use for the blog title, etc. Here on, it’s totally your baby.

Step 4: Create a Background

A blog background can be a solid color or patterned. You could use free downloads, there are lots. They give you a piece of code to add as a Gadget and you’re done. Shabbyblogs has some good options.

Pretty wallpaper patterns with florals, polka dots, stripes, etc. are also available for free. You need to upload the image as a background through the Blogger Template Designer. Make sure you search for ‘seamless’ patterns, because the image will repeat itself and you don’t want ugly lines running throughout the background of your blog.

I created the background on my blog using Illustrator. I put a bunch of coloured circles in a seamless row and then uploaded the image to Blogger. It was easy and worked just fine.

Step 5: Choose the template

Now you need a template to put everything together. The new Blogger Template Designer has some wonderful options, you need to choose the one works best with your header and background. Not happy with the Blogger templates? There are countless free ones available out there. Take your pick!

After installing the template, upload the header and background. You might have to play around a little with the sizes and positioning before you get it right.

Step 6: Choose Fonts

Template Designer comes with some amazing fonts. Try out different combinations of fonts and colors till like what you see.

And, you’re done!

Some Useful Tips:

Pay attention to colors: A good practice is to go with the ones that are in the header image. For instance, I've worked with all the colors on the cow. The blog title is in eye-patch color, the circles in the background are from the snout, and the tab & sidebar colors are from the hooves.

Keep it simple: This is of course, not mandatory, but I like to follow it. You don’t want a very loud design that takes focus away from your content. I prefer to keep the post background white, that way, people don’t have to strain their eyes while reading.

Study Other Blogs: Take a look at several blogs before you decide on yours, so you’ll have many options to work with. Some of the good blog designers are: Designerblogs and Dcrdesign. Looking at their samples can give you some good ideas.

Use Tutorials: I couldn't stress on this point enough. There’s nothing that you can’t find a tutorial for online. Found something fancy on another blog that you want? Most likely, there will be a tutorial for it somewhere. Use Google, people!

These are the major tips I could think of. Please let me know if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. 

Take care, and a huge thanks to PeeVee for letting me use her space to get these tips out to all you folks out there!

Well, now GO. Go pretty up your blog. Spare one day (it takes only one, even lesser, if you're really interested) to liven up the space that is part of you.

OH and she's making Bill Watterson proud with her Giveaway. Go enter.

P.S: Another awardee for the 'Rok My Sox' Award:) See!

And I'll Be Back

I’m sorry about not updating like a Mad-Hatter that I used to be. Nia wrote a post and it made me all guilty about the kind of crap I have been churning out for my blog these days. Most of it, just for the heck of it. I see the quality of my writing taking a serious hit; The Bike Ride and Real Beauty were so much better than Of Simple Lives and Raindrops and I’m sure you’d more than agree with me.

There was a time when I used to write for myself. A time when each piece I wrote took me an hour and a half, intense involvement and thoroughly furrowed eyebrows to conjure up. A time when each word I wrote made me happy, made me feel the emotion. A time when I finished typing and I’d be overcome with a feeling of intense satisfaction, one of having done something useful. A time when I used to be proud of having written that piece, so much so that I run around asking people to read it (regardless of whether they wanted to or not). Writing good stories and pieces get me high like nothing else does.

Somewhere along the way, I started posting to accommodate the growing number of followers; I started to think in terms of what they’ll want to read rather than what I’d want to write about. I started being increasingly random, I cooked up fiction that I did not feel just so that I’d keep up the posting frequency; each post giving me increasing amount of inferiority complexes about the poor quality of my own writing. I consoled myself saying that if people don’t criticize the posts, then it doesn’t matter. I refused to acknowledge that criticism is not a part of the blogger world; we just do not say it out loud.

I started using my blog to get back at people person/s, I know I should have drawn the line then but the stupid part of me egged the sensible part on. I took up a brainless meme, which I hate seeing in my archives now.

The trick is to find that fine line between what I feel and what readers want to read. I realize now, that I’ll be proud of my blog only when I love every single post. And while posting frequency matters, quality matters even more. To me, atleast.

What was once a source of immense pleasure and inspiration, has become a chore; reading blogs, ones that I love and ones that I discover. I have hated leaving comments in the last few days for I left them just for the heck of it. I haven’t even been able to do full justice to DOV. The writer in me wilts at all these.  

I’ve decided to take a break for a week (I doubt if I’ll be able to keep away even that long and I have to block myself on Google to stop me from posting anything) but I have to do this if I want to be proud of what I write once again, something that means a lot to me in the long run. I think of this as a cleansing process of sorts, kinda like getting my head out of the dung it seems to be stuck in and airing it out a little bit.

Do NOT get me wrong, I still am as obsessed with Blogger and the writer in me still breathes for those lovely comments and mails that I get but I just need to find a way to go back to what I was when I came to Blogger first.

My not-so-new maxim

Do wait around for I’ll be back with better PeeVeeness.

P.S: No blogging crisis here. No depression. Just thoughts of having gotten stuck in a place I don’t want to be in.

P.P.S: I just wrote out a whole post bitching about somebody who has made it their sole aim to annoy the crap out of my life, the shame at the vitriol and sheer violence of the post made these realizations surface. At least Annoyer was helpful that way. And special thanks to Spiff, who has somehow become that person I go to when I'm extremely frustrated.

P.P.S.S: After more than three years, I still love my post scripts:) At least some things haven’t changed.

P.P.P.S.S: Prithvi, Shreya and Viya, you guys are the mantals :P I was reading through my Twitter timeline only to realize that we make absolutely NO SENSE:D

P.P.P.S.S.S: Does anybody else think that a grown up, seemingly non-retarded person who spells pretty as ‘pwetty’ should be shot? At least in the ankle? No? Sad.

Parinda Joshi's London Tale

Author: Parinda Joshi
Publisher: Rupa and Co
ISBN: 978-8129118233
Genre: Fiction


‘Live from London’ is a chick-lit(?) by Parinda Joshi set in hip London and society Mumbai. It’s quite a simple tale of a girl, her dreams, career, disappointments and how she gets over them to make it big. 

Starting with an epic fail on the stage of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, the author takes us through Nishi Gupta’s quest to get her big break and find her niche. Her internship with a big record label company crosses her paths with those of Nick Navjot Chapman, the handsome American Idol runner-up, and the seemingly surreptitious affair that ensues adds another dimension to her life. Though, contrary to claim, it is far from steamy.

Life teaches her some lessons in friendship, trust and broken hearts before she decides to follow her parents back to her roots. She is surprised to find India so much more advanced than when she left. The ensuing events, including a larger-than-life, unfazed ‘Mom’s friend’s son’, a series of half-hearted attempts to find work, social mess ups, a couple of fashion disasters and an unexpected visitor, put Nishi where exactly she wants to be.

Nishi’s characterisation makes me think of the new breed of young, strong, independent women trying to break free of the shadows of parental concern and the shackles of the tag of a newbie in the workplace. Though she breaks down at failure, she is quick to bounce back, that too with The Plan. 

What I admired is that she asserts herself as one not to be cuckolded in love. When she finds out what Nick did, she is quick with her dismissal. No moaning and groaning and whiny dialogues or all-night-over-ice-cream-bitching to friends. But at certain points she does come across as slightly teenager-ish and air-headed.

While some other characters have distinct quirks and traits like the blunt Sarah and the over-protective thoroughly Indian mother (who reminds me of the line “you can take an Indian out of India but never the India out of an Indian), most others seem dispensable. The fact that she doesn’t go to her friends at the darkest times of her life even after she has repeatedly reinstated that they are her support system, irks.

The climax wraps up most of the loose ends, but fails to impress without scope to even second guess. What could have been a very different tale of contemporary feminine victory ends up being just another story of the princess and her frog (of sorts). But maybe I expect too much.

The writing style is simple; the lingo and intended(?) clichés add fun. The fashion and music references hold value to an enthusiast. 

The cover is interesting (there are three, as I understand) but there are no illustrations in the entire story, not even caricatures or sketches (I’m very partial to pictures in a story, call me juvenile).

Overall, Live from London is a read you’ll get through once when you’re stuck in the hostel with nothing else to do and your Agatha Christie has been stolen by your stupid friend.

I would give it 5.5 out of 10.

And I can’t help admit that I’m jealous of Nishi Gupta’s red guitar. But that's just me.

Thank you, BlogAdda, for the opportunity.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda. Participate now to get free books!

How To Scare the BEJESUS Out Of A Blogger

First off, thank you to all those who commented on my last post, I haven't published them yet but each and every comment meant a lot. It was a post from the heart and your comments were equally so.

And how can I not mention those who don't read the post and yet comment, thanks guys.

***

Thanks Prithvi and Arjit for trying to help on Twitter, I still can't reply though.


***
Moving onto what I really wanted to say,

Here I am, happy me, browsing away to glory and on a blog-commenting spree when suddenly the good folks of Google decide to have some fun with my account and blocked it.

I get a "your account has been disabled for security reasons" out of the blue and guess what happened,

I HAD A goddamned STROKE.

After going through my own version of 127 hours minutes, incessantly complaining about it to everybody who'd listen and trying hard not to annoy him or my BFF (for they have submissions tomorrow), I check back to find it activated and immediately publish a post just to prove to myself and Blogger that I can.

What a relief it is, you have NO idea.

I heart you, Blog.

Don't do that to me again.

How do I back up posts, anyone?

The Monday Pitch (2)

Unlike Facebook where you just become invisible, Twitter lets people know that they have been blocked. Sad, that.
Why? 
Because it's embarrassing for the blockee and induces them to write whole posts about the blocker. Go meet Suresh, people.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four photographers for you:
Hari Menon is an established photographer. I love his monos. Mush lovers, do NOT forget to check out his 'For Love' folder.
Naveen Krishnan is my classmate's cousin. Some class-act work he has. I love just browsing through the page when I'm all bleh.
Vishnu Vipin and Subin Kurian are classmates friends of mine, just starting out. Talented, even if I say so myself. They need all the encouragement they can get and tips on improvement, do head over.


1) On a related note, there is this lady who's been saving up to buy a camera but it's never worked out for her till now. This is Sameera's poem on her SLR dream.
2) There are some real stories that you read that make you think, "This is exactly what I want!! This is MY story". Pepper, with her inimitable style, narrates her iPod story and makes me time travel into the future. My future. 
3) There's some class stuff on Darlings of Venus about what the girls think about virginity. Check out the month's discussion corner.
4) MSM managed to choke me up several time with this. Spiff too, over here. What is it with these girls? Making me cry all the time:(
5) And Akila stttttteeeeaaammmed us up with her three part series. Read it in order though.
Lastly, Nirvana is mean. She's mean for making me link back to her every week. But if I didn't this time for this, then there's no point even having the Monday Pitches.


Oh and I guest-posted for Spiff.
Keep it together, people. We'll say TGIF before we know it.

P.S: I have a crush on Mila Kunis since "Friends With Benefits". Yes, she's that hot. 
P.P.S: I'm going home tomorrow *duckdanceisback* :D

The Monday Pitch (1)

In spite of Calvin and Hobbes, Mondays are bad.
And I'm sure the whole goddamn world will agree with me that that is an understatement. Since I'm too mind-effed by Mondays, I'm changing mine to "promote-awesome-posts-I-read" day.
No more explanations needed, I presume.

It's double purpose too.
See, here's the thing. I always wanted to do a meme.
And I get maximum updates on my dashboard on Sundays.
AND I read such good stuff sometimes that FB share doesn't do justice to.
So it works out well for everyone.
Anyway, here goes the very first one.

Oh and thank you Chintan, for the idea.

So there's this person, Kalpak, who's obsessed with potty. And he 'had a conversation with God'. No, not the regular grant-me-this-and-I'll-break-100-coconuts kind. Another kind.
If that doesn't pique your interest, nothing will:D

Deeps wrote a poem, her first one I guess. Honesty shines through and I love the feeling dripping through it.

I love this picture. More for the caption.
Grills and netting of that sort hold a lot of memories for me. Tons.

I have always had a deep-rooted weakness for mother-sentiments:) I place my own above all else and I think that there's no greater deal in this world than bringing a child up.
I have always thought my mother was the most harried of all, what with bringing the three of us up, more so because of a lot of reasons. But here's a mother who shares her plight of harried mornings, a wonderful read:D
And the picture at the end is a real treat!

Sugar and Spice has a very, very interesting conversation with Mark. Oh him only, apna Zuckerbergwala :P And she continues treading winding paths of her life, immeasurably chastened:P

My namesake has written so lovingly about hair, not with the least bit of frivolity that you'd expect from a teenager but with a depth that you'll feel only when you read. And I'm also looking forward to the post Farzana of Bit and Pieces writes for the same contest. Have you seen her hair? Oh my.

So there you go:) Hope you like them all.

I'll be back tomorrow with either how I ate my heart out or about how Karma is not a bitch;P

P.S: I have a strong suspicion that my mother is lurking about over here.
Momsuey, if you're here LE BLAH to you:P And stop sneaking around and comment somewhere.

# 1 - Spiff's Sensible Sense

I have plugged her so many times that GPR crawlers are going to penalize me for it:D

Presenting to you,
Spaceman Spiff, the one who makes Senseless Sense? Sensible Nonsense? go round.
No need for any long drawn out intros, she's already guest-posted for me.
And you already know she's awesome (Note: No exclamation mark).

She's here because she wrote a whole goddamn poem for my blog:D
Just for the record, not even my boyfriend has done that for me in all the time we have been together;P
So to say I was flattered would be the understatement of the bleddy century.

I remember the first time I chanced upon her blog from God-knows-where at 1 a.m during my summer break. I also remember having stayed up till 6.30 a.m digging through her archives and laughing so loudly that I woke the neighbors. No kidding.

She's that kinda person who defies definition. In a good way.
She's spontaneous, straight-forward, subtly feminine in a very non-shrieky way.
She's The Grammar Nazi. So what else do you expect, other that perfectly worded and properly punctuated sentences, a rarity in itself over here. No frills, no fancy, yet never fails to hit the nail right on the head.

And she's oh-so-sarcastically funny.
She has this way of making up phrases and expressions that I can't stop chortling at.
Examples:  Her Maa Junior episode, her movie review and her food guide.

She doesn't stick to being ONLY funny either. Damn woman went and made me bawl like a baby with her tribute to her friend's motherhood. Her affection for her near and dear bring out the best in her and her beliefs are strong and sensible. She is also 'ye piroud mellu'.

And it's not like she sticks to one genre, the world is fodder for her posts. I really envy the novel ideas she come up with like the 'what's in your bag' kinda post, her own 'crappy' signature and nails. Yes, NAILS.

She has a wishlist as well, one that tops everything I have seen till date:P

And she's also one of that breed I mentioned yesterday, the one who actually reads your post and comments a mini-post in reply. AND comes back to check if you've replied. Model reader, she is.

Like I have been harping on and on about, go read her frikkin' archives. Yes, ALL of you, even those who have been following her for some time now. Gold mine for you, that. Don't worry, her page loads eons faster than mine does:P

# 1 - Scribblings Far From Atrocious

Ladies and gentle the mans, presenting to you...

'Atrocious Scribblings' is what he calls himself and he has the nicest things to say about my blog:P But make no mistake, he doesn't sugar-coat and calls a spade, an axe exactly a spade.

We first met over his comment on an ode to my best friend. In the next comment he mentioned having exams and not studying and I remember being vaguely worried in passing (I'm paranoid about exams; doesn't matter if I'm writing them or someone else is). Then I dropped over to his blog and thoroughly liked what I saw.

We never chatted like I did with the girls, we never became bosom buddies, but he has become one of my principal male readers, a valued one. For he's honest; he doesn't go 'oooooh, superbly fantastically brilliant post' when he doesn't mean it.

His blog is as random as mine is, no particular genre to it. But unlike usual guy blogs, is not abstruse or techie or filled with descriptions of his girlfraand's amazing-smelling hair. One thing his posts never fail to do is make you snort with laughter. Right from his very first.

www.atrociouscribblings.blogspot.com

His language is what impressed me most. Very precise without being stiff, not too pompous or pretentious yet not trashy and sms-ey. No verbal diarrhea whatsoever, he keeps it mostly short and clean. He uses proper, non-conversational words and still manages to convey the emotion/situation very well (unlike me who is most comfortable in English, even over her mother tongue, and yet uses Hindi and Malayalam expressions to bring in that exact feeling).

I have a special respect for guys who aren't afraid to emote (genuinely). They tend not to get touchy-feely unless they are fourteen and oh-so-in-lowe but AS's birthday post for his mother was truly a gem. I'm sure his mother, if she ever read/s it, would be very proud and even more touched. And if that was touching, his 'reunion' with a long-lost-never-met cousin contests for attention with Bollywood itself:D

He makes you drool (in completely different ways) with Kakao Brownies and cars. And his one serious post makes you think about a tiny yet hugely significant thing. He's just gone ahead and jumped right into the crux of the matter - no frills. The fact that he even felt bad for the dog made me respect him more (being the self-proclaimed animal-crazie that I am).

AND the best part about him being my blog reader? He's one of the very, very few who checks back to see if I have replied to comments. 

That is something that means a lot to me. For it shows that you're truly interested in what I have to say to you.

One thing he lacks is posting frequency but I don't blame him with his 3 month-long exams and all. But I could use more scribbled atrocities (are you LISTENING, A.S?). And he needs more readers, people to read all the sensibly funny stuff that he churns out. Maybe that'll prod him into writing more often. 

Anybody, pliss to oblige? (expression © chintan gupta:D)

Head right over to Atrocious Scribblings, peepuls.

P.S: Let me know if you have any badge preferences, A.S. Thank you for your wonderful comment and hope you like this:)

P.P.S: In case you STILL haven't guessed, this was the promised post about my favorite commentor on my 100th post.

P.P.S.S: # 1 is shared by two bloggers... post about the other one will be up tomorrow!!:)

Break Out The Champagne, Please.

EXTREMELY LONG POST with plugs, proceed at your own risk.

I have been itching to write this post for a looong time and now that I’m actually getting to write it, words fail me like never before. I never thought, when I got back to blogging in June, that I’d take it so seriously, that blogging would become so much a part of me, that it would be something that I’d come to be proud of, something I’d be willing to work hard for.

*insert appropriate bgm*

Ahem. Now that I’m done being all senti and mental about my blogging superpowers (or the lack of them), let’s get down to actually boring your head off because, for once, I’m going to harp my head away without feeling guilty about it:P

So finally here I am, at a milestone in my career (yes, I take writing THAT seriously), typing down my 100^th post and talking nonsense celebrating my patience for having stuck to it more than anything most else.

Not many people know that ‘Confessions Of The Chocolate Obsessed’ left behind ‘Hand In The Cookie Jar’ and ‘Incoherent Ramblings On Life’, both of which had 15 odd followers and absolutely no activity except that of my friends. Now I know that chocolate, as always, has been my savior of sorts.

216 followers, 40 networked blog followers, 1645 comments, 92 page likes, 20,700+ page views later, I realize that without these (not so impressive but very, very important personally) statistics, I’d just be another person talking to myself in the virtual world (thank you, Chandana, for that VERY appropriate expression).

Every single follower was (and still is) greeted with an impromptu duck dance that surprised the living shit out of people around and every new comment to moderate was greeted with a silly, gloppy grin which would have made Goofy proud.

I gave my blog a makeover when I got to 200 followers, a feature I’d only envied on other blogs till then. I took me a lot of effort to control myself from putting up a post about it then, for I was waiting for this. Great big hugs to Swathika (it's SUCH a pretty name, you bum) for being my 200^th, thank you also for being on my post judging panel.

While the old header was special for a lot of reasons, I realized that with a name and a header like that my blog should contain more of chocolate-based stuff, which it didn’t. This one is more comprehensive of who I am, things that define me, my interests, my loves in life – beaches, coffee, fashion, tattoos, family, love, friends, dreams, babies, teddy bears, animals, photography, clouds, sharpies… make me happy (among other things). Other changes included the addition of a ‘fiction’ tab, a ‘now reading’ (ty, Psych Babbler, for the idea), a 'guest post' (if you want to guest post for me or the other way around, do check) and hopefully, a page which loads faster (does it?).

I’ve had help, a lot of it, reaching here. Thank you..

..Farzana, you’re the best inspiration a person can get, blog look wise. And your hair makes me sigh every time.

..Chandana, for being so unique and being able to make mundane things most interesting.

..Red, for being an enigma and the most-straightforward chick ever.

..Maithili, for Darlings of Venus (BEST idea EVER) and your whodunits which have me hooked, every time.

..Pradeeta, for adding mysticism to my reading life, for the sheer attention to detail and the wonderful way you spin stories out of nothing.

..Divya, for being Spiff:D For being that older sister-like figure, being so goddamn funny, for making up expressions that I keep thinking about and laughing (and making people think that I’m a nutcase) and commenting IN DETAIL on almost all my posts.

..Soumya, for being you. Just that. And your dark, deep poems.

..Srinidhi, for being the first one ever to have loved my stories in the blog world, for telling me I write well, for giving me the confidence to go on.

..PsychBabbler, for making so much sense about so very many things, for Pebbles.

I’m not a girly girl much as you’d argue otherwise. I can give anyone a run for their money on NFS and Blur and be rational too:P I value the guys who are around as well.

..Atrocious Scribblings – for actually reading my posts fully and appreciating my work so much. Doesn’t hurt that you put up pictures of the most sexiest cars around.

..Sushmit – for MAILING me with your appreciation, you will NEVER know how much it meant to me, that mail.

..Phatichar, for that brilliant series of yours. For trusting me with the story.

..Bikram, for making me smile or think with every post of yours. For letting your true personality shine through the blog.

..Anshul, for being so goddamn abstract that it gives me a complex most of the time:D For making a different kind of sense.

..aJ and Ashwin, for liking my work and for having disappeared -_- (please get the sarcasm)

Also, how can I NOT mention,

..KN., dude, you rock. Pakistanis rock. You called me pretty and I spent the whole day flying around:P

..Pinx, for being my bichdi hui twin, for calling ME an inspiration.

..Viya, Deepthi, AnjLi, Akila, Serendipity, Confused Soul, Panipuri Lover, Risha and Vinati, for being part of ‘us, girls’.

..Chintan, for that brutal, blunt tongue of yours and refreshing honesty.

..Induchi, for being patient about my constant 'she's getting...' song and putting up with my obsessiveness.

..Amma, who doesn't for the life of her get why I'm so excited about blogging.

..Nandu, for being there. For letting me say what exactly I feel, when I feel it, letting me rail, jump around for all kinds of reasons, prodding me on and sharing my ecstasy and not giving in to the urge to divorce me:P
For 'getting' me. 

And muchas gracias to every single one of you who commented and liked the way I write.

In case any of you are still reading, thanks to you too, for not falling asleep:P

What's in it for you guys?


Two things:
1) Comment and tell me what you like best and what you detest about my blog/writing and the one I like most will win a whole post dedicated to you and your blog. And obviously a plug as well. (My judgement, enter only if you'll agree to that. Also, more than one winner might also be chosen).
AND if you'd like it, I'll make you a badge, either a winner-of-contestwala or a fancy one for your own blog. (I'm not making it beforehand for I want to customize it according to the winner's blog and personality.)
SO GET CREATIVE, PEEPULS.

2) Anything you want to know about blogging, technical AND otherwise, critiques for your own blogs that you want.. ask me and I'll try to answer/oblige as well as I can. Or I'll find out from somebody who does and let you know.

So with that, two milestones I cross, looking forward to crossing two more someday...

And this is me seizing the moment to say

HIT IT!!

(Do it with me, people.. Shake that thang!)

P.S: And anybody who can make it here, to my place, in the next three days will be given chocolates and homemade coffee&cake and anything else I happen to make on that day.