Chitra Aiyer
Amidst the Light
I have been tagged - thanks to Rohit and Ranjini. I now have to put down 16 things about myself. And here goes ...
1. A huge fan of the movies, but EXTREMELY selective of what I watch. Also, it is impossible to get me to say something is 'good' unless the movie really appeals to me in more ways than one. I attribute some of life's lessons to the movies. Think highly of Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Anthony Hopkins. You will find a list of the movies I like on my profile page.
2. Home is Bangalore. Home is California. Home is Kerala. And in no particular order. :)
I spent decent chunks of my childhood vacations in my native place in Kerala - some of my best memories are from then.
3. I am not gung-ho about adventure sports before I begin, but do enjoy it when I am in the moment - skiing, white water rafting, ocean kayaking are some of the activities I have done. I totally loved white water rafting. And ocean kayaking was quite spiritual in nature. :) I would really want to bungee jump some day. And sky diving, yeah that too!
I have taken plane flying lessons and have flown a small 2 seater Cessna a few times with a trained pilot. After I gained a little confidence, I did some fun topsy-turvy things up in the sky. While it was fun, it made me feel giddy too. LoL
4. A tad too sensitive about global issues - especially human rights issues, and children’s issues in particular. So, it takes a bit from me to keep abreast of world events, but I keep up, nevertheless.
5. As a kid, I couldn't stop talking; and now, I am quite the opposite - I quietened up and like how! I am happier being quiet. I am happier in a quiet place too. So, well, I am not a phone person. Also happen to not be a fan of SMSing.
While I maybe quiet, I can talk to practically anybody. :)
6. I appreciate easy, empathize easy, listen easy, stay alone easy, go without food easy, wish well easy, and always thank whole-heartedly.
7. While I love to cook, I am not a foodie by any measure. I just want to eat the most minimum necessary. And when you really test the limits, which I did for most of ‘08, you realise how little you actually "need".
And I am a vegetarian.
8. I am hardly materialistic. My wants are quite minimal. I am any ad guy's worst nightmare. LoL My one definite want is space; empty space. :) So I try and keep my home Spartan.
9. Enjoy music; it has come to be a constant BG. Wasn’t always like that. Can listen to all kinds of music, but prefer rock by far. I like Jim Morrison, Freddie Mercury. :)
Totally dig the attitudes of women rock stars .… like Pink’s and Avril Lavigne’s. :)) But if my daughter were to pick them for role models at a later stage … LOL I am leaving this incomplete .. :)
10. Totally take parenting seriously. :))
11. Growing up, we had a nice guava tree. I had means of getting to the terrace. After school, one of the first things I would do was to get to the terrace, and eat guavas off of the tree. Almost seems from another lifetime now!
12. Husband and I are very good at hitting the road and some of our memorable moments are from all our numerous road trips. The most memorable of all was this one to Oregon and back to the Bay Area, Calif. We did loads of coastal Calif and Oregon in that trip.
Something about road trips - liberating, spiritual, introspective, togetherness and more!
13. If I have to pick spots that have completely taken my breath away, then it would have to be the Crater lake, Mount Rainier, and the Pacific ocean (of course an ocean isnt a "spot").
14. I think there are 2 kinds of people* - the mountain kinds and the beach kinds. And I am a mountain person by far. :)
*Of course some can be both. :))
15. Love words - enjoy play of words and word games. I used to be a voracious reader, not so much anymore.
Invent word games to play with the kids to help build their vocabulary. The kids are pretty young, 3+ and 5+, but have a decent vocab. :)
16. If I have to pick any one thing that I completely believe in, then it would have to be 'Love'. :)
That’s it, folks. :) Phew! Looong!
And anybody who wants to take the tag up, please do.
Adios. Enjoy the weekend. :)
PS: I have emailed some of you who have responded here to take the tag up. Please do. It will be a lot of fun to read about you folks. :)
Amidst the Light
I have been tagged - thanks to Rohit and Ranjini. I now have to put down 16 things about myself. And here goes ...
1. A huge fan of the movies, but EXTREMELY selective of what I watch. Also, it is impossible to get me to say something is 'good' unless the movie really appeals to me in more ways than one. I attribute some of life's lessons to the movies. Think highly of Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Anthony Hopkins. You will find a list of the movies I like on my profile page.
2. Home is Bangalore. Home is California. Home is Kerala. And in no particular order. :)
I spent decent chunks of my childhood vacations in my native place in Kerala - some of my best memories are from then.
3. I am not gung-ho about adventure sports before I begin, but do enjoy it when I am in the moment - skiing, white water rafting, ocean kayaking are some of the activities I have done. I totally loved white water rafting. And ocean kayaking was quite spiritual in nature. :) I would really want to bungee jump some day. And sky diving, yeah that too!
I have taken plane flying lessons and have flown a small 2 seater Cessna a few times with a trained pilot. After I gained a little confidence, I did some fun topsy-turvy things up in the sky. While it was fun, it made me feel giddy too. LoL
4. A tad too sensitive about global issues - especially human rights issues, and children’s issues in particular. So, it takes a bit from me to keep abreast of world events, but I keep up, nevertheless.
5. As a kid, I couldn't stop talking; and now, I am quite the opposite - I quietened up and like how! I am happier being quiet. I am happier in a quiet place too. So, well, I am not a phone person. Also happen to not be a fan of SMSing.
While I maybe quiet, I can talk to practically anybody. :)
6. I appreciate easy, empathize easy, listen easy, stay alone easy, go without food easy, wish well easy, and always thank whole-heartedly.
7. While I love to cook, I am not a foodie by any measure. I just want to eat the most minimum necessary. And when you really test the limits, which I did for most of ‘08, you realise how little you actually "need".
And I am a vegetarian.
8. I am hardly materialistic. My wants are quite minimal. I am any ad guy's worst nightmare. LoL My one definite want is space; empty space. :) So I try and keep my home Spartan.
9. Enjoy music; it has come to be a constant BG. Wasn’t always like that. Can listen to all kinds of music, but prefer rock by far. I like Jim Morrison, Freddie Mercury. :)
Totally dig the attitudes of women rock stars .… like Pink’s and Avril Lavigne’s. :)) But if my daughter were to pick them for role models at a later stage … LOL I am leaving this incomplete .. :)
10. Totally take parenting seriously. :))
11. Growing up, we had a nice guava tree. I had means of getting to the terrace. After school, one of the first things I would do was to get to the terrace, and eat guavas off of the tree. Almost seems from another lifetime now!
12. Husband and I are very good at hitting the road and some of our memorable moments are from all our numerous road trips. The most memorable of all was this one to Oregon and back to the Bay Area, Calif. We did loads of coastal Calif and Oregon in that trip.
Something about road trips - liberating, spiritual, introspective, togetherness and more!
13. If I have to pick spots that have completely taken my breath away, then it would have to be the Crater lake, Mount Rainier, and the Pacific ocean (of course an ocean isnt a "spot").
14. I think there are 2 kinds of people* - the mountain kinds and the beach kinds. And I am a mountain person by far. :)
*Of course some can be both. :))
15. Love words - enjoy play of words and word games. I used to be a voracious reader, not so much anymore.
Invent word games to play with the kids to help build their vocabulary. The kids are pretty young, 3+ and 5+, but have a decent vocab. :)
16. If I have to pick any one thing that I completely believe in, then it would have to be 'Love'. :)
That’s it, folks. :) Phew! Looong!
And anybody who wants to take the tag up, please do.
Adios. Enjoy the weekend. :)
PS: I have emailed some of you who have responded here to take the tag up. Please do. It will be a lot of fun to read about you folks. :)