RACONTEUR-ESQUE SCRIBBLINGS

Err… the only thing missing was the sun, because it rained. It started out as a warm sunshiny day. A big group of people in teal coloured t-shirts were gathered at one of the pergolas waiting in excited anticipation for the event of the year (the proof lies in the fact that for the past two weeks at least, if you met someone else and intended to have some small t alk, the obvious fodder for conversation would include: A) who you are bringing along for the event; B) wh at do you plan to wear (obviously the teal coloured t-shirt is compulsory, but what goes with it is entirely up to you which gave some people the notion that maybe you didn’t have to wear anything with it!) C) M emories from two years ago) After a rather hurried officiating, a commonplace breakfast and a hilarious conversation with a child, we were gathered again to watch some games that were organized including a p articularly funny one that went by the name lay an egg. It seemed as though everything was rushed throu...

JULY 21st marked the long awaited world wide release of the seventh Harry Potter book, which is also the final in the series. There's a whole big fat marketing strategy involved, where major bookstores held pre-order sales for fans to book their copies months ahead to avoid disappointment of sold out books on launching day. To make things more interesting, they promised a small discount plus threw in a freebie and a possible invite to a mad pre-launch party. Of course, initially when the first book (HP and the Philosopher's Stone) was released, there was not much ado. Many years later, books 1 to 3 were shoved right under my nose, and hence began my interest in the books, where I was fervently looking for a copy of GOF to read (I was still a student back then and buying the book was quite out of the question) I got it in electronic format though and spent a few days straining my eyes over the computer screen, but it was all well worth it. It was however, the launch of OOTP...

Though ideas aplenty My head is kinda empty Like a dwindling pantry I could just be lazy While everything is hazy Or maybe claim to be crazy!

A sudden decision saw me heading down to our southern neighbour on Sunday. The journey was a long drive reminiscent of certain Sunday afternoons of the not so distant past. The main reason behind the unexpected journey (I say unexpected because I was only informed about it officially on Tuesday) is obviously a tad too boring for a blog post. Suffice to say that it involved hours spent in the lab mulling over non complex formulations and the testing of said formulations. But the interesting part I should say, is the food... The organisers of the training took care of us pretty well in terms of nourishment. For four days, lunch and dinner times saw us at restaurants serving cuisines from different parts of China. Shanghainese and Szechuan among others. And 'The Boss' (as how he was referred to -kind of makes you end up thinking of mafia like scenarios!) took the task of explaining about each dish as it was served. For instance Szechuan cuisine has an extremely hot and spicy...