The onsite-ies - top 21 things they do!

Source: A mail-forward from my friend!

Top 21 things an Indian does after returning from abroad (the
onsite-ies)

21. Tries to use credit card in road side hotel.

20. Drinks and carries mineral water and always speaks of health conscious.

19. Sprays duo such so that he doesn't need to take bath.

18. Sneezes and says 'Excuse me'.

17. Says "Hey" instead of "Hi". says "Yogurt" instead says "Curds". Says "Cab" instead of "Taxi". Says "Candy" instead of "Chocolate". Says "Cookie" instead of "Biscuit". Says "Free Way" instead of "Highway". Says "got to go" instead of "Have to go". Says "Oh" instead of "Zero",(for 704, says Seven Oh Four Instead of Seven Zero Four)

16.Doesn't forget to crib about air pollution. Keeps cribbing every time he steps out.

15. Says all the distances in Miles (Not in Kilo Meters), and counts in Millions. (Not in Lakhs)

14. Tries to figure all the prices in Dollars as far as possible (but deep down the heart multiplies by 43 times).

13. Tries to see the % of fat on the cover of a milk pocket.

12.When need to say Z (zed), never says Z (Zed), repeats "Zee" several times, if the other person unable to get, then says X, Y Zee(but never says Zed)

11. Writes date as MM/DD/YYYY, on watching traditional DD/MM/YYYY, says "Oh! British Style!!!!"

10. Makes fun of Indian Standard Time and Indian Road Conditions.

9. Even after 2 months, complaints about "Jet Lag".

8. Avoids eating more chili (hot) stuff.

7. Tries to drink "Diet Coke",instead of Normal Coke.

6. Tries to complain about any thing in India as if he is experiencing it for the first time.

5. Pronounces "schedule" as "skejule", and "module" as "Mojule".

4. Looks speciously towards Hotel/Dhaba food.

3. From the luggage bag, does not remove the stickers of Airways by which he
traveled back to India, even after 4 months of arrival.

2. Takes the cabin luggage bag to short visits in India, tries to roll the bag on Indian Roads.

1. Tries to begin conversation with "In US/UK ...." or "When I was in US/UK..."

The Lean Veggie - Easy pasta salad /stir fry

The ingredients list for this recipe may seem long, but the actual dish is very easy to make and tastes like gourmet italian food with a touch of meditteranean! Some of the ingredients are optional. You can also add more veggies and make this a hearty meal!

For the pasta:
* In a big microwaveable dish, add 1 cup pasta (i used macaroni shells, you can even use penne, fusilini or tortelini), 2 cups water, 1 tsp salt
* Cover and cook till pasta is done (about 15 minutes). You can also prepare this on the stove top if you like
* When pasta is done, wash in cold water and drain completely

For the dressing:
* In a big bowl, whisk together 2 tbsps olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cracked pepper powder
* Chop 1/4 cup olives (greeen) roughly and add to above olive oil mixture
* Mix in the crumbled feta cheese
* Finely chop 5 basil leaves and add to the bowl (optional)

For the veggi stir fry:
* Prepare 1/2 cup finely chopped onion and chop 1 clove garlic
* Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a non stick pan, and saute onion and garlic till soft (add a pinch of salt)
* Stir in 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach and 1 chopped roma tomato
* Add salt to taste, 1 tsp dried italian herbs and 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
* Cook till raw tomato smell disapppears, but do not let the mixture over cook. Tomatoes should not be pulpy

To finish up the dish:
* Mix pasta with the veggi stir fry, and mix in 1 tbsp parmesan cheese (optional)
* Transfer the pasta and veggi mixture to the big bowl where you have prepared the olive oil - feta cheese dressing
* Mix thoroughly. Check the taste, add some more salt and pepper if you like.
* If you like, add some basil pesto salad dressing

Movie Review - War of the worlds

(Picture source: www.waroftheworlds.com)

Story in a line:
Aliens want to take over the planet so they try to destroy mankind. Tom Cruise saves his family

The Verdict:
Spielberg rocks. Dakota Fanning is the best actress in Hollywood. Tom Cruise cannot act (though he tries real hard)

Virivaana Review:

The movie succeeds in a number of ways (making it extremely watchable). An eerie doomsday like atmosphere is created, and sitting in the theater, I was absolutely involved. The special effects are so good, I almost jumped out of my seat a few times. The alien's destructive tripod machines are brilliantly portrayed - with their blaring horns and huge headlights (which make them look like they have eyes!)

The father-daughter relationship has been portrayed well. Dakota Fanning (cheers to her make up artist) looks adorable, and acts brilliantly (only Spielberg and Maniratnam can make children act this way). Even her constant screaming is not irritating, and you really want mankind to win the war of the worlds so that a child like her can grow up to see a happy world!

Being a big Spielberg fan and an even bigger sci-fi fan and believer in ET intelligence, I was waiting for this movie with great expectations and I am not entirely disappointed. The war of the worlds is a dark movie, brilliantly shot, and pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, the movie ends on a disappointing note with a complete fairy tale ending, almost resembling M. Night Shyamalan's Signs. Also, Tom Cruise's mediocre actiing casts a big shadow on the movie's overall impact.

I try to not sound too critical, but really, we HAVE seen this story before, in movies like Independence Day and Signs. Also, Spielberg subtly copies some of his own stuff (like the long fingers of the aliens stretching out ET style, and the mechanical probe searching for humans - very similar to the small spider-bots in Minority Report)

Ok, now about Tom Cruise. His crazy actions in the past few months will be recorded for posterity in the hall-of-fame for biggest celebrity blunders! Hey Tom Cruise...this is a SPIELBERG movie!!! People will watch it anyway! Did you really think you could appeal to all the thaaymaargal in the audience by your antics on Oprah? Its the height of narcissism!

So is the War of the worlds worth a trip to the movie theater? Probably yes...but Spielberg, can you please make your next movie without Tom Cruise?

Incredible but true