Crash and Burn, my dear.

"I'd wake up, and make love to you if i had you

I would touch you so much, but I'm not allowed to

What I hate is to wait, but in this case I'm patient

I'm discreet, I'm not weak, I just need the moment

He wants me, he wants me not

I want everything he's got

If I leaned over and tried to kiss you

Would I be wrong, after so long to kiss you

Would you pretend, we're only friends, if I kissed you

At least I can dream of you in a scene, when I'd kiss you

On one hand, we are friends, but still my mind wanders

Through side streets and alleys, I just keep growing fonder

To stop me is not easy, can't stop a lion from hunting

I'm focused, I won't miss, there's no control of some things."

-Nadia Ali

Man. How many times have you actually felt like this? Ok....and sang about it? Yea..I thought so. Thats why, people like us turn to people like Nadia Ali, who evidently digs down into the depths of her soul, pulls out some kickass lyrics, and uses her amazing voice to display the raw emotion that you only WISH you (anonymously, of course) could express.

And, yes, apparently she does write her own lyrics.

http://www.nadiaali.com/

Check her out.

www.foodler.com

Ok. You know when you have those days, when you come home from a long day at work, you change into your most comfy sweats, curl up on your couch with your laptop, remote in hand, all ready to watch your episode of Ugly Betty, followed by Grey's Anatomy? Now, on certain (ahem) days, you don't really wanna do much ELSE except just be be wrapped up in that little cocoon of comfort you've now created for yourself.

Except for one little issue: dinner.

Ah man, do you really want to get up, walk all the way to the kitchen, and slave over a hot stove, when you could just be exactly where you are?
Hmm...order in? But man, do you really feel like screaming your order through the phone to some guy on the other end who doesn't wanna be there, and will probably mess it up?

Well - hey. There's another option! Check it out: http://www.foodler.com/
You sign up with your address, phone #, etc. It gives you a list of restaurants that deliver to your house. It gives you the menu of the restaurant you pick. You pick what you want to eat, and add it to your order. You check out with your credit card. It'll even add in delivery charge (if there is one), and you can even add tip right to your card. After you complete your order, it will tell you the estimated delivery time, and you can even check the status of your order!
I placed an order today for something really bad for me (tomato pie and curly fries!). It told me it would be at my place in 40min. It took 32. I was a happy camper ;)
Awesome.

Ok..well..I guess you can't have EVERYTHING....because when the food arrives...you still have to peel yourself off your couch and go get it....... :-)

But hey. Lazy night, comfort food, TV, laptop, book = good. I'll think about working out tomorrow....

Engineers Without Borders

Hey guys!!

I'm so proud of my buddy Ryan for embarking on this amazing service trip next month through Engineers Without Borders (EWB).
As a fellow engineer, I'm happy there are programs out there like this one. I'll live vicariously through him for now, but who knows what the future holds!

Note: I 'met' Ryan by tracking him down after watching an episode of 'My Parents House' on HGTV. Hahaha - his crazy personality had me thinking...who the hell is this guy? Must find out!
Googled him...found him....now we're friends, and I'm able to help out in small way on his EWB journey. Crazy eh?
Such is life. Beautiful!

Check out his blog posting on the trip, and donate for a GREAT cause if you can :-)

http://ryanaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/some-support-for-ghana.html

Don't get all 'Choked' up now.....

So, today a couple of friends asked if I wanted to join them at the movies to watch 'Choke'. I've been mildly curious about this movie, the re-enaction of Chuck Palahniuk's book of the same name. But, I was mostly interested b/c we were watching it at the Ritz Theaters in Old City, a few blocks from my condo. If you're ever in Philly, you must watch a movie at one of these theaters. Its everything a big impersonal multiplex is not, and therefore makes the movie-going experience a bit more tasteful and aesthetic, which is good for the soul. Well....I guess it depends on what the movie is. But I digress..

Sex, choking, the Messiah. What more could you ask for in a movie?
Well, lets just say this. If you like movies that make you feel pretty damn uncomfortable, then maybe this one's for you.
For me, it was just one wince after another - to the point where it was becoming painfully obvious that 'discomfort' was the baseline theme of the movie. After I'd accepted that, I think I could finally look past the unsettling sex scenes, and never ending innuendos.

The main character Victor Mancini, is pretty sleazy. The type of guy you definitely do not want to bring home to your mother, especially since he's been having a little bit of an Oedipal complex towards his own mother! But, as his character develops through the movie, you can't help but feel a little sorry for the guy. I mean, how can you not, after you realize what he has to do in order to keep his crazy ol' mom committed? OK fine, maybe 'Oedipal complex' was too strong of a judgement. But, what other term is there to describe someone who can't feel love, b/c he learned as a child from his mother to suppress those feelings.....to the point where she is the only one that he actually does love?
He transfers his weird mix of emotions onto any (and every?) female he encounters. Now, this is when things get a bit squirmy and there are some things that you wished you just did not witness. (Lets just say its the same reason I don't enjoy locker rooms at the gym...).
Well, fine - there were some downright funny moments too - again, keep in mind - 'funny' when the baseline is now set at 'uncomfortable' is a league of its own.
Victor's best friend Denny brings some 'voice of reason' in his life - but at times he doesn't want to accept it. Paige, the cute doctor at his mother's mental ward, is his one chance to feel love, but will he?

And the Messiah? Well...that you just need to watch for yourself.

Of course, all this grotesquerie (is that a word..? probably not) is *meant* to bring to life Palahniuk's book. I haven't read the book myself, but from reading other reviews, I don't think anyone is convinced that the movie quite did that. Most other reviewers actually say that the movie should be a LOT darker than it already was to match the book's real voice.
Well...I guess.....but to me, it was dark enough, that I definitely left with a bitter, unsettling, taste in my mouth. Ummm....yea!
I'd be interested to see what you guys think if you've seen it!

Wait wait...don't give up on me now!

Sorry for the extreme lapse in blogging. I got lazy, yes I admit.

That being said - I will probably post more tonight, b/c I'm about to go see the movie 'Choke' with some friends in a couple hours.

I've been wanting to see it for a while, and I hope I have something to say about it when I'm done.

In the meantime, let me post a beautiful picture of a sari that I saw in one of my newest fav blogs http://www.sareedreams.com/

What a pinhead!

Ha - sorry, had to get kinda cheesy with the title of this blog, because...well....can you blame me..?
I present to you, a few of the biggest Olympic fans.

Hmm. I'm guessing he sleeps standing up.

No comment here.

Where can I get one of these!

11 mths in a rickshaw. Where did he shower?
http://ishare.rediff.com/filevideo-Olympics-Crazy-Fan-id-401674.php

And ah..yes. How could I leave out Stewie?

http://stewiesplayground.com/2007/08/02/stewie-griffin-trains-for-the-olympics/

Where was the pot of gold??

In this case, multiple pots of gold.

For those of you in Philly - I'm sure you noticed the very strange yellow sky that enveloped the city and surrounding areas after that crazy scary thunderstorm on Sunday evening?

For about 20 minutes, the mood seemed quite eerie. I saw my cat staring intently out of the window at something and when I went to see what he was looking at, I saw the most beautiful rainbow I'd ever seen.

This picture above is right over the corporate GSK building in center city.

Actually, apparently there were two rainbows right next to eachother, but I was only able to see one. It was massive, and I could see almost the entire arch. (Hence..potentially 4 mythical pots of gold, somewhere!).

From my vantage point, the rainbow seemed like it was directly over the Ben Franklin Bridge (directly east of my condo building).
I grabbed my digital and ran downstairs to the parking lot to see if I could take a picture of it, but it was tough to get anything substantial, given its massive size (and my tiny lens..), and the yellow hue of the sky.

I got into my car and headed west toward the Art Museum, thinking if I got further away, I'd be able to get a better shot.
Sadly within about 10 minutes, the sky turned black again, and just like that, it dissappeared.

Oh well, at least I was able to see it with my own eyes.

But, I searched on the web to see if any other Philadelphians had been lucky enough to capture anything. Here's what I found.....

Over the Philly Inquirer Building

This one highlights the yellow sky. This phot seemed to be a bit more saturated in color than in reality. But, the yellow hue was definitely there. You get the idea.

This one was taken from Spruce Street. Same yellow hue!

You can see almost the entire rainbow in this one.

Beautiful perfect rainbow. How often do you get to see one of these? I considered it lucky :-)

Definitely a strange, yet cool ending to a laid back weekend for me.

The Great Stretch Debate

I'm about to go hit the gym in a few minutes. But before I do that, I decided I needed to find out a bit more information about stretching.

Huh? what?

Well, believe you me, I did not know that there was this whole universal debate going on about the benefits of stretching. I found out about this a couple weeks ago when one of my coworkers was complaining her muscles were sore after her softball game the night before. I asked her...'Well..did you stretch??'. She said..'no, i hate stretching, its just a waste of time anyways'.
I told her 'well, if you don't stretch, then you get sore the next day, and plus your muscles are more subject to tears. No wonder you're in pain....duh" (Mind you, I had no data to back this mockery up..). She just looked at me and said 'well, no need to judge!' Ummm. Ok?

Then another coworker overheard us and offered up his opinion 'I also think stretching is a waste of time. There's no evidence to prove that it works anyways. In fact, I think its stupid!'.
Well, now I was the one feeling judged!

I was more than a bit baffled, because I always thought it was a crime not to stretch after a workout. But now, two of my coworkers had admitted to the illegal activity of not-stretching. Was I missing something?

I forgot all about this discussion until this morning. I was watching some Olympic re-caps before heading to the gym, and one of the announcers alluded to the infamous stretching controversy once more.

Thats it. I had to google. And this is just a snippet of what I found out there.
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/flexibility/a/aa022102a.htm

http://www.coolrunning.com.au/general/2000e023.shtml

http://agjhealthfitness.blogspot.com/2008/02/is-stretching-necessary.html

Huh. So much debate out there over stretching. And I had just taken it for face value that it was something Thou Shalt Do. I guess there is no evidence proving that it is absolutely necessary.
But, there are definitely benefits too!
I don't care what my coworkers, or any of these websites say. I mean, even my cat Chutney stretches, and he obviously doesn't sit around googling and reading articles. So there!

Its all the buzz at the Olympics!

Olympic themed buzz cuts are the rage amongst Chinese kids! Mr. Wu, a barber, decided to give away 29 free haircuts in honor of the 29th Olympiad.

However, as news of his cuts got out, more and more kids started showing up around the block.

So, being the nice guy that he is, he decided to give as many cuts as he could, collecting donations to help the victims of the recent terrible earthquake in the Sichuan Province.

The kids in these pictures are incredibly adorable with their new do's. What amazed me is that how YOUNG they are!

I was watching the story on NBC, and there were kids still in their strollers, lining up to get their hair cut.

Of course - not all of them liked the process......which goes to show you, it doesn't matter what corner of the globe you live. Some things, like scary haircuts, are always universal.

08.08.08

Today is supposed to be an ultra lucky day in some parts of the world, like China. (This, according to my chinese-american coworker A). The number '8' in Chinese is very significant.

No wonder the Olympics are opening on this date over there!

So, I told her, since she is Chinese, then she should go out and say a little prayer for me. Just an all around prayer, you know, for good health. A good man maybe. Oh, and wealth and power.

Oh why not? If she's Chinese, and all the good energy is being focused on her today, then I might as well ask for a small favour right? Ok, I'm just half joking!

In all seriousness, as I sat here watching the opening ceremonies, I could not help but feel chills go down my spine.

The opening ceremonies were ridiculously awe inspiring. The choreography was impeccable. The whole time I was watching, I wished I could have some small part of it all. Go here to see some incredible photos from the ceremony!

Needless to say, the emphasis on the Olympics is even more deliberate this year, not only because of the lucky date, but also because of the scrutiny that China has been under over the last year.The incredible growth in China's technology sector has brought an intense focus to the country, and now that intensity has amplified in the days leading up to tonight's opening ceremony.

But, hopefully, the games will let the rest of the world see another side to China, that I hope to see some day.

As the 2008 Tai Chi performers formed a perfect circle for the third time, all moving their arms in the same direction, the commentor explained one of the simple philosophies of the ancient form of meditative exercise - that also alluded to the complex shift in the Chinese cultural and economic landscape:

"Movement in one direction often begins with a very subtle movement in the opposite direction".

I like that!

Eyes glaze over

I have one of those professions that not a lot of people do. Not a lot of people that I know anyways (outside of my professional network of people).

So what is it that I do?
To make a long story short, I help make drugs. Efficiently. Not the illegal kind. Biotech stuff. Not little white or blue pills. But stuff that gets injected into your body if you're really really sick. Proteins. Antibodies. I basically work in a factory.
But, its actually incredibly cool!

However, the more I talk about it to people outside my business, anything past the novelty of 'I make drugs!' leaves them with a glazed look in their eyes. Its a dillema really. I really can't qualitate what it is I do without sounding utterly boring. Which is a shame, b/c its really not. I'm just a huge nerd maybe?
They don't make TV shows or movies about biopharmaceutical engineers. Unless they
involve some kind of bioterrorist attack on the world, and then the biopharmaceutical engineers are called in save the day.

Doctors have ER, House, and (my personal favourite) Grey's Anatomy.
Lawyers have Boston Legal, The Practice. Law&Order. Claire Huxtable!
Even scientists have CSI.
Cops have....well every other show is a cop show
Even middle aged fa-..uh..I mean heavy set men have TV shows (and skinny wives!) - According to Jim. King of Queens. Still Standing.

And, when you delve into the world of reality TV, you have chefs, interior designers, animal wranglers, wedding planners, dancers, comediens. DOG WHISPERERS! I mean, they are all on there.
EXCEPT for my kind. And this is why, when I talk to people about what I do, they start staring off into space, yawn, and eventually nod off. Because they can't relate! They've never seen a TV show that made us popular. You know?

Are any of you in a profession that are deemed too boring to be portrayed on TV?
Let me know...

My Birthday

Thanks to everyone who celebrated my birthday at Kabul restaurant with me tonight, and on Saturday at the Continental Midtown (umm...yea.)
And, thanks for all the Facebook wall messages. I didn't realize how good I would feel turning another year older!

I didn't realize how much I like Afghani food. I'm craving for more - to I'll give you all a heads up when I'm going to either Kabul or Ariana restaurants next.


Here's to another year of excitement :-)

Mongol

I watched 'Mongol' tonight. While the movie was long, with some noticeable 'holes' in the story..I still thought it was amazing..and I did come to appreciate the Mongolian culture. In fact, I guess I was quite unaware of the story of Genghis Khan. I certainly don't remember much from studying about him in grade school.




I googled more about him and the fierce Mongol empire, because now I was curious, especially of his last name 'Khan' that I know that many of my Muslim friends share. I found out that Mughals were the last powerful decsendants of the Mongols. At some point, the Mongols had invaded the Middle East, and had converted to Islam, and therefore the Mughals were also Muslim. The Mughals had also eventually invaded India. Incidentally the name 'Khan' comes from the Turkish word 'khagan', which means 'chief' or 'ruler'. It is now used widely as a last name in many south asian Muslim communities.

I wasn't much of a history buff in school. But sometimes a movie stirs up that curiosity, and makes you want to learn about it.