Allure of Home-made Food

It has been a busy week. My parents visited me and it was awesome. Then my graduation ceremony was also there and that was also pretty awesome. Its better if I had a reason like "I was busy so I didn't blog", than "I was lazy so I didn't blog".

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The day my mom and dad came to Singapore was the day I didn't oversleep. I woke up at 4.45 am and I hired a cab to get to the airport for a plane that lands at 5.55 am. I was pretty early. Unfortunately my parents weren't.

Just after the plane had landed and everyone was getting of the plane, my dad went to take a leak. What's wrong with that? My mom didn't notice where he had gone and she thought he had got off the plane. She was all alone in one of the largest airports in the world and she can't even speak English properly. So she wandered off searching for him and after much desperate searching, he appeared. As they finally made their way to the luggage collection belt, they were the last to collect and about an hour had passed since the flight had landed.

Both mom and dad seemed happy to see me. We took the MRT to my hostel where they freshened up. The hotel check in was only at 1 pm and they figured that they could use some rest. Soon after my mom stepped into my apartment, she started unpacking all the stuff she had brought for me from India. All sorts of food items including fruits, cereals and ready-to-eat meals were followed by clothes, soaps and shampoo. After that she took out packets of poori and some prawn gravy and fried fish to go with it.

Me, my mom and my dad just sat on the floor. We didn't bother setting up the table. People didn't need dinner tables in India, at least not until the British came to India. In my dad's village, I've never seen a home with a dining table. Our house in India has one, but we don't always use it.

I never sat on the floor when I ate since coming to Singapore, and when I sat down today, I had a strange but good feeling in me. My mom served us food and we ate. I savoured every bite. I rarely eat prawns because I'm slightly allergic to them but I love them. I can't cook other non-vegetarian items as well because my room-mates are vegetarian due to their religion and I didn't wanna "contaminate" the utensils.

There was still a lot of the prawns and fish left and that was for me to refrigerate and consume for the coming week. "Enjoy it while it lasts", my mom said.

The next few days are a blur. I took them to as many places I can without getting them too tired. They loved the view of the Marina Bay Sands from the Robinson Quay. They enjoyed the cable car ride and the 4D Pirates movie in Sentosa. They were surprised by how large Mustafa Centre was. They had  a shopping spree at Bugis street and Chinatown. They fed Lories at the Jurong Bird Park and they went on the Night Safari. And most importantly, they attended my convocation.

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My convocation was an exciting day for me. I missed my Bachelor degree convocation in India because I was in Singapore. It was a pretty lame one as I would realize after seeing the pictures that my friends had sent. This time was going to be perfect, I thought to myself. I stayed home and made preparations while sending a friend to pick up my mom and dad from their hotel room and accompanying them to my room. I pressed my shirt and trousers, brand new, both of them. I practiced my tie knot, until I got the right size and length. I had resolved a belt emergency (I had gotten thin and my belt was pretty loose. So I had to borrow a belt from a guy skinnier than me.) and by the time I was done, I was pretty sure I can't look any better with my features than I looked right then.

My parents had reached and we started for my university. This was the first time they came to the university and they were impressed. Lecture "theatres" of this size don't exist in the average Indian engineering college and they found this grand. We had lunch and then headed out to the auditorium. The ceremony got under way and I could only hope I didn't do anything stupid on the stage.

When my turn to get the degree certificate from the vice-president, I was surprisingly calm. But only after I saw the video later, I realized the mistake I had made - I held the guy's hand as he shook and got the degree in my other hand. I stayed this same way for graduation photo as well and I can only hope that I didn't make the poor guy uncomfortable or that I had ruined my photo.

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Then after eating some bad Chinese food (not sure if badly cooked or generally bad) we headed to my room where we changed and then headed to Mustafa Centre to buy a TV. We bought a Sony LED 42" TV and all  I could think was "this is what they write rap songs about".

The last day of their stay in Singapore was pretty ominous. It started raining pretty badly. We went to my uncle's place where we had some great food and watched a Tamil movie. Then we headed to the airport where we were able to claim about a hundred dollars of GST.

The goodbye wasn't long or tearful. But when I headed back home I felt as if I should have said something more than I did. Their stay, though brief, had formed a part a memorable part of my life. I felt a little sad and lonely that night.

There was still some prawn gravy and fried fish left. Eating it seemed to help a little.

Ciao

Imagine The Fire

Well I didn't have much to write about, so I didn't write. But for the past week, quite a lot of stuff has been happening and put aside some time to write it down.

It has been a pretty good 2 weeks actually. As Joel McHale retorts to a bully in the TV show Community, I have been "perpetually on the way to the gym" for the last one year. I finally went to the gym and it felt good. I felt like I was putting good use to my spare time. The physical activity also lets me get to sleep better. I have also been watching my diet pretty carefully. Hope it all pays off well and I look good in my convocation pictures.

I also had a guest recently. A friend of mine, who I met in college during my bachelors in India, came to Singapore last Friday. He had also been pursuing masters right after his bachelors, very much like me, but he doing it in Netherlands. He came to Singapore for a 4 month internship and I am happy to see a familiar face in this country after a year. I am not good at making friends and I prefer to stick with people I already know. Since coming to Singapore I can't say that I have made a great friend so I was glad to see him. I let him stay at my place for a couple of days. He hadn't tasted good Indian food for almost a year so it was fun watching him devour food in Singapore's Indian restaurants. Let him enjoy it while it lasts.

I also helped him buy a new phone, a Sony Experia Arc S and from what I've seen, it is pretty good. I wish I could get a phone myself soon, because the receiver in my phone is pretty quiet and I can hardly hear the person speaking on the other end in crowded or noisy places. But it will have to wait till I get a job. I'm thinking about buying a decent and not too expensive smart phone and a tablet as well. Hope I don't have to wait for long.

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It has also been one year, since I had come to Singapore. I still remember stepping into the Jet Airways flight, well past midnight. I was excited about flying for the first time. Just a couple of weeks before leaving for Singapore, I had serious doubts about how difficult it would be in Singapore. I had doubts about how my career would pan out in a foreign country. I couldn't sleep at night when I thought about it.

But it was fine. It was actually great. I feel that I have learned much more by coming here than what I would have if I stayed in Singapore. Sure I'd have made some money, gained more weight and stayed the way I always was. 

But now I live by myself. That involves a lot of choices that I have to make everyday. I didn't even decide what breakfast I wanted to have when I was in India. I ate whatever my mother made. I never had to think about how healthy it would be or whether I ate too much or too little. Now I can have whatever I want. I can have chicken nuggets every day for the rest of my life (or till I ran out of money) if I wanted, but I choose to eat multi-grain bread loaves and an egg omelet with a glass of fruit juice for breakfast.

I like the way I've evolved since coming to Singapore. There's nothing like coming to a new country as a foreigner and staying there. There is an awful lot to learn and every little thing you do seems like an adventure. 

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One of the questions I asked my uncle when I came to Singapore was "Are there IMAX theatres in Singapore?"

The reason I asked this question was The Dark Knight Rises. 

And it finally got released today. It is going to be released on 20th July in the US but in Singapore, somehow, it is released on 19th and if I had been going alone, I would have seen it today. But the friend, who I mentioned earlier, wanted to tag along, so I had to postpone it to the weekend. But I've been in an excited state for the past couple of days. Nolan is a genius, he has an exact vision about how he wants his movies to be and he carries out in a manner that can only be described as near perfection. He does what some other Tamil film directors fail to do and that is utilizing the budget to the maximum. You see great directors like Shankar who are given blank cheques literally to make films and he makes huge sets for songs. I know songs are an integral element in the Indian cinema but really, Robot was supposed to be his magnum opus and he probably spent more money on all the song videos than the action sequences. The chase sequence with Rajini stealing away Aishwarya Rai from the wedding was way better as an action sequence in stark contrast to the action scene in the end in which hundreds of robots form on big robot which felt watered down in terms of action and pacing. In my opinion, if Shankar had spent more money on the CGI and added Michael Bay-ish sweeping shots and whirring sounds, the climax scenes would have stood out. I have the same problem with Shankar's previous films as well, with great looking song sets and average action set pieces.

Enough about Shankar, let's get back to Nolan. There have been reviews from Time magazine and other sources and they have been very positive. Reviewers are giving away plot lines and still say that there are twists in the movie so it should be a pretty satisfying watch. Also the movie is two hours and forty five minutes long so it should be epic with a huge story.

For the last two days I have been listening to the original soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and it is impressive. It draws inspiration from both The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. None of the tracks are as distinct as Joker's theme but all the tracks flow as one single stream. But from hearing some sequences and seeing how they are named, you can point out which tracks are going to be the themes for whom. Tracks carry an electric feel and the lack of James Newton Howard's collaboration is evident with no brooding quiet tracks. Batman's theme come only twice or thrice in the whole album and it is utilized cleverly. Bane's theme is menacing and sounds like a track fit for someone who is full of malice.

I look forward to the release of the movie and I will get back to you with a new post once I see it.

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Obviously the Song of the Week is a soundtrack from TDKR.

 

Hope you watch the movie too. Check back when you do and lets talk about it.

Ciao.

The Amazing Spiderman - "The New iPad" of superhero movies?

The Amazing Spiderman is the iPad 3 of movies. It is barely any different from all the other superhero movies, yet with the help of an adjective it stands out...well, only barely. Like in the case of the iPad 3, which became "The New iPad", loyal fans of Apple still rally behind the barely changed handheld device and Loyal Superhero geeks like me still turned out for the movie and found it entertaining as any superhero/action flick.

But this version of Spiderman has a different take on Spiderman's origins and love interest. This version introduces Gwen Stacy as Peter Parker's main love interest. Peter has much more than a crush on her, he may even be stalking her, as one may conclude from the pictures in his computer. He's a geek, having in-depth knowledge of sophisticated machinery, such as the central AC in his uncle's basement. He is bullied by his schoolmates,his parents leave him in his childhood to be taken care of by his uncle and aunt and there is nothing amazing about him. Avoiding spoilers, I will get to the rest of the plot. He's bitten by a spider, which genetically enhanced and it gives him superpowers and he becomes amazing. Enter Curt Connors, a scientist, who is working on cross species genetic splicing mutation mumbo jumbo, tries to do the same thing and ends up becoming a giant lizard. He apparently gets frustrated that there is no other female in his species to be his girlfriend, he tries to turn the whole population of NYC into giant lizards and Spiderman needs to stop him and save the day.

There is enough action, humour, romance and plot to get you through the 2 hours effortlessly. All actors do a satisfactory job. I was just glad this movie didn't have Kirsten Dunst. Emma Stone is much more watchable. Andrew Garfield has the comic timing that is essential to the Spiderman character. The villain is villainy enough and Sally Field makes a much better Aunt May.

It doesn't do much justice to compare this movie to the Sam Raimi's version of Spiderman, it will be like comparing apples and spiders. And this spider is in 3D.

I didn't watch the movie in 3D though. Non-3D version was cheaper and I could get my student discount. I just pretended that all the buildings and cars were whizzing right towards my face and it was awesome.

I wouldn't recommend sticking behind after the credits starts rolling for some footage to leave clues for the next sequel. There is such a footage in this movie, but unless you are an absolute die hard Spiderman fan, the footage won't make sense. So far, not even the collective minds in the internet have not come to a consensus about what the eff was that footage about.

***

In the honour of this new movie featuring the superhero who set my childhood imagination on fire, here is a song that was featured in Spiderman 2. It's called Na Jaane Kyon, by a Pakistani band called Strings.

There is a theme of sacrifice throughout Spiderman 2. Peter Parker sacrifices his studies, his family and his love, trying to make good use of his powers as Spiderman. I believe that this song rightly captures that spirit.

***

Only 15 more days to the release of the most awesome superhero movie ever made.

Ciao.

Stone Pillow and Feather Pillow

Stone pillows and feather pillows.

Those are the two types of pillows in my opinion.

There were two types of pillows in my home back in India. One was full of cotton it is rather hard. It is good for people who have a bad back or neck because it eases the pain. I don't like that type of pillow because it was too hard for me. Hence I called it stone pillow.

The second type of pillow, the feather pillow, surprisingly doesn't have any feathers inside it. It is actually full of a material called "Recron", which is widely used nowadays to make soft cushions, mattresses and pillows. It is soft, flexible and feels good against your head. Hence I named it feather pillow.

Now why am I talking in detail about pillows? Since coming to Singapore, I miss my feather pillow. What they sell in Singapore is usually 100% cotton pillow. This pillow is also pretty comfortable, until it gets a little old. Then, the pillow caves in, particularly at the place where you put your head and the cotton inside also gets thin and unyeilding, making it pretty unconfortable. And as a result, I wasn't able to sleep for a long time yesterday. In fact, I slept only two hours after yesterday turned into today.

***

Singapore is a little lame. Today I checked the IMAX movie bookings for The Dark Knight Rises. Surprisingly, even the evening show tickets were still available. And only few of the morning and afternoon show tickets have been booked. It's a shame. In Australia, fans crashed the booking site minutes after opening the bookings.

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You might have noticed (if you have even read my blog) that my writing is rather lame. I'm not talking about my grammer or anything, I'm talking about stuff I write about. It's about pillows and movies and stuff. I'm not trying to change the world with my blog but I should atleast be able write about something that matters. In India, the politics scene was pretty interesting and it was a perpetual source for something to write about. Moving to Singapore, where politics is practically non-existent, there is nothing really to talk about. People of Singapore may disagree, but really, if you want real politics, come to India.

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From this week, I'll be starting a new section called Song of The Week. Or something like. There maybe two or three songs. Or there maybe no song at all. Or maybe no post at all. Just listen. I really like this song.

This song, called Breath of Life, was the high point of enduring Snow White and The Huntsman. This song is played during the credits and it introduced me to the deep and strong voice of Florence + The Machine, whatever she/he/they/it maybe. Enjoy the song.

Ciao.

Classics

Recently saw the Snow White and The Huntsman movie. It's a great action movie and it also serves to prove that Kirsten Stewart cannot act. She cannot exhibit human emotions. All she can do is look like she's constipated. On the other hand, Charlize Theron - still hot.

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Finally managed to go somewhere that wasn't either my apartment bathroom or my college canteen. There was this promotion at the Singapore Discovery Centre with tickets at $18 selling at $6. SDC is all meant for Singaporeans who want to know about their country and it does a pretty good job of doing that with all sorts of colourful exhibits. What makes it more cooler than any museum or exhibition I've been to is that it has its own movie theatre. That is where I saw the Snow White movie. It also has a lake where you can take a pedal boat, an army museum with a badass AV show, a gourmet restaurant, a paint ball arena, a 4D ride and the list goes on and on. Somehow Singaporean government has perfected the way to make state-owned museum exhibitions and parks not boring, something in which my home country can learn a few things about.

***

One of the merits of having a great internet connection is that you can stream great TV shows and movies. Being unemployed, a large part of my day is spent watching these movies and TV shows, but only after finishing my customary, ritualistic 30 minute online job search.

Recently, 3 great TV series have captured my attention and made me addicted to them. The first one is community. It largely reminds me of my days getting a degree from a crappy college, but many episodes are also outlandish, often with ridiculous plots that are fun to watch, but are far from realistic. What I like most about this sitcom is the fact that the characters are not run of the mill stereotypes. The jokes are not about a bunch of geeks frequently made fun of their social awkwardness, or blonde women's (supposed) lack of intelligence or the Asian guy's overbearing parents. Community actually celebrates being geeky. One of the reasons I hated Big Bang Theory is the constant mockery made of intelligent sci-fi loving geeks.

The other two series being Sherlock and Game of Thrones. I like Sherlock because just because it is about Sherlock Holmes. But Game of Thrones is different. It's a fantasy that is unlike any other fantasy that has been written or filmed. It has dragons and demons and all sorts of stuff but the core of the story is about politics and that's what makes it compelling to watch.

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There is an allure to reading novels that are not from this century. Classics have something that modern novels lack and it is the language. Modern novels are easier to understand at the expense of simple language. Complex stories can be understood easily by the reader so long as it is presented cohesively and in order. But classics did not have elaborate plots of ancient brotherhoods executing schemes to expose earth shattering truths. They were simple and relatable and you can enact the whole plot with a bunch of friends without any gadgets or machines or explosions. The language was rich and long, making you read every sentence slowly, taking your time. Complex sentences make you understand that the thoughts and dialogues that characters have are sophisticated. Modern novels are more focussed on the story and you are so engrossed in it that you want to know the story more that you want to read the novel. This has happened often with fast paced novels like that of Dan Brown's, in which I skim some sentences in order to get to the twists of the story more quickly.

One other important thing I like about classic novels are that they make me sleepy. After 5 chapters I can go to bed. If I read Dan Brown or Robert Ludlum, it's always "one more page and then I'll sleep".

I'm reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. If you've read it, go ahead and ruin the ending for me. If not, lets read it together.

Ciao.