More than just a Crush

Hola! The year has come to an end.  And I am glad to say that I am ready to embrace 2011, on a posititive note. However, I did not spend the last day of the year on an  exotic lunch or bungy jumping. I actually just finished watching The Princess Diaries. Oh how I love Anne Hathaway in that movie! I still remember being 13 and obsessive. It brought back memories of bygone when movies like those mattered so much. Now come on, we all digged " teen-queen drama". It took you away from the harsh and boring life and threw you into this world where a girl was living your dream.
Baha, I did get quite carried away didn't I?
     But much truth are in those words. Everyone of  us have our own phase of teen-drama craze. Who cared if movies repeatedly boasted of the same  crush-on-a-hunk and cheerleaders-ruled idea? I might scoff at the idea of ever being influenced by them. But here's the truth: they sold millions of dollars for a reason.
     From idolizing Mary-Kate and Ashley to  attempting to write a letter to Dan Radcliffe, we all have had our moments. :P
Here's the cliche- It brings back memories. I finished the entire Princess Diaries (book) series in a week. Meg Cabot was Queen. I went insane. Today as I watched the movie, it was rather funny. Reminded me of a lost excitement. BTW, Good times and nostalgia make good supper .
     Baby Sitter's Club. The series written by Anne Martin, ruled my life at a point in time. I was  mesmerized  by the idea of these 13 year olds meeting up thrice a week and all that. There were mysteries, there were actions, there were boys. It felt like heaven.
Even growing out of them is a memory. It shows you how long you have come. Never will I squeal again when I watch someone kiss on T.V.  Never will Hillary Duff be my source of inspiration. Not that I don't admire the actress. We're just on a different level!


You might say it's obvious. You had to grow out of it.

Ofcourse. But when?

When do we realize that it is time to move on. Can I pin point the day when I woke up and realized I need to stop thinking about kissing Nick Carter?

Life is always ambiguous. You'll  be surprised when you realize that time has come to laugh about things that you thought that mattered so much.

BUT There is a lot we've taken from it. And it is more than just sense of fashion or the idea of Prince Charming. So much we learn from these early life adventures are actually hidden behind  what succeeds it.
So my new resolution is to not laugh at Hannah Montana and the Bieber boy.
Happy New Year

Thought for the day:  Be careful about your child's first onscreen kiss

The tornadao that came

      Here goes. I have been wanting to scream, shout, yell, cry and strangle myself. It's finals and it's winter. Sorry snow-lovers, but I despise the flakes and flurries. Can't wait for Christmas to lighten things up. Ah. Complaining feels so much better.
      And now good news. I am here to share something more interesting than my battle against the brutal winds of the Kansan plains. Today was my last Studio B class. We did six shows throughout the semester. I had to shoot videos, edit, write,  and anchor. PHEW.
      My experience with college life, is like a huge tornado, that keeps coming back. A whirlwind of energy  sucks me in and throws most of my parts out.  It leaves me just where I was. I look around and realize that; I got nothing on me. Then I rebuild. It get's better. But unfortunately my world doesn't have a warning. Another tornado is on its way  to mock my resistance. It's teaching me to get real.

       And the biggest tornado this year was Studio B.Try talking on TV and we'll see who's confident.

       My first show- I felt like I was an idiot, choosing to become a broadcast journalist. I couldn't even talk in front of the camera without my hands shaking. Could I please stick to writing?And that Oh-I-might-poop feeling.
        But! I am here to applaud. I am here to tell myself that I did a good job, although deep down, I know I sucked most of the time. Sometimes I did good. And believe it or not, I will soak up the good ones into my veins of experience. It's aways easy to hate yourself for being stupid. But it's hard to overcome the dumb things you do.( Plan B: Pretend like it never happened)
 It all comes down to movers and shakers, and doers.
       In general I did pretty well. Met new people. Learned new skills. Accepted the fact that it's okay to be "not the best."
      Well then, what am I going to do about the another tornado that's waiting for me next semester?  There are two things I have promised myself.

1) I will NOT cry.
2) I will NOT change my major.

David Youso on the prompter machine. If this goes wrong, the anchor will see a blank screen. Bad ones will die on the spot, good ones will know they're great.

                                                                        

The centre point of the tornado

Behind the scenes: They direct, the show and how it goes.

So many cameras!

                      Thought for the day: Your tornado is waiting outside.

My Li'l Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving '10 will go down as memorable. You can't beat a broken ankle.  Followed by a  random trip to another city, only realising that you have to drive back without doing anything.

Because?

It's Thanksgiving. Everything is closed!

Apart from that, me and my girlfriends had some wisdom shed on our hungover heads. We visited the Wichita Citadel. My final project required me to look for stories. It so happened that for the first time ever, I did my homework. Talked to the Captain of The Salvation Army the day before.
We had never been to a dinner and it was heartwarming. What struck me the most was kids helping out their parents. Flaunting the "salvation army" Aprons, Kids aged 5 to 15 were helping out, asking people if they wanted water. Did anyone want more food?  Did they need napkins?

The angle for my story became crystal clear. =)

Five years from today, the dinner will probably become a distant memory for the young ones. But what that day teaches them will remain forever. Do we ever stop to think of all the good things we did as children?
Let's see. Mom says all I did was run around naked, chasing fellow little ones. Gave her a hard time. Nonetheless, she tells me I was a good kid.

I take that to the heart and have decided to add a new bullet on my new year's resolution; Become the kid I was.

It's much better than watching kindergarten folks dirty dancing. Don't tell me you haven't watched that video? Disgusts me.

 And it's much better than  hearing  news about kids biting each other. Edward and Bella, your love is causing  constant pain to the race of humanity. ( joke* joke)

Jokes apart, I loved what I saw and let me have the pleasure of sharing some great people I met.

Let's admire their deed and get inspired to do the same.

Jordan is 10 and has been helping mommy for the past five years. They said it's a great experience.

27- year old Megan helped out. Her newborn was patient and cooperative. She  was helped by her 6-year old Kaylee. And the gentleman is her brother.

                                         

                                        FYI: One of my girlfriends made Pineapple delight. It was heaven

Thought for the day : Wear you boots in winter. 

We have a hero

This is for all the Nepalese people who have a reason to be proud:

Everyday, The newspaper has a clown on its news. They carefully disguise wisdom and vision on their crinkly faces and talk about the youth.There is a news about another riot on another street. A schedule of electricity cuts in different parts of the country. Then there's another clown, saying he is better than the First clown. Sometimes a genuine person comes up, realizes he is different and chooses to become the Third clown. And then one day, we don't have to look at this dark circus. Instead there is a picture of a lovely lady. She is a hero and she has been recognized. And she belongs to us. She doesn't go about chanting false hope. She has been planting inspiration. We are told- the country is in shambles. We have a reason to rub it in the World's face; We have a hero.We have a hero.While countries fight over their leader's love-life, we have a country that  has been raped, and is now pregnant with a child; she doesn't know if she wants or not. But the mother has hope. Maybe her child will not be raised in blood? It gave me great pleasure to see that almost every one I know shared the CNN Hero 2010 link on their Facebook.  From wise adults to 16- year-olds. Everyone could feel the beacon of hope entering the wounded veins of our country's foundation, soothing it. Anuradha Koirala did not only save women from becoming what they didn't want to. She pulled the country out of a deep well of misery. And you would have to understand the pain of seeing the clowns (again), to fully appreciate this great woman.

Am I right?

This is a picture my cousin took in Mangalbarey, in 2007. It was a nice trip to Nepal's remote village.. It reads-  We are the voice for a community, free from girl trafficking. We welcome you.

Anuradha Koirala, Cnn Hero 2010

The Story of My life

It was the eleventh year of my  life.  I was busy reading the Baby Sitter's Club and Sweet Valley. Then one of my teachers told me I should read this book.

Titled  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone the first few pages, were gobbledegook. The big words and tiny writing, made me feel like a total idiot trying to decipher something, beyond their capacity.

But Hey!  I didn't give up. It took me two good weeks to complete the novel. By the end of it, I still had many unanswered  questions. Did I tell you I was just 11?

That dreamy look before Harry Potter 7

Then, I read the third installment, Prisoner of Azkaban. I loved it. The world of Harry Ron and Hermione started to make  sense. I started dreaming of Hogwarts. I told my friends to read this fascinating book. They did. Around the same time, computers were becoming popular. And boy, did I love the Desktop dad brought home! Rumors leaked that Warner Bros were making a movie out of it. Now that I think of it, Harry Potter movie must've been the first words I ever googled.

Not surprisingly, Dan Radcliffe became my prince charming and I started reading everything I could about him. Not long after that, I started reading Goblet Of Fire. I was 13 by then.

I got so hooked on to the book that I read it in one day. I locked myself in a room for four long hours and poured over the pages of Triwizard Tournament  and Yule Ball.
By the end of it, mom decided to take me to the eye doctor.

Order of Phoenix was a book I waited for, like never before. I had read all the four parts and very soon would be laying my hands on the fifth one. There was a rumor that someone important would die. I had night-long conversations with my friend about what was to come.

Speculation became surprises. Harry Potter kissed a girl. I went weak on my knees.

By the end of it, I wept like a baby. Why, I asked, why did it have to be Sirius?

My life changed too. I moved to another country. In my high school in Thailand, everyone made fun of the Harry Potter backpack I had. I just smiled.

A year passed.

Then, I joined boarding school in India. My first week of boarding school was the week Half Blood Prince released. Was I pumped?

But there was a problem. The book released Friday and the librarian at my new school said she couldn't  issue it to me, until Monday.  Would you believe me if I said I cried so much that she actually had to hand me a copy? Before it went through a whole bunch of paperwork. I was sixteen and made a librarian break a rule.

By Saturday, I was halfway through the book, when my hostel warden called me. She said I had a package. It was my Birthday Week too. Dad, who was in Thailand, had stood in line for hours, bought me a copy and sent it through express mail. I felt blessed. By Monday, I had chewed the book, inside out. Another tearful night had gone by for I couldn't stop tears from rolling. Do ya'll remember Dumbledore's funeral? =/

Then the two years of boarding school went by  and I graduated '07.

In July that year, Deathly Hallows released. And I read it with my Harry Potter Buddy, Arati. If you listen to our conversations, you would think we're crazy. We probably are.

Movies came and went. The fourth movie was a date! Haha, told you, it has memories. And the fifth movie, was with  different people at different times.

Half Blood Prince released last year. And my story continued in the land of United States.

And today as I anticipate,  I can't say how  excited I am. I have managed to surprise even myself this time..
It must be the fact that  this movie is going to give me a break from the stress in life? Or maybe, I miss being the wacky wizard lover?

But even more, it reminds me of the good times in my life, and the bad ones too.

It was my best friend through teenage. I remember, listening to Simple Plan and reading Phoenix. I remember writing a play with my buddy Ayushi in 11th  grade and enacting it. It was a  pantomime titled, " Harry Potter and the (something) exams."

 Ah Memories. I remember dad yelling at me, for reading the same book more than ten times (never told him it was actually more than 12 times) ^_^

With all that said,  Let's hope for a great movie tonight.

And as for the thought of the day, I leave you with a spell. It'll help you in life:

Wingardium Leviosa   all your worries.
Accio to all the joy.
Expelliarmus what is yours from others.
Imperio your life.
For your wish
Should be its command.

In simpler words

Leviate your worries
and bring joy to yourself
Take rightfully what is yours
And command your life
To do as you may
For your wish
is its command.

My News video

I am not so good. But I try. My Teacher tells me I need to improvise on my editing skills. She says I need to stop shaking while holding a camera and avoid those jumpcuts. I try. Anways, Hope you enjoy this piece.


My news piece on Resume Sty

Behind the curtains

During my time of the month, I am overwhelmed with emotions and suddenly poetry comes to me like breathing.  Here's one of those moments.

                                          Behind the curtains

                                           When the first drop of ink claims itself on 

                                                                        a paper

                                           You never know, of the worth it will become

                                                  It could cease to begin, right then.

                                                          Or it could become an epic.

                                                            Kept in a jeweled chest,

                                                                  Like a treasure.

                                                  What we forget, is that the drop

                                             is a puppet, and the pen is the strings.

                                             And you are the one behind the curtains.

                                                                     Goodluck =)

Flight

First of all, for those who don't know me too well, You must be thinking why I disappeared? For those who know me all too well, you know the slack I am made of!

Anyways, I carry my new camera around, hunting for stuff to shoot. I shot a guy running around. Too boring. I took a video of me. More boring.

Finally, I found a certain group of friends and their way of life struck me. 

They fly. Now that fall 2010 is slowly moving away and winter is casting it chilly spells, every evening, I see flocks of birds starting to migrate. It's one of those moments. They overtake the sky. They are everywhere. They make a stop at electric poles. They rest. Sometimes we see peck-kisses-peck. It's cute!

So I  wrote something, and made a short video.

From nowhere, a song becomes

A lyrics is written on the skies

There is a ball, a dance. There is love.

But the cars below, are too busy to know.

More later.

Thought for the day: Try following those birds. 

And the video is blurry. Bear with me. I am still trying technology =)

Commencement

Fullfilling the promise I made to myself, I dutifully selected the theme for my vlog/blog, as soon as my new camera arrived. Yippie. It is hard to contain my new found passion! As heaps of homework and undone assignments scream at me for being the slacker I am, I have to say goodbye for now. More later. We're on a roll.