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Every blogger worth his/her salt has already taken it up… at least the ones on my google reader list.

PA resisted…. yes, she does resist tags but later gives in.

So, you may find her doing this tag soon whenever she hops onto her wordpress acount next. ‘May’ is the keyword.

Real Women

Excuse me while I throw this down, I’m old and cranky and tired of hearing the idiocy repeated by people who ought to know better.

Real women do not have curves.   Real women do not look like just one thing.

Real women have curves, and not.   They are tall, and not.  They are brown-skinned, and olive-skinned, and not.  They have small breasts, and big ones, and no breasts whatsoever.

Real women start their lives as baby girls.  And as baby boys.  And as babies of indeterminate biological sex whose bodies terrify their doctors and families into making all kinds of very sudden decisions.

Real women have big hands and small hands and long elegant fingers and short stubby fingers and manicures and broken nails with dirt under them.

Real women have armpit hair and leg hair and pubic hair and facial hair and chest hair and sexy moustaches and full, luxuriant beards.  Real women have none of these things, spontaneously or as the result of intentional change.  Real women are bald as eggs, by chance and by choice and by chemo.  Real women have hair so long they can sit on it.  Real women wear wigs and weaves and extensions and kufi and do-rags and hairnets and hijab and headscarves and hats and yarmulkes and textured rubber swim caps with the plastic flowers on the sides.

Real women wear high heels and skirts.  Or not.

Real women are feminine and smell good and they are masculine and smell good and they are androgynous and smell good, except when they don’t smell so good, but that can be changed if desired because real women change stuff when they want to.

Real women have ovaries.  Unless they don’t, and sometimes they don’t because they were born that way and sometimes they don’t because they had to have their ovaries removed.  Real women have uteruses, unless they don’t, see above.  Real women have vaginas and clitorises and XX sex chromosomes and high estrogen levels, they ovulate and menstruate and can get pregnant and have babies. Except sometimes not, for a rather spectacular array of reasons both spontaneous and induced.

Real women are fat.  And thin.  And both, and neither, and otherwise.  Doesn’t make them any less real.

There is a phrase I wish I could engrave upon the hearts of every single person, everywhere in the world, and it is this sentence which comes from the genius lips of the grand and eloquent Mr. Glenn Marla:

There is no wrong way to have a body.

I’m going to say it again because it’s important: There is no wrong way to have a body.

And if your moral compass points in any way, shape, or form to equality, you need to get this through your thick skull and stop with the “real women are like such-and-so” crap.

You are not the authority on what “real” human beings are, and who qualifies as “real” and on what basis.  All human beings are real.

Yes, I know you’re tired of feeling disenfranchised.  It is a tiresome and loathsome thing to be and to feel.  But the tit-for-tat disenfranchisement of others is not going to solve that problem.  Solidarity has to start somewhere and it might as well be with you and me.

Okay, coming to this other crazy thing called marriage –

How long is a newly married person considered newly married? Have you ever thought about it?

Do you ever wake up in the morning thinking about how cool single life was, and then you turn around, look at your spouse, feel a gush of love and then think how wonderful this thing called shaadi is…

Frankly speaking, I sometimes just forget that I am married until I notice the Hubster around – and in my head exclaim – Oh haan! Yeh toh mera pati hai!

The only thing that I have been doing for quite a while when it comes to blogging -

Open wordpress.

Click on the ‘add new post’

Look around for a while.

Yawn a bit.

Logout.

-

After pondering a bit, I realized I generally don’t blog when -

1. I have nothing to write/share.

2. I have lots to share but don’t know where to begin.

I am currently in the second category.

Ever wondered why Taureans apologise to the floor or Cancerians hate saying ‘Sorry’! Here’s how some signs say ‘Sorry’, some try, some try real hard, while some never even try.

Aries

They are sure they have done nothing that demands apology. Sorry to say, but ‘Sorry’ is the last thing you can expect from them. And if they do it, it sounds as if they are talking to themselves. If you hear it, you are lucky.

Taurus

Taureans apologise to the ground. They will never see you in the eye, while uttering the dreadful word. They wait for the maximum damage to happen before apologising. After all, one murder or two murders, you can be hanged only once.

Gemini

Geminis are perfect people – at least that’s what they feel. And the best part is that if they realise they’ve made a mistake, they know how to act ignorant. Criminals can take a crash course from them in beating the lie detector. Such innocent souls, they will make you feel guilty for expecting an apology from them.

Cancer

Cancerians go a step further that Geminis. They force you to jump off a cliff for even imagining a sorry from them. They will burn their Rolls Royce, but never say sorry to guy they ran into. They hurt themselves. And they keep doing it till you start feeling sorry for yourself and decide never ever to seek an apology from them.

Leo

Leos love attention and contrary to the belief, they love apologising. For them, it’s just another way to get noticed. They will send you flowers, they will cook for you… Imagine it and they can do it. Greeting card makers love them, as they buy almost all the ‘Sorry’ cards.

Virgo

Logic takes over, when it’s time for a Virgo to apologise. Saying sorry would be on their job list for the day. They need time to prepare themselves and even memorise their apologies. There’s actually a script…a proper sequence of dialogues, needless to say, taking your reactions into considerations as well. Forget about Oscar speeches?this one’s a winner all the way.

Libra

Librans are very vocal when they know their mistake. You won’t find a better sign, when it’s about saying sorry. They feel their apologies. Now that’s one achievement. Leos can pretend for attention, but Librans – they never stammer while saying ‘Sorry’.

Scorpio

Scorpions will say ‘Sorry’ a hundred times, but never mean it. So don’t get fooled. They will not face you?they do it over the phone, send a card, sms or an email. The reason – they believe doing something wrong is no big deal. You still need a sorry from them!

Sagittarius

‘Sorry’ doesn’t feature in their vocabulary. They will never ever say the word; you put a gun to their head; they would rather take the shot than apologise. You make one mistake, and they need a sorry, just one would do.

Capricorn

Capricornians have been trying hard to eradicate ‘Sorry’ from the face of this earth for ages. They choose not to remember it. But you make one mistake – and you are dead. They need apologies in every way – sms, email, phone call, letter – whatever form of communication you can imagine and was ever invented. And your reason better be convincing as well.

Aquarius

They believe in damage control. They may not apologise, but they try every bit to undo their mistake. Actions speak more than words. Aquarians definitely know that.

Pisces

Pisceans have a mind of their own. What’s wrong for you is right for them, so what’s the apology for – a different perspective! They force you to change your perception. Do not ever expect an apology from them. If you get one, you qualify for all the record books.

So now you know what to expect when someone you know makes a mistake. Keep a check on your expectations accordingly.

But the question is, did you want to watch the Royal Wedding?

PA had no plans of watching the Royal Wedding but still found herself watching it.

I guess its something about a Royal Wedding… a prince getting married to a commoner. Isn’t that what fairy tales are made of!

It was almost evening here in Sydney when I started watching the morning wedding live from UK.

And as I listen to Dhoom Tana from Om Shanti Om, I share some knick knacks from the wedding:

Hats. Good, bad and ugly hats. Amazing hats. It was like a swarm of hats going for a wedding. Made me want to start a hat business myself.

For more hats, visit And the Music Plays Facebook Page.

So, who’s hat do you like the most? And the least?

With so many hats around, how the hell will these women actually watch the ceremony! What if your hat pokes your partner on your side or the person sitting behind you!

All the opera type singing in the end made me feel damn hungry and sleepy at the same time. Maybe Sidhu should have started a commentary about the wedding. Its good that the Camilla didn’t fall asleep during the wedding. Else it would be case of Sauteli Saas so gayi sauteli bahu ki shaadi mein.
Ah! I so love catholic weddings! Hindu weddings should also have ‘Now you may kiss the bride’ scenario in full public for extra spice! Everyone waited for Will and Kate to kiss immediately after they said ‘I do’. Alas! They didn’t. People were dissapointed. Including me. We’re Brits. We don’t kiss. However after a long wait… they did kiss when they came out in the balcony to do their waving sequence.

Look at the little girl… with hands on her ears. She seems to be really annoyed with all the noise pollution!

Loved the way in which Will and Kate kept giving little glances to each other during the wedding. The mesmerizing look in his eyes as she recited the vows… hmmmm…. Imagine Kate humming in her mind ‘Dil deewana bin sajna ke maane na, yeh pagla hai samjhane se samjhe na’
This whole wedding thing made me want to get married all over again to my favorite man in blue, the Hubster!
Watching the bride seconds before the wedding, made me all teary-eyed. Silly me! And I was even feeling nervous. Wonder why! Weddings do this to me. Mine as well as others!
Kate was quite modestly dressed. No tube dress. No cleavage show. Me-likes!
Prince Charles has more hair on his head than PrinceWilliams.
Somehow, I don’t like Camilla. Looks like she will turn out to be a wicked MIL.
The Queen was dressed as a sunflower. Or maybe a lemon.

Mother of the bride. Loved her sub-dued makeup.
Prince Williams was looking a tad nervous minutes before the wedding as he reached the venue. Tell me why!
And then few seconds before the wedding. You should have seen the look on his face! Th epre-wedding blush on a man! Reminds me of my own Hubster! Just before he became the Hubster.
The speculation about Kate’s dress was making TV presenters go mad. What will she wear? Who will she wear? No one seemed to care about what will HE wear? Who will HE wear?
How the hell did Victoria Beckham manage to stick that hat on her forehead!

Managed to even spot a woman in Sari.
With my Facebook flooded with live updates from me, a friend actually managed to ask if I was at the wedding. Silly.
Kate Ki Kamar. Size 6.

The 50 New Rules of Work by Robin Sharma

1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable – and to pursue projects that scare you.

2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.

3. Lead you first. You can’t help others reach for their highest potential until you’re in the process of reaching for yours.

4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.

5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.

6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.

7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what’s best for your organization and the customers you serve.

8. Don’t fall in love with your press releases.

9. Every moment in front of a customer is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess – or you don’t).

10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.

11. Become obsessed with the user experience such that every touchpoint of doing business with you leaves people speechless. No, breathless.

12. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. The moment you get to work, you’re on stage. Give us the performance of your life.

13. Be a Master of Your Craft. And practice + practice + practice.

14. Get fit like Madonna.

15. Read magazines you don’t usually read. Talk to people who you don’t usually speak to. Go to places you don’t commonly visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh + hungry + brilliant.

16. Remember that what makes a great business – in part – are the seemingly insignificant details. Obsess over them.

17. Good enough just isn’t good enough.

18. Brilliant things happen when you go the extra mile for every single customer.

19. An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production. Enough said.

20. If you’re not failing regularly, you’re definitely not making much progress.

21. Lift your teammates up versus tear your teammates down. Anyone can be a critic. What takes guts is to see the best in people.

22. Remember that a critic is a dreamer gone scared.

23. Leadership’s no longer about position. Now, it’s about passion. And having an impact through the genius-level work that you do.

24. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.

25. If you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re following – not leading.

26. Work hard. But build an exceptional family life. What’s the point of reaching the mountaintop but getting there alone.

27. The job of the leader is to develop more leaders.

28. The antidote to deep change is daily learning. Investing in your professional and personal development is the smartest investment you can make. Period.

29. Smile. It makes a difference.

30. Say “please” and “thank you”. It makes a difference.

31. Shift from doing mindless toil to doing valuable work.

32. Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job.

33. Don’t do your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers.

34. The only standard worth reaching for is BIW (Best in World).

35. In the new world of business, everyone works in Human Resources.

36. In the new world of business, everyone’s part of the leadership team.

37. Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.

38. You become your excuses.

39. You’ll get your game-changing ideas away from the office versus in the middle of work. Make time for solitude. Creativity needs the space to present itself.

40. The people who gossip about others when they are not around are the people who will gossip about you when you’re not around.

41. It could take you 30 years to build a great reputation and 30 seconds of bad judgment to lose it.

42. The client is always watching.

43. The way you do one thing defines the way you’ll do everything. Every act matters.

44. To be radically optimistic isn’t soft. It’s hard. Crankiness is easy.

45. People want to be inspired to pursue a vision. It’s your job to give it to them.

46. Every visionary was initially called crazy.

47. The purpose of work is to help people. The other rewards are inevitable by-products of this singular focus.

48. Remember that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done.

49. Keep promises and be impeccable with your word. People buy more than just your products and services. They invest in your credibility.

50. Lead Without a Title.

Do you wait for the confusion to end?

Or do you take some action for the confusion to end?

And if it does end; and when it does end,

Does that again start a chain of more confusions?

Or does that become a happy moment?

Or you wonder, oh hell, why did the confusion end?

And what if you find yourself saying,

The state of confusion before the end of confusion was better,

Or the state of confusion after the end of confusion is better?