s! the outlaw torn

ok, so this one’s not really half-nekkid! we moved recently, and i unearthed this pair of jeans, which i wore to death back in undergrad! unfortunately the waist doesn’t fit anymore.. a shame really, considering the effort that went into carefully stitching and trimming the slits and unravelling the frayed edges!

for newbies, this is what its all about.. and here is where you can see all the entries for the day!!(scroll down till you see Hiding Half-Nekkid This Week in the Back Row on the right!)

time to tickle your tastebuds again.. here’s presenting pork chops with sauteed vegetables! the recipe is pretty simple, and you’ll find it on the recipe blog

it’s been a while since i wrote about how things are going with me.. so here’s the blurb! this post has partly been brought upon by the slew of people mailing me up and buzzing me on IM asking what’s up.. y’all know i’m too lazy to mail back and stuff!!

- things are going pretty well with the thesis.. i’ve managed to move most of the data from lab journals to spreadsheet files, so now its just a lot of plotting and stuff, making the data look more presentable to the layman’s eye.. not that i see any reason why a layman would want to read the thesis!!

- on the health front, i’m just getting over a wicked cough.. damned hacking kept me awake quite a few nights! luckily i didn’t get a runny nose and all that, i absolutely detest that! this cough really cramped my life though.. haven’t touched any alcohol in umm.. let’s see.. ten days now.. *eyes widening in horror* has it really been that long?!!

- work at the library has been quite peaceful.. ever since i got promoted to Student Co-Ordinator it’s been pretty good. lots of new staff at the library, so i think my dreary days of shelving in the stacks are over! hehe! the measly payrise was a bit of a let-down though, but i do have over 70 hours of back-pay still due.. so can’t really complain!

- my sports teams are having a miserable run of it.. in football the Buffalo Bills are hobbling now, with injuries and confusion plaguing the team, and the UB Bulls are just hopeless, firmly entrenched in the bottom ten of the college rankings.. yep, bottom ten! and in soccer, Juventus are 100% in the Italian league, which is a great sign, they look really strong, but in England, Everton are in free-fall. despite all the money spent, the influx of so many players, and actually playing decently, they’re still yet to catch a break. enough said.

- finally, despite all the things whirling about in my world, there is a sense of calm and serenity. there is a purpose in life, and i seem to have found it again. and there is a lot of happiness too, and it’s about time i had some of that!

Bush bombards Afghanistan, and takes over the oil pipeline management.
contracts awarded to Halliburton.

Bush ‘liberates’ Iraq, and starts reconstructing what he’s blown up.
contracts awarded to Halliburton.

Bush visits New Orleans, and initiates rebuilding of the city and state.
contracts awarded to.. Halliburton.

George Bush’s running mate Dick Cheney once led Halliburton, and despite his claims that he has cut off all his ties with it, he receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. for a government that claims to be democratic and transparent and all that jazz, isn’t that just glaringly wrong?!

i like to listen to some music in the frenzied few minutes between waking up and leaving home in the mornings.. frenetic cos i’d rather sleep some more than wake up an hour before and be all chilled out as i go about the morning ablutions!

i try to get up thus with some kickass rock to jumpstart the day.. some System Of A Down, Linkin Park or Ill Nino usually does the trick, though i will listen to Live sometimes too.. but the one song i love starting off with is Metallica’s ‘The Outlaw Torn’.. it anoints me with equal doses of vim & vigor, humor & humility to face the day..

what song do you start the day with?!

this HNT is dedicated to all the folks in Texas preparing for Rita, and especially to L and her family, who found the time among all this to send me a care package! the cap is from the Texas Longhorns.. who are 3-0 for the season, including a thriller against the OSU Buckeyes..

also, my friend Kavi, the webdesigner par excellence, took some time out to make us this HNT button, which y’all can use.. enjoy! feel free to drop her a line if you need a website or a blog template designed.. girlunfettered(at)gmail(dot)com

for newbies, this is what its all about.. and here is where you can see all the entries for the day!!(scroll down till you see Hiding Half-Nekkid This Week in the Back Row on the right!)

B.S.  - Bull Shit

M.S.  - More of the Same

Ph.D. – Piled Higher and Deeper

the portents are all in place, the signs clear to see. i really feel that this time it’s the real thing. the feelings struck me in the middle of the night.. flushed face, sweaty brow, increased heartbeat.. bright eyes, clammy palms, garbled thoughts.. a wry smile creased my face. i hadn’t thought this would happen again, not with this intensity! oh well, i guess this really is it!

i have the flu.

ash and i went for a concert yesterday.. a band that we’d been planning to add to the substantial list we’ve accumulated over the two years.. Disturbed!! They’re touring in support of their third album ‘Ten Thousand Fists‘ coming out on tuesday, along with Ill Nino and 10 Years..

make no mistake, this is one angry band!! Disturbed make no pretenses to play to keep purists happy. they release a lot of fury with their music.. staccato machinegun drums, heavy heavy basslines, tearing screaming guitars and David’s unique roar.. RRRRAAWWKK! he certainly knew how to play to the packed crowd, and took quite a few breaks to speak to the crowd about the ineptitude of the government, the struggles of life and keeping the spirits up.. it was a really stuffed place, a closed pub actually, with 2,000 people jammed in.. moshpits, bodysurfing and all.. bouncing in unison and fists pumping in the air.. Disturbed!!

earlier on Ill Nino had taken the stage.. i really love this band! their music can only be described as Latino nu-metal.. really rhythmic with latin-toned harmonies, but with the most kickass shredding guitars and thundering bass, they even had two drum kits!! their set looked more Slipknot.. with long braids flying everywhere, and the stage chock-full. they actually have spanish lyrics in most of their songs too.. makes for very interesting music!

finally a quick word about 10 Years.. definitely one of the better opening acts we’ve seen.. they certainly have the potential to go further.

a couple of weeks back, i got into a mini-argument with someone who said that he felt Kurt Cobain wasn’t a good writer. i am very biased in such an argument, because i happen to be a fan of Kurt’s. yes, he was a crack addict who couldn’t handle his life and chose what seemed like the easier way out. very few people know about the other side to his life, that he was plagued by stomach ulcers and couldn’t eat anything for years and years.. its not a wonder he was emaciated and pallid, a steady diet of alcohol, painkillers and dope would do that to anyone. but i digress.

what makes a piece of writing good? is it some sort of alliterative rhyme that makes it melodic? is it the vivid use of words that describe emotions? is it the stark honesty behind it that strikes a chord? is it just the fact that it simply relates to something you feel or have felt?

after all, what are words? aren’t they just keys to the soul of a reader, much like beauty lying in the eye of the beholder. what defines good writing?