Recycle Bin

Friends

2009-06-19T13:16:00.003-05:00

Can ever girl friends be replaced? I keep thinking about it all the time. Once you get a partner/boy friend or lover, I think girl friends suffer the most. Even if times have changed, girls always try to become part of their partner's family and friends. Although I personally did not have to go through that phase, where I had to make big changes to accommodate my married status, my best friends had moved miles away trying to start their new families. Yes I am writing this because I miss them terribly. Although there are few friends whom I left thousands of miles away in India, in quest of freedom it never occurred to me how they must have felt till recently. I was too busy being happy with my love. But, in the back of my mind, I was sure, I was missing something. In these close to 4 years, I have become close to my blood relations, my mom , my brother whom I never understood completely till the geographical distances made it evident that I love them alot and I miss them. As of now, my mom is my newly found Best Friend. Still, I can't say everything to her..I can't be sad with her..I can only share my happiness. She has enough grief in her life to deal with. Some how in between all of this, I realized I have moved away from my close friends unknowingly.

I think I am drifting away in my own thoughts and coming back to do reality check. Girl friends are irreplaceable. This is my salute to all great girl friends everywhere...mine, yours, anybody's ....

Thesis blues...!!!QW$@#$%@#^&&^%&*

2008-11-01T14:10:00.002-05:00

This is my second thesis. I did one in India for completion of my B.Arch degree. Oh boy!It was a night mare. Here I am after 4 years doing the same thing. Thesis!

How green are we?

2008-11-01T14:03:00.001-05:00

I read this in http://www.inhabitat.com/

It is an interesting read on how small changes in out habits can make a whole lot of difference.

Read on and please do implement them. :)

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/10/29/green-home-101-7-bad-habits-of-eco-consumers/

Somthing I found interesting

2008-09-26T13:07:00.002-05:00

PROJECT GREEN

The Bad News About Green Architecture

Sustainable buildings are virtuous, but they can be ugly. Only a few designs are truly great.

By Cathleen McGuigan | NEWSWEEK

Published Sep 6, 2008

From the magazine issue dated Sep 15, 2008

I hate green architecture. I can't stand the hype, the marketing claims, the smug lists of green features that supposedly transform a garden-variety new building into a structure fit for Eden. Grassy roofs? Swell! Recycled gray water to flush the toilets? Excellent! But if 500 employees have to drive 40 miles a day to work in the place—well, how green is that? Achieving real sustainability is much more complicated than the publicity suggests. And that media roar is only getting louder. The urge to build green is exploding: more than 16,000 projects are now registered with the U.S. Green Building Council as intending to go for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)—or sustainable—certification, up from just 573 in 2000.

Among those are various plans to build at least 50 million square feet of new green resorts in Las Vegas, where ecoconsciousness is suddenly as hot as Texas Hold 'Em. The largest LEED-rated building in the country is the 8.3 million-square-foot Palazzo Resort Hotel and Casino, which opened there last January. As it happens, the state of Nevada offers developers property-tax rebates—up to 35 percent—for LEED certification. Don't worry about the tons of jet fuel that will be used to deliver millions more tourists to Vegas each year—those visitors can help make up for that by reusing the towels in their hotels.

When it comes to green, people don't want to hear that size matters. We keep building not just bigger entertainment complexes but bigger houses. "Green McMansion" is one of my favorite oxymorons. Currently the average new house is 2,500 square feet, up 1.5 percent in size from last year—though the shock of this winter's fuel bills may finally slow the trend. Building green houses—or at least advertising them as green—is on the rise, though there are no national standards about what constitutes a green home. People are attracted to sustainable houses partly as a cool novelty, when in fact green dwellings have been around for eons. Think of igloos, tepees or yurts—they took advantage of readily available local materials and were designed to suit their specific environments. Shelters around the world tend to be situated to benefit from the sun in the winter or to shield their inhabitants from chilling winds. But we forgot those basic principles when we plunked down every possible style of house into our sprawling American suburbs.

If you want to understand what makes sustainable sense, check out the classic old shotgun houses of New Orleans that best survived Katrina (and just got a pass from Gustav): these modest homes are built high off the ground to resist flood damage; they are made of local wood that dries out; they have high ceilings and cross ventilation to deal with the stifling summer heat. But the houses that were ruined—whether in the Lower Ninth Ward or more-affluent neighborhoods—tended to be low-slung ranch houses, a style originally developed for the climate of California.

What bugs me most about the fad for green architecture is the notion that virtue makes for better design. OK, I suppose an ugly green building is better than an ugly nongreen building—but it's still ugly. So when I come upon a beautiful sustainable building that doesn't scream green, it cheers me up. The California Academy of Sciences, opening later this month in San Francisco, is a perfect example. It replaces the old science museum that was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Its design is sensitive to its place and history: the new building doesn't gobble up more space on its spectacular site in Golden Gate Park, and its architect, Renzo Piano, was careful to go no higher—36 feet—than the original structure. The most obvious ecofeature of his elegantly simple glass-sided pavilion is the green roof: a rolling 2.5-acre terrain, inspired in part by the surrounding hills, it cleverly disguises, under its two biggest bumps, the domes of the planetarium and of the rainforest exhibit underneath. The roof is planted with 40 native species (unlike Golden Gate Park itself, which was created out of a sand pit and includes such glamorous nonnatives as palm trees). The plants are kind of low and scrubby—though they bloom at various times—but they were chosen less for prettiness than hardiness, and the fact that they won't need irrigation.

There are lots of examples of innovative green technology in the building, but perhaps the most surprising is in the museum's offices where, says the executive director, Gregory Farrington, you can see hardware that's rare in today's buildings: handles to open the windows. That's because, amazingly, there's no artificial cool air. The only air conditioning is provided free of charge by the breezes that blow off the Pacific—including those that are naturally pulled down by that curvy roof into a lovely open piazza at the center of the museum. "It's a building that breathes with nature," says Piano. And all the gizmos that make this building even greener—the weather sensors that dim or brighten the artificial lights; the thousands of little solar cells tucked into the roof overhangs; the old denim jeans recycled as insulation—are so carefully integrated into the overall architecture that you hardly notice them. Of course, the green features will be explained in the museum's education programs—each year, 50,000 San Francisco schoolkids will visit its aquarium, alligator pool and other exhibits of the living and the dead. But personally, I like that Piano's trademark gifts for inventive design and great craftsmanship seem to make the sustainable elements disappear. "Making green buildings is a practical answer," he says in the accent of his native Italy. "But architecture is about desire; it's about dreams."

Spoken like a true romantic, but the point is right-on: sustainability is about the practical systems of building, not the beauty of great design. Established architects like Piano—he's 71—have learned to integrate green into their practices, depending on where they're working (the rules are strict in many countries of Europe, where Piano is based). But for the next generation of architects, sustainability will be second nature—they're learning in architecture schools how to incorporate green into design, and some of them will become the innovators who'll devise ever more efficient ecological solutions. And the U.S. Green Building Council is continuing to evolve its suggested standards: access to mass transit, rather than the necessity of cars, gets credit, as does adapting to a specific climate—a principle central to the sustainability of the California Academy of Sciences. It's expected to score a LEED platinum rating, making it the greenest museum in the United States. But I wish we didn't have to trumpet that achievement in the same breath as praising its design. I look forward to a future when green architecture won't be discretionary but required of every architect and builder. Then we could all shut up about it. Sustainable features would become as exciting as the plumbing systems and as essential as a roof that keeps out the rain.

With Daniel Stone

Life is all about moving on..

2008-09-16T15:23:00.002-05:00

This is something I always keep in mind. I brood over certain issues, but not for long and more over my brain wanders but my heart remains.

First hit

2008-09-14T12:50:00.001-05:00

Are you thinking about an album or an event ;)? No. I meant our first accident. It was a crappy day all together. We got up early but with not so good feeling. We had our carnatic programme in the evening at the temple. I was all dressed up in a saree and was excited to be on stage after a long time. Ohh well! Priya, Prashant and I started our keerthana..." Palukey Bangaramayena ..."and bingo....we lost our sync...one of us has skipped a line and that instantly made me giggle, coz we were singing the wrong line. I know, I was an a**, but I couldn't stop myself. I am always famous for the wrong reasons. Anyway, so the three Gana Gandharva's regained our composure and finished the keerthana on a better note.
First of all, it was shameful that we forgot our lines, then I laughed at it on stage and then to see all this glory, we invited our close friends. Ohh did I mention, I lost Prashant's gold chain the same day too. Hell yes!
Now comes the best part. We borrowed our friend's car that weekend, to attend the practise sessions as well as the concert. On the way back, after already being cranky about the whole saga, we were exiting from the highway to a local road, to fuel our chariot. Least did we expect that, all the traffic has come to a halt around the corner. We were driving slowly at 20 mph, turning on the ramp and saw all the vehicles stopped. Although we slammed the brakes real hard, it was too late before the coupe parked itself under the gaint van. For a moment, Prashant and I were shocked and didn't know what to do. The driver of the van came out and started yelling at us, but soon, he pulled some money from his pockets and gave it to us and drove quickly out of the sight. The honking of the cars behind us made us realize that we have to move. Our car bonet was completely damaged and we didn't even note down the SUV's no. The other driver was drunk, so he did not care to make a complaint on us. I don't know if we were lucky, but the damages costed us more than what we thought and to our grief, the insurance had limited coverage on the car, so had to pay helluvalot of money. We reached home at 3 in the morning, after informing our friend, parking the car in a closed garage to see no one steals any parts from it and making calls to insurance company. It was Saturday, the 13th of Sept. I am not superstitious but still hate that day.

My blogging rules

2008-09-12T21:16:00.000-05:00

I will write however I want. I will not edit the post once I have posted it. I will not follow strict engligh ;) means, I will use hinglish or tinglish at times. :P

It's all about Money, Honey!

2008-09-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

Money!Money!Money!
How much ever you deny, money plays an important role in our lives. In every thing you do including relationships, the effects of money follow like a shadow.Why does is all burn down to money.

I was never the one to be born with a silver spoon. My family struggled to even feed us at times. There were days when my mom would have extreme difficulty to buy 1 kilo of rice. We were always asked to listen to anything anyone would say, cause we didn't have money. People say that life is all about compromises. Yes, it was very true for my parents. They never had a choice, all they had was to adjust to what ever they got. I grew up with a grudge on everybody around me. I wanted to be independent and self sufficient.

But can we ever be fully independent?When dear ones think about money over you, does it pinch you? Or is it natural? I am confused. When people so close to you care about money they have spent on you, doesn't it hurt more than anything else? What is the measure of love, affection for that matter how do u value a relationship?

Marriage customs and traditions

2008-09-12T00:11:00.000-05:00

Recently I was looking at my friends' wedding pictures and I noticed the guy was wearing a suit for the actual wedding ceremony and performed all the rituals. At first I thought it was silly, then stupid then funny.
When I see south Indian weddings these days, they have become very modernized. Gone are the days when the wedding used to last 3 days, well who's got the time anyways. Every body wants to come to India for a Wedding vacation. 'Chat mangni, phat byah'.
The Indian wedding rituals and vows have very deep meaning in them, explaining the couple about the importance of the marital life, companionship and the life ahead of them. I pity people who don't make an attempt to even understand our own culture and traditions, when they have all the time in the world to morph Western cultures.
Start at home is my advice to everyone. People around the globe are trying to understand and learn about India. We being Indians should not neglect our own values.

Jab we met

2008-09-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

Not the movie, but when Prashant and I met. They say there is no such thing as a perfect world or perfect person. But I met one such nearly perfect person only to become a part of his life later on.
He is handsome, sings very well, dances well, performs well, decent cook, can handle things emotionally as well as diplomatically, has very good sense of humor ( I will never forget his PJs :P ), loves parents and the most important aspect, Loves me a lot and takes care of me. I was sincerely overwhelmed by this package and don't know how many times I have thanked god for being so kind on me.
2.5 years since we met for the first time, I wonder at how our lives got interwoven with each other's and where would we have been, if not for that first meeting :). God bless us and our families forever. :)

Cut! Copy! Paste!

2008-02-21T16:18:00.000-06:00

When Microsoft programmed Cut, Copy and Paste, little did it expect that humans will get used to them so much that, it has become part of our living. We Copy Paste foreign food, life style, work, culture, emotions, dresses and accent. I am not debating the good or bad. I am simply saying this is what we do. When I see people copying art and say they got inspired???? it kills me. Losers!
Art, architecture, music, movies, you name it, you have it. People talk about piracy so much, but why not about Plagiarism. Though there is a copy rights act that bounds you morally and legally (?) from getting too much inspired by someone's work of art or research.
I have seen too many people doing this in architecture and music. I once confronted a friend of mine, who was directly copying projects from India and abroad into his website and boasting them as his own projects. I was surprised the confidence with which he was talking about those projects and empathized with people who were working with him including his clients. For telling him not to do, I got back offensive messages, showing his character. Though I didn't care about it much, I was awestruck by his foolishness and determination to copy projects.
Well! People! People! Such is the life of the parasites. 1 Zillion Peter Keating's will be born for every Howard Roark .

My first post

2008-02-18T13:33:00.000-06:00

Writing a blog! Hmm! I was always fascinated by books and how words can convey so many things by juggling them in the right way. Writing to me is an outlet. I once up on a time wrote small poems and short stories in Telugu which is my mother tongue. Though my English is not the best, I will try to put together my feelings and thoughts through this medium in English.
I once used to write a diary too. After coming to this Land of Opportunities, my interests have either died or got burried in the fight to survive.
I me myself will keep penning down some of my thoughts from now on.