Muddling through

My life is not that exciting. If you’re thinking you already knew that and wondering what that has to do with anything, let me assure you that I’m setting the stage. Not for anything exciting – because, again, my life isn’t all that exciting – but to tell you how it is that on a Wednesday night as college students across red states and blue are on their fifth Jägerbomb, I got to pondering the meaning of the word “muddle”. Yes, muddle – a word that dictionary.com tells me means “to mix up in a confused or bungling manner” and that about.com more helpfully explains means “to combine ingredients, usually in the bottom of a mixing glass, by pressing them with a muddler before adding the majority of the liquid ingredients.” It’s the latter definition I’m after. Not because I’m an alcoholic, because (mostly) I’m not. (No offense to alcoholics – I don’t doubt that there’s always a cure for what ails you at the bottom of your eighth dirty martini.) That’s the definition I want because the recipe for a Thai Martini says to “muddle the cilantro and simple syrup in a glass”. I’d be happy to muddle whatever it takes to make a good martini, but it’s not enough to have cilantro and simple syrup and all the nonsense in the whole world when you don’t know what to do with it. Now of course I’m quite the expert on how to muddle. The word by the way is both a noun and a verb. While I’m not a big fan of multitasking in people (invariably we all do it badly), I do love a word that can do two things at once. Not only did I find out what it means to muddle, I also found out that Bacardi Mojito commercial I vaguely remember shows a bartender muddling mint leaves to make a drink while pretty young things are getting down to a song called – you guessed it – ‘The Muddle’. I love it – the rhythm is harder to get out of your head than even ‘Copacabana’. See for yourself! So what’s the point? I certainly haven’t made my Thai Martini, but at least I finally posted an entry on this blog after three long months. Boring, you say? Did you not read how all this started? My life is not that exciting. But I'm certainly not complaining.

Happy New Year!!!

You know you're lame when it's New Year's eve and your mom's too busy to talk because she's making Long Island Iced Teas for friends and your four-year-old niece has to get off the phone immediately because she's off to a party. C'est la vie, as they say in New Orleans. So did you watch 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve' on TV? I guess he had a stroke recently; he seemed to have trouble talking, and it was hard to watch. Of course Ryan Seacrest is hard to watch too. I don't know if it's because (A) he makes you feel lazy for having one job instead of 10, (B) his teeth are blindingly white or (C) he's just generally annoying. (Probably B.) On to another big topic this time of year – New Year's resolutions. Did you make any? My friend suggested having your friends make resolutions for you. We didn't get very far, but we didn't try really hard. Enough blabbing… after all the year is young. Happy New Year!

How I plan to get on the local news

I leave Chicago for just a few days and what happens? Absolute pandemonium it seems. Geez, couldn't someone hold down the fort? What I'm talking about is the whackjob driver who drove into the local Chicago ABC station on State Street during Ravi Baichwal's live Sunday newscast. (Click here to check out the YouTube clip.) Soon afterwards the main story on the news was, well, the news itself with the anchor talking about what just happened 30 feet away. I haven't read too much about this, but one report suggested the driver may have done this intentionally because he was annoyed at being told to move his car. (Parking challenges apparently "drive" some people crazier than others.) In case you're wondering this will absolutely not deter me from getting on the news one day by standing outside the station waving like a madwoman. You know what I'm talking about: Right after the 5:00 and 6:00 broadcasts the camera pans to the crowd and sometimes does a close-up of a cute, little baby or a random weirdo. Seeing as how I have no baby to pull the camera my way, I'll just have to let my inner weirdo out. Shouldn't be tough. So keep your eyes peeled, as I'd hate for you to miss my 15 seconds of fame.

The Hindu priest and his cell phone

INDIA: I’ve lamented in earlier posts about the absurd situations in which people answer cell phones. The phone rings in the loo? No problem… answer it. Marathon? What the heck… you’ve got 20+ miles to go. Sex? So what… pick up the phone dammit. Now you can add to the it’s-ok list the puja, a Hindu ritual performed for various purposes (e.g., religious holidays, functions). I was at a relative’s housewarming last night when, during the puja, I noticed that the Hindu priest had a cell phone fastened snugly in a belt holder. The phone didn’t ring, but it did get me thinking. What if it did? Would he have answered it? Or does he turn the ringer off? (In my experience Indians are worse than even Americans about turning off their ringers; they simply don’t.) I broached the topic with my aunt, who wasn’t surprised by the phone. She informed me that the priest who comes to their house has answered his cell phone mid-puja. Of course that got me thinking too. What are the phone calls about? Some distraught mother requesting an urgent puja to get her 30-something daughter married off? Hmm. As for the priest at the housewarming, he wrapped up the puja, put away a few things and quickly took out his cell phone. (See picture.) I suspect he was checking for missed calls from distraught mothers and not text messages from friends asking where to meet for drinks that night.

What's on TV?

INDIA: Since I've become such an expert doer of nothing and watcher of TV the past 10 days, I might as well report back on these most substantial of activities. So if you're dying to know what's on TV here in India (or what I’m watching anyway), I’d be most happy to fill you in.

Madhuri Dixit (above) - She's all over the telly doing press for her new movie. As you may know she was the biggest Bollywood actress of the 90s. She got married eight years ago to an Indian-American surgeon and now lives in Denver with the doc and their two kids. Now she's back in 'Aaja Nachle', a movie that released on Friday to so-so reviews. It's been in the news because a few states wanted to ban it owing to a few apparently offensive lyrics and of course because it stars Madhuri, who's back at 40-something and still gorgeous. She's in India for just 20 days to do press.

Cricket - India's playing Pakistan, and I've been watching a little. It's kind of fun, but I admit it’s also because some of the players are cute.

Telugu serials – Unlike in the US even nighttime shows comes on every weeknight instead of once a week. From what I can tell it's all about rape, in-laws, pious women, evil women and, oh yeah, a couple of guys. My grandmother watches for more than four hours a day, so I can't help but catch a little of the fare.

Shah Rukh Khan (right) - King Khan, as he's called, is still the biggest actor in Bollywood. He's in all the fricking commercials (Tag Heuer, cellphones, cars), so you can't escape him on TV either. It's annoying, but then I've never been a huge fan. By the way he's crazy ripped now with six-pack abs and all. I can't figure out how he did it. Steroids? Or maybe it's the supermodel triple cocktail of cocaine, cigarettes and anorexia? Hmm.

Where there's smoke

INDIA: One of the first things I notice when I leave America (which I rarely do) is that most countries are just a great big puff of cigarette smoke. Yuck. You can’t so much as walk through the Frankfurt airport without getting a sore throat and a bit of lung cancer. This time around I noticed it (i.e., smelled it) at the Amsterdam airport and notice it still in India. Was America like this at one time? I vaguely remember a time when smoking wasn’t considered a second-class activity but thankfully it seems like a long time ago.

Life isn't always easy

INDIA: I've been eating so much so fast and doing so little so much that I'm having major backpain. I guess being a lady of leisure isn't as easy you might think...

From Vijayawada with love

INDIA: When I say there were 20 babies on my flight from Amsterdam to Hyderabad I’m not exaggerating; I’m not even rounding up. In fact I know it was 20 because the KLM staff in Amsterdam felt this was crucial info and announced it over the intercom – twice. If you counted everyone under the age of three, that number would easily double. Luckily the three-year-old passenger "sitting" next to me was remarkably well-behaved and quite adorable. Anyway after getting to Hyderabad and spending a day there I’m now here in Vijayawada, widely known as the Jewel of India. Ok so I made that up, so it’s small and you can see from the “parking lot” of the airport straight through to the runway… so what? For two days now I’ve done little but eat and sleep and chat. I could get used to being a lady of leisure – no matter how small the airport. Tomorrow though I’m going to kick things up a notch and go see the latest movie starring my favorite Telugu hero, Mahesh Babu (aka Prince Mahesh Babu).

A season for all things?

There is a season for all things. You know the quote. Or is it a verse from the Bible? Anyway the point is, going by the scientific poll I put on this blog, that season isn’t Winter or Spring. I’m not surprised about Winter (yuck!), but does no one love Spring? Six people voted, and five of them voted for Fall. Only one person voted even for Summer… and I admit that one person was me. My theory? You’re all trying to convince yourselves that Fall is all that because it’s currently what season? Fall, of course. I’d love to bore you some more, but I’ve got a flight to catch. Happy Thanksgiving!

You know you're thirtysomething when...

1. Your girlfriends get glycolic peels (and you badly need one).
2. Your workout goal is no longer just to work out but to work out without getting hurt.
3. It takes 20 emails to plan one brunch – which probably ends up getting canceled.
4. You go out for “drinks” (and wonder why everyone looks so young).
5. You drive through a college campus (and wonder why everyone looks so young).
6. Twentysomethings are shocked if you’re stupid enough to tell them your age.
7. You’re wondering when to start getting regular mammograms.
8. You’re likelier to google “rollover IRA” than “sex”.
9. You meet more men online than offline.
10. You watch more HGTV than MTV.
11. 40 doesn’t sound so old after all.
12. You while away your time making lists like this.

Surfing for porn in public places

I'm on a public computer on a college campus, and the kid next to me -- without any hesitation and not a full arm's length away -- is looking at porn. I don't mean to be a prude, but is it necessary to look at porn in a public place? Yes, I saw 'Avenue Q'... I understand that at its essence the "Internet is for porn". But still! As he traipses from site to site, my peripheral vision doesn't reveal if the fare is X-rated or XXX-rated, just that there's lots of naked people in strange positions. I guess today this is college, a place where I'm surrounded by people at least a decade younger than me checking their Hotmail in class on laptops with wireless access. Not all the time of course. Only when they tire of solitaire.

Gisele and the plunging dollar

We've all heard of a few of those boring, old economic indicators. You know… the Consumer Price Index, Gross Domestic Product, Crude Oil Prices and Gisele Bündchen. Huh??? That’s right – I said Gisele Bündchen. The supermodel who gets to prance around Rome and Paris and New York being young and beautiful and rich. And if that’s not enough she gets to do so in the company of Leo and Tom and other such young and beautiful and rich hotties. But I digress. Apparently Gisele no longer accepts modeling payment in dollars. Since the dollar has fallen to crazy lows against the British pound, the Canadian dollar and other currencies, she insists on euros. Media coverage of this significant macreconomic event suggest this is more bad news for the dollar. I wasn’t worried when I heard gas might hit $4 a gallon, but Gisele’s dollar decision has me panicked: What should I do about the millions of US dollars coming my way? I'm not a Eurobabe myself, but perhaps I could urgently convert to Bhutan ngultrums or Azerbaijan manats. Your two cents? Which by the way are worth less than ever...

For my fabulous fortysomething friend

One of my closest friends turned 40 today. (Because of the time change he got to celebrate his big day for 25 hours.) I said 'Happy Birthday', but I didn’t wait a second more to notify him that he's no longer allowed to read my thirtysomething blog. It's a big birthday for him, and he couldn't have asked for a better gift than that… right? All my loyal readers (all two of them) better be saying 'wrong' and keep reading – that was a trick question! Enough blabbing (er, blogging). Happy Birthday, T, and thanks for a decade of unwavering friendship!

Whose daughter is she?

I came across some interesting info on the daughter of Indian Prime Manmohan Singh. She’s an ACLU staff attorney working in New York City! Apparently she’s “fighting both the Pentagon on Abu Ghraib and airlines on anti-brown discrimination while flying”. Go figure. I don’t know much about the Indian PM, but I have heard he’s very smart. I’ve also heard he’s not your usual corrupt politician. I know he has three daughters but didn’t realize one of them worked for the ACLU. Apparently Amrit's smart -- she graduated from Cambridge, Oxford and Yale. Incidentally it seems like politicians have to have a daughter or two to get up high in politics. (I have a theory on why, but I'll save that for later.) Think Bush (2) and Clinton (1) among others.

How old is too old?

Waiting at my Lincoln Park bus stand last weekend, I chat with a random guy about about a random celebrity – Kirsten Dunst. How do you pronounce her first name? And was she a “skanky bitch” and a “slut” as the stickers on the newspaper stand proclaimed? We then talk about our buildings. They're next door to each other, but he's planning to move. Most of the residents are of a different age group – they’re older, he says. Apparently they don’t approve of the loudness of the fun he and his friends sometimes have. The guy has on a baseball cap, but it’s covering a head full of gray hair, so I assume he’s a fellow thirtysomething talking about Medicare-age neighbors. I’m wrong. He says, “Yeah, I mean they’re older than 35.” Unsure whether to laugh, cry or strangle, I finally opt for a neutral smile.

Go, Bobby... and go, Louisiana!

Bobby Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana last night. At 36 (yes, 36!), he's the youngest governor in the country. He's also the first governor of Indian-American descent. I don't know as much about him as I probably should. While I understand he may lean a little too much to the right sometimes, I also hear this Rhodes scholar is a rising star. Hopefully his election means great things are in store for Louisiana.

My friends are donkeys

Going by the "official" presidential poll I conducted on this blog last month, my readers are mostly Democrats. The biggest shocker? That eight people voted! (So what if one of them was me, right?) Anyway here are the results:
* 50% will vote for Barack
* 25% will vote for Hillary
* 25% will vote for someone other than Barack, Hillary, Mitt & Rudy

Waiting for a special guy

I’m usually the inquisitive one, but last weekend it was my four-year-old niece who had all the questions. She asked if I was married. When I told her I wasn’t, she asked why. I considered launching into a lengthy diatribe about the dating world but held off for her sake and my sanity. Seeing as how we were in question/answer mode, I decided to inquire about her marital status. She was quite open: She let me know that she wasn’t married, that she was waiting for “a special guy”. You probably think I made that up for this blog, but nothing I cook up could be that delicious. I also heard her utter the word “boyfriend” for the very first time. I suspect there’s years of interesting conversations where that came from. Incidentally she and I spent much of the weekend taking pictures together. She was, as I told her, my partner in crime and picture-taking. And anyone who thinks I take a lot of pictures… well, they haven’t seen this little girl. Here you have a picture from her and a picture from me.

Great Darfur Exhibit @ The Field Museum

The Field Museum currently has a temporary exhibit on Darfur that looks very interesting. It’s based primarily on pictures by eight photographers. Among other things the images will be projected on the outside of the Field Museum every night until October 12. Last night the museum hosted a program called ‘DARFUR: Imagery and Reality’. A Chitown thirtysomething friend, PG, attended and loved it. Read on for her thoughts in her words.

“It was really great. The speakers were excellent; they included 28 year-old photographer Ryan Spencer Reed, who spoke so eloquently about the situation there. I am just blown away by him. His photographs of the strife in Chad and Sudan are beautiful, moving and powerful and really capture the resilience of the human spirit. Until his second year of college, he had wanted to be a doctor. (Part of this drive stemmed from the fact that there are 40 million uninsured Americans in this country.) Then during his second year of college, he picked up a camera and found his calling. Another one of the speakers was a Chad refugee who managed to escape the torture and who goes back to help other refugees. It’s inspiring to hear about people’s experiences and to feel that you can make a difference… this group of five people that comprised this panel has managed to lend a voice and raise awareness about the issue.”

The Terrace at the Conrad Chicago Hotel

This has to be one of the best places I've been for drinks all summer. The Terrace at the Conrad Chicago Hotel is one of those places you check out then immediately wonder how you didn't know about it before. It's outdoors (terrace), conveniently located (521 N. Rush), has a pretty good drink list and a nice view (only on the 5th floor but surrounded by well-known buildings above and the din of Michigan Avenue shoppers below). If you're looking to go somewhere with tons of people, it's not ideal. If you're looking for somewhere you can chat with a few friends, it's perfect. I'm pretty behind on such topics... so chances are, you've already been. If you haven't, you have to check it out while the weather's still nice.