Hobbyist Blogger

Indian Names for Fishes

2009-06-16T10:26:00.001-07:00

I started eating and cooking fish only after my marriage. My maternal family is vegetarian and we never used to cook non-veg at home. However, they were not against we eating non-veg. I still do not have a great taste, but I can say I am a non-vegetarian by choice and I love to try different recipes.

My hubby is from Mangalore and he has been a sea food lover since his childhood. He knows all konkani names for fish. But here since we get fishes from all origins and has there own names, we are always skeptical about buying those.

Whenever we want to get fish, we buy it from Japanese market. They have both fresh and frozen ones. I like that place because they cut and clean the fish if we want. I have tried couple of frozen ones, but so far have liked only frozen shrimps.

I have jotted down Indian Names for few of the fishes available here. I will update the list as and when I get to know new ones.

Shrimps - Sungat
King Fish - Vison
Sardine - Tarle
Indian Mackerel - Bangde
Pompreft - Maanji
Crab - Kurlo

Apart from this I have heard from couple of friends about Belt Fish, Cat Fish and Salmon. Honestly havent really tried these.

Note: The Indian names I have mentioned are in Konkani and I am not aware which other language uses the same translation.

Rose Water

2009-06-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

I was not aware Rose water can do magics. I had sun burns on my face and I did not have Aloe Vera gel. I wanted a quick relief from the irritation and redness from my face and I applied Rose water with cotton ball. It not only gave me soothing effect, but when I practiced applying it everyday in the morning I felt my skin looks a lot clear.

Make sure to wash your face with a mild face wash after you awake up from bed and then apply rose water. This goes well under my daily moisturizer or even foundation.

Ragi Face Pack

2009-06-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

It was during last summer I had been to Hampi with my friends. The trip was simply awesome. However due to excess heat I had messed up my skin. I had lot of rashes on my face and I could not use my face wash also. One of friend who has done her beauty course suggested me this pack. I was skeptical in the beginning but it really did wonders :)

For those who dont know what Ragi is,it is an East Indian cereal grass whose seed yield a somewhat bitter flour, a staple in the Orient.

Ragi Powder
Butter Milk
Thrice a week

Mix ragi with butter milk and apply it on your face and neck. Wash your face with luke warm water after 15-20 mins.

Ensure you use the best ragi powder which has no other flour mixed. Usually the ones which we get in departmental stores are not the finest quality. It is better to buy ragi and then powder it.

This pack works as a scrub and exfoliates the skin. I would recommend this to all skin types.

Lake Tahoe

2009-05-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe view from Gondola.

Leap Year

2009-05-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

How many days does a leap year has and how often does it occur?

I remember learning about this during my school days. Since then I don't recall a single instance where I forgot that "leap year has 366 days and it comes every 4 years".

It was time for me to train a new member in the team. We being in financial operations team and managing customer contracts, should be well versed in all these basic information. A bit of ignorance would cause nightmares to us. I was keen on training the person providing every small information. However, my style of training was to ask a lot of questions.

Here is the training scenario. We had a list of customer contracts to auto-renew effective 1st March 2007 for one year. As 2008 was a leap year, I explained we need to renew it until Feb 29th 2008.

I completed a few out of the list and trainee was pretty confident with how the process works.

As I said, I used to ask a lot of questions to make sure the trainee follows what I am doing. The next contract I was supposed to renew, the training session followed as below.

Me: What would be the end date of the renewed contract?"
Trainee: 28th Feb 2008.

Me: Why? Why not 29th Feb 2008? Isn't it a leap year?
Trainee: Leap year was only for the previous customer. This customer does not have leap year. (!!!)

I have shared this experience with few of friends and no one could stop themselves from laughing. Though this answer sounds funny, trust me I was appalled for that moment. Before even I burst out from anger, I straight away walked into the restroom and washed my face with cold water.

The Best Interview

2009-05-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

It was a very busy day for me. Couple of meetings and then interviews lined up. It was very usual that the reception person calls me when the candidate is in. I first talk to the candidate casually to put them into a comfort zone. I followed my practice, but I felt the candidate was reluctant about talking to me. I did not worry much and straight away jumped into the questions I had. It was the shortest interview and this is how the interview took place.

Me: Where do you work?
Candidate: .... Company

Me: Could you please brief me with your nature of work?
Candidate: I .........contracts. (she used only 3 words between I and contracts)

I began to sense, probably the candidate is not interested in this position.

Me: Why do you want to join our organization?
Candidate: I do not want to join yeah, you called me for the interview and I came.

Me: Oh sorry. Thank you for taking time to come here.

I escorted the candidate to the door. At that moment, I felt she was totally unprofessional and a bit rude too. Somehow this interview had left some mark in mind and I was constantly thinking about it for quite few days. Now, if I sit back and think I feel she was frank and it was not being unprofessional. But the big question I have is "why didn't she tell the HR she is not interested. Why did she waste her precious time attending the interview which she was not interested".

Do people fall into obligations?

Growing E Commerce Business

2009-05-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

We frequently go to Walmart either to buy something or to check out if there are any new arrivals.

I and my spouse were looking for a rice cooker. We were skeptical about brands and were undecided about which one to buy. I can say we spent more than 15-20 mins in that particular section.

There was one more couple looking for some electronic item in the same section. The person came and introduced himself to my husband and asked about the return policy. I am sure everyone in the world knows the return policy of Walmart ( I would have walked to the customer service counter if I really dont know the return policy,). My husband was pretty straight forward in telling how does it work. Then the conversation grew and in between when my husband asked him "what do you do?". The answer was "I work for .... company and I do have a e-commerce business".

Guys, there lies the catch why the conversation was endless, "E-commerce".

I have come across such incidents every time I go to Walmart. Last Sunday we were looking for a shoe rack and we were not sure which section has shoe racks. I noticed a couple who came behind us for more than 10 mins looking for an opportunity to initiate a talk and finally said "hi, how are you". We had to literally avoid them.

There are lot of people who are into selling different types of products. It has become a very fast moving business. I am not aware of how exactly it works. Talking to people who are into this business is like getting hooked.

Honestly, I am not against any of these. Its individual interest to opt it or not. However, I am not okay with the way they approach. Now, every Indian I meet, I have a suspicious pair of eyes to look at them.

One of our family friend who was new to this place, overheard a couple speaking in konkani. Since our friend belongs to the same community, he thought of extending his hand for friendship. Surprisingly, the couple started ignoring our friend and did not bother to talk. I guess, they thought our friend was also one among those "E-Commerce Businessmen" :)

Paypal

2009-05-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Paypal has been a very reliable online service to pay or get paid. We can transfer money from our paypal account to any other banks and also to purchase anything online which will not disclose our credit card details or any other personal details.

Creating an account on paypal is super easy.

Swine Flu

2009-04-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

Swine Flu became talk of the town just within fraction of seconds. Many people who got infected with this initially thought it was just another mild flu. It got lot of attention when people started dying. This is most commonly seen in Mexico and United States. The number of people suffering from this flu is just increasing day by day.

Just as a matter of concern, I started looking at different articles on wiki and other news paper. I learnt quite a bit about it. I have mentioned below very few symptoms of the same.

Farmers at swine farms who work more closely with pigs are at higher risk of getting infected.

According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in humans the symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

The virus mostly spreads due to coughing or sneezing or even touching something which has virus on it. As a precautionary method it is always better to wash hands frequently and also use a hand sanitizer.

I just hope people who are already infected get well soon and this tragic situation ends at the earliest.

Turmeric Face Pack

2009-01-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

I do not like to put make up. I feel my face cakey. I have never used cosmetics even during family functions. Somehow I could not avoid this during my wedding. I was told to tolerate this for only 3 days. I did let the beautician do my make up and I cant even remember what types of cream and powder she applied on my face. This resulted in boils on my face. On the 3rd day I really could not take my face being painted by the beautician and I had to tell her not to apply too many things. She finally gave me a tip which indeed was helpful.

1 tea spoon turmeric
curd or buttermilk or milk
once a week

Mix these and apply on your face. Rinse off with cold water.

I have been using this regularly and it has given a glow. The only drawback is my face looks yellowish after applying this pack. So, I ensure I do this before I go to bed or on a day when I dont have to go out. The yellow color will surely disappear after washing your face couple of times, but I wanted to mention this here because this pack is not advisable just before you go out or the function starts. Do it couple of days before or the previous day of the occasion and it is just perfect. Remember the results are not instant!

Shamu Show @ Sea World (San Diego)

2008-12-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

Livermore Temple

2008-12-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

A beautiful temple located at Livermore. We go there almost every month.

Golden Gate Bridge

2008-06-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

I know few people who have traveled across globe and I truly envy them. Though I am not a passionate traveler, I enjoy going to new places. I have lived in India all my life, until I got married last year. I never had a chance to see different places there.

Once I came to California, I started doing a lot of sightseeing. I go out every weekend and it really became my passion. My first visit was to Golden Gate Bridge. It was a bright day in December. I still remember the long to and fro walk on the Bridge. I was literally shivering.

I was so thrilled to see such a big bridge and to know the history about it. The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. It was completed in 1937. Since then it is internationally recognized.

We love going to this place. If we dont have anything on our plate for weekend, we just go there and spend sometime standing on the bridge and looking at the endless ocean. Within a span of 6 months, I think we have been there for more than 4 times. In and around the bridge, there are various attractions.

This is one among "must see attractions".

Multani Mitti Face Pack

2006-05-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have a oily/sensitive combo skin and it is really very difficult to handle it especially in Bangalore with all types of pollution. I have tried a lot of ready made face masks from well known brands and also various facials from saloons. However, I used to end up with irritation or rashes on my face.

Then I remembered my college days where I used to apply Multani Mitti and I started using it again. I must say there is no better face pack than this for my skin. It is natural and I feel the skin rejuvenated.

Method:
Multani Mitti (Fuller's Earth)
Rose water
Twice a week

Take appropriate amount of multani mitti, also known as fuller's earth and make a paste mixing it with rose water. Apply on face and let it sit there until dry. Wash your face with water.

Note: I apply cold cream before applying the face pack as it wont make my skin too dry. Also, rub ice cube after you wash out your face pack. This will make your skin soft.