Month: August 2021
Fear
What is one of your fears? How have you worked through it (or do you just wish you could)?
My one and biggest fear is failure. Of being out of money and with no job or means of income in sight. What will I do if such a situation does come up? What will I do if I cannot pay my bills and buy food and medicine? Will I be a total disaster at the end and in my old age be forced to beg money from relatives just to get by in life and be worried about where my next Re.1 is going to come from?
This is the biggest thing that I fear. I have stayed awake a few nights thinking about this during tough days and especially as I have grown older. I don’t have much savings stashed away. I take care of my dad and mom and the bills are payed by me. I’d like to have a large savings piled up and making money in a bank, just waiting for me to retire and live off. But its not the case.
I’ve had that spell of many months where I wasn’t making money and it was really bad. The only thing I could do was apply for jobs online and every Wednesday look for job openings on the local newspaper. It was very disheartening and embarrassing as I had to borrow money to pay my internet and phone bills, even after I changed my plans to the lowest plans for each. I never want to see that kind of a situation anymore in my life. I would rather die.
Prompt from AUGUST BLOG PROMPTS {12 MONTHS OF WRITING IDEAS} #BLOGPROMPTS at Fun Food Family
Personal Rant : 5 Hard Habits To Break
What are 5 habits you wish you could eliminate?
1. Laziness : I am a quite lazy and demotivated. I dunno how that is a bad habit but I guess for me it does seem to be so. Laziness means me not really getting what I want. And not wanting to do things that I should be doing.
2. Short temper : Sometimes I wish I could control my temper. At times it feels like I am like one more irritation away from bursting out obscenities and a stream of abusive words.
3. Get depressed : I can sink into a deep depression and think about my life, my past, my current situation and my future and then get even more depressed. Life has passed me by.
4. Tendency to overeat : especially sweet stuff like chocolates, candy & cream covered cookies. This is an effect of getting depressed. I love chocolates and on a weekend I can gorge myself on a large chocolate bar or two while watching a movie.
5. I am also bad at throwing away stuff : Like bills, paper slips, receipts, brown covers and boxes that I do not need anymore. They just seem to accumulate in my room and add to the garbage. That and dust contributes to not keeping my room as neat as it should be. And that is not good for my asthma but I still don’t do much about it until it is too messy.
Prompt from AUGUST BLOG PROMPTS {12 MONTHS OF WRITING IDEAS} #BLOGPROMPTS at Fun Food Family
One Million Years B.C. (Movie Review)
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2
Romelu Lukaku scored his first ever Chelsea goal – almost a decade after his debut – as Thomas Tuchel’s team deservedly beat Arsenal. Lukaku, who was at Chelsea as a teenager, started at the Emirates after his £97.5m signing from Inter Milan and looks to have given the Blues an ominous new dimension. His hold-up and link-up play caused Arsenal problems all day – and the Belgian duly gave them the lead. Lukaku was involved in the build-up and then finished the move from close range into an empty net from Reece James’ pass.
James got the second himself as he slammed the ball into the roof of the net from Mason Mount’s pass to make it two wins from two in the league. Lukaku almost made it 3-0 but his header was tipped onto the bar by Bernd Leno. Arsenal, missing centre-back Ben White through Covid, have now lost more London derbies in the Premier League this season than last – after just two games. It is only the third time Arsenal have lost their opening two Premier League matches in a season.
Arsenal had never opened a league campaign with two defeats and no goals in their previous 117 seasons of existence – until now. The Gunners, who lost 2-0 to Brentford in the season opener, started the game well in front of their biggest home crowd in almost 18 months. Bukayo Saka laid the ball off for Emile Smith Rowe, whose 25-yard shot was saved early on. The fans were on their feet cheering a good Nicolas Pepe run, but it eventually led to nothing – and they looked beaten from the moment Lukaku scored. Their left side was exposed by James for both goals.
McDonald’s India Tries To Get Fancy Gourmet
How did I miss this? McDonald’s India has recently launched a new line of gourmet burgers. Yes you read that right! This unique collection features not one or two but 11 exclusive rich, filling, indulgent, generously sized, and temptingly delicious burgers, with signature McDonald’s touches. Gourmet Burger offerings from the McDonald’s India menu pack comes in with plenty of extras—think more veggies, more sauces, new buns, and in some cases, two patties. Choices can be made between their flaming-hot spicy burgers and the very sinful cheesy burgers, based on what your taste buds prefer or what your mood dictates.
Here’s the lust-list of our excellent 11 from the McDonald’s Gourmet Burger menu. A mere look at their names, and you can say they’re a treat like no other!
- Triple Cheese American Veg Burger
- Triple Cheese American Chicken Burger
- Cheese Lava American Veg Burger
- Cheese Lava American Chicken Burger
- Chunky Chipotle American Chicken Burger
- Jalapeno Rush Paneer Burger
- Jalapeno Rush Chicken Burger
- McSpicy Premium Veg Burger
- McSpicy Premium Chicken Burger
- Piri Piri Spiced Veg Burger
- Piri Piri Spiced Chicken Burger
Guess I have to try all of them soon.
5 Weird, Funny & Outdated Laws In France
1. Snails must have their own ticket on French trains : Snails on a train! While it sounds like the French remake of the infamous movie starring Samuel L. Jackson, it turns out it’s just a reminder that animals weighing less than five kilos must travel with their own ticket. That includes the French’s favorite breakfast treat, as a non-plussed Frenchman found out in 2008 while transporting his snail harvest on the TGV.
2. You can’t name your pig Napoléon : If it turns out Napoleon wasn’t in fact ridiculously short, he sure acted like he had a complex. It was illegal to make fun of him, including specifically to name your pig after him. That weird 19th-century law is still in effect today in France. So, you can call your pig whatever you like, but certainly not Napoléon. Ironically, did you know that Napoléon is the ruler who established today’s French civil code?
3. Don’t kiss in a French train station : The SNCF (French railways) got tired of the delays caused by couples kissing their farewells on platforms. Thus was born this weird French law that prohibits making out once the train has pulled up to the station. No worries, you probably won’t get arrested – or even scolded – for frenching your goodbyes in Gare du Nord. However, you may get so distracted that you’ll miss your train.
4. Women who want to dress like a man must first ask the police : French women are known for their feminine fashion sense, but it’s not due to this outdated law from the 19th century. However, it’s never been taken out of the law books. Officially, if you’d like to wear a pantsuit, you must get authorization from the nearest precinct, as well as a medical certificate. Another weird law that frowns upon women wearing pants in France states that the only exception is when they’re riding a bike or a horse.
5. You must listen to French music : As a last-ditch attempt to put the brakes on America’s cultural imperialism, the French passed a law in 1994 that insists that 40% of music played on French radio stations must be by French artists.Adopted in the hope to promote and preserve French culture and language, the law proved to be very unpopular. Thus the French music quota was decreased to 35% in 2016. Radio stations that specialize in foreign music were also granted an exception. They are only obligated to play 15% of Charles Trenet and Yvette Horner.
Food Review #337
I Used To Want To Change My Name As A Kid
When I was a tween, I wanted to change my name to Jessica because it was my “perfect” name. Did you love your name growing up? How has that changed as you’ve gotten older?
I didn’t like my name when I was growing up. I was born and raised for the first 11 years of my life in Kuwait. I grew watching a lot of American & some British tv shows and I never heard the name Roshan for anyone else. I didn’t know of anyone else who had the same name as me. And didn’t like my name growing up. I distinctly remember wanting to change my name. I wanted to change my name to Michael. Because of Knight Rider. Michael Knight! Hey, be glad I didn’t want to change my name to Knight Industries Two Thousand aka K.I.T.T.! I was 9!
He was cool and I wanted to have the same name as him. When I was 10 I met an actual Michael, who had just moved to the same school as I was in and I was so jealous. Anyways, fast forward a few years and I am now 14-15 and I love my name. I had no idea what the fuzz was about the name Michael. That was so passe! So last decade and no no no – that wasn’t me. I now loved my name and I was damned proud of it. I started thinking in my teenage years that my name was even quite sexy!
So yeah I once wanted to change my name but for the past 31 years or so I have not even thought about changing my first name. I have thought of changing my last name though or adding in a proper surname like Menon or something.
Prompt from AUGUST BLOG PROMPTS {12 MONTHS OF WRITING IDEAS} #BLOGPROMPTS at Fun Food Family
Aaron Ramsdale Joins Arsenal In A Permanent Deal
Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has joined Arsenal on a long-term contract from Sheffield United. The 23-year-old, who was part of England’s Euro 2020 squad, has represented England at all levels from Under-18 to Under-21 and was Sheffield United’s player of the year last season.
Ramsdale started his career with the youth set-up at Bolton Wanderers before moving to Sheffield United in 2013, progressing through their Academy. In 2017, Ramsdale signed for then Premier League side Bournemouth spending three years at the south coast club, during which time he had loan spells firstly with Chesterfield and then AFC Wimbledon, where he won the club’s young player of the season award, helping the side retain their League One status in 2018/19, having been 10 points from safety in the February of that season.
Ramsdale returned to Sheffield United in 2020 and started every Premier League match for the Blades last season. Aaron will wear the number 32 shirt. The transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes, at which point Aaron will be available for Sunday’s match against Chelsea.
One Million Years B.C.(1966)
One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy film One Million B.C.. The film stars Raquel Welch and John Richardson, set in a fictional age of cavemen and dinosaurs. Location scenes were filmed on the Canary Islands in the middle of winter, in late 1965. The U.K. release prints of this film were printed in dye transfer Technicolor. The U.S. version was cut by nine minutes, printed in DeLuxe Color, and released in 1967. Like the original film, this remake is largely ahistorical. It portrays dinosaurs and humans living at the same point in time; according to the geologic time scale, the last non-avian dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago, and modern humans did not exist until about 300,000 years B.C.
That First Time A Girl Says She Likes You
Your first love/kiss, and don’t skip the awkward details
I’ve already blogged about my first kiss, as innocent as could be, but now it’s time for me to blog about my first love. The first girl who said she likes me and I said I like her back. And interestingly enough, her name too was Michelle. Michelle joined my school in the 9th standard and I was in grade 10 at the time. When she came in, a lot of guys liked the way she looked and I too was kind of mesmerized.
Well in same class as her was my cousin, Sandhya, and she became good friends with Michelle from day 1. Sandhya had a small group of girl friends who always hung out together during breaks. I always tried to act cool, the cool older cousin, in front of them. Sandhya kinda acted like a go-between us and I soon started a conversation with Michelle. At that time in my life, I was also going through some kind of strange feeling of being a loner and different from the rest of the kids in school and my cousins.
Well, Michelle and I started talking a lot on the phone and soon I told her that I liked her. She said she did too and I was elated. Alas, it only lasted for 2 weeks or so. For 2 weeks or so, I was her boyfriend. The Onam celebrations came and we left school for a vacation and when I came back she had cooled her feelings about me. Apparently, she told about me to her cousins and they said that it wasn’t a good idea to have a boyfriend outside their community. She was an Anglo-Indian Christian and my family was Hindu.
She became even a bit bitter towards me so after a couple of months of trying to win her back, I gave up. That was my first experience and it was bitter-sweet. But I look back on it very fondly.
Prompt from Sweet ideas: 50 things to blog about at FatMumSlim
Martin Odegaard Joins Arsenal On A Permanent Deal
Martin Odegaard has joined Arsenal in a permanent transfer from Real Madrid. The Norwegian international re-joins after spending the second half of last season on loan with us, during which time he made 20 appearances, notably scoring in our Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium in March.
The 22 year-old started his career in Norway with Stromsgodset, where he made his debut as a 15 year-old in April 2014, becoming the youngest-ever player to feature in Norway’s top division. He was signed by Real Madrid in January 2015 and subsequently became their youngest player in May 2015. In the three seasons from 2017/18, Martin spent loan spells with Heerenveen and Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands and then back in Spain with Real Sociedad in 2019/20, where he helped the club reach the final of the Copa Del Rey.
The attacking midfielder has also made 30 appearances for Norway, making his debut in August 2014, becoming the youngest player to represent his country’s senior national team at the age of just 15 years and 253 days. Martin will wear the number 8 shirt. His father Hans Erik Odegaard was also a professional footballer.
28 Days Later / 28 Weeks Later Two Movie DVD
Arsenal Look Set To Add Aaron Ramsdale To The Squad
Arsenal have been looking for a backup goalkeeper this transfer window and that goalkeeper looks set to be announced. Now Arsenal are on the verge of finalising an agreement with Sheffield United to sign Aaron Ramsdale. The four-year contract, with an option of a fifth year, is subject to agreeing personal terms and a medical. Ramsdale provides immediate cover and competition for Bernd Leno.
23 year old Ramsdale who is undergoing his medical has been Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s top goalkeeper target throughout the transfer window. Sheffield United initially demanded £40 million for their reigning Player of the Season, but brinkmanship and mediation from agents has seen the price come down considerably. The Blades were forced to lower their asking price after Ramsdale made it clear he wanted to join Arsenal. Talks between the two clubs had collapsed last week during face-to-face talks but negotiations were explored once again earlier this week.
Arsenal will now pay an initial £24 million, with a possible further £6 million in potential add-ons that are only likely to apply if he becomes Arteta’s established first choice. Arsenal are progressing deals for Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard simultaneously, and are hopeful that both could be registered in time to be part of the squad to face Chelsea on Sunday.
I Missed Watermelon Day But Here Are My Thoughts
August 3 is Watermelon Day! Share some recipes with watermelon. Or a quick tip on how to slice watermelons without making it a mess!
I don’t have any recipes for watermelon. I don’t want to add anything with the exception of maybe a little sugar if the melon itself isn’t that sweet. I have seen and eaten pickled watermelon and although it is fine, I am not really craving that. However regular watermelon slice, especially when it is chilled – yum, can I have some right now? It’s not even hot or even warm right now but I could go for a nice big slice of watermelon.
You could make a fruit bowl and mix it up with some other cut up fruits. You could make a smoothie. You could make watermelon icicles and suck them like a lolly. You could cut them up and put them in a salad with feta cheese. Watermelon, feta cheese, onions & peppers on a skewer – yowza! Flank Steak with Watermelon Salad. Shrimp Skewers with Watermelon and Feta Salad. Watermelon Daiquiri with frozen watermelon slices. Watermelon sorbet which will be lighter than ice cream. Arugula Salad with Watermelon and Blue Cheese.
Despite all these delicious sounding and looking salads and recipes, I still prefer plain ole slices. And….and…watermelon juice with some ice and sugar. Not too much sugar. Strain out the seeds and get the juice. When serves cold, it is so refreshing and filling. It is one of the best things you can juice out and enjoy.
Blog prompt from 31 Blog Post Ideas for August at The Frangipani Creative
The Family Nickname That Is My Cross To Bear
Do you have a nickname? How did you get it and who gave it to you?
My family has always been into giving nicknames to each other. I was no exception in that I have had a couple that has stuck around for a while. When I was 11 years old, my family including uncles, aunts and cousins took a month long trip through parts of South India on a sight seeing trip. When we made it to Kanyakumari, right at the end of India, we had to take a ferry to see the island on which there is a statue of Swami Vivekananda. Now everyone needed help to climb aboard the ferry and there were two men who were assisting people to get on board. But little roly poly, 11 year old me jumped on board and when we came back I did the same. So one of the guys said “Master chaddiyello!” meaning master – as in a young boy – has jumped!
My eldest cousin brother heard that and he started calling me “Master” and the name stuck. Pretty soon all my cousins were calling me that with a few “Masterjis” from the younger ones for added pleasure. Most of my aunts & uncles also acknowledged the nickname. As I became a teenager the guys would joke that “Master” was short for “Master of Masturbation” and the teasing would continue for ages. Till this day, 27 years later the name has not died and I am still Master for a few of my cousins. I doubt if it will ever get die out and I’m pretty sure that when I am like 90 years old I will still hear plenty of calls of “Master”. That will find itself into my obituary as well; lucky I won’t have a headstone!
I also was called “Sunny” for sometime but that never lasted for too long. I like Sunny as a nickname as it’s bright, airy and sunshiny(?). But it is way too late for me to change my cousins’ preferred nickname from me from “Master” to “Sunny”. Sigh! If only.
Prompt from 31 Days Of Writing Prompts For August at The SitsGirls
Norwegian Midfielder Martin Odegaard Looks Set To Rejoin Arsenal
As per almost all the major sports media outlets it looks like Martin Odegaard will be returning back to Arsenal. Arsenal are closing in on a deal worth around £30m for Real Madrid midfielder & Norway’s International Team captain. Personal terms are yet to be finalised but no issues are expected and Arsenal are now confident of sealing an agreement once the finer details of the fee are determined. Odegaard spent the second half of last season on loan at Arsenal, making 20 appearances and scoring twice in all competitions, but initially returned to Spain hoping to force hie way into Madrid’s first team.
However, Carlo Ancelotti replaced Zinedine Zidane as head coach and Odegaard was subsequently told he faced a fight for regular action this season. The key breakthrough was Madrid’s decision earlier this month to drop their asking price from €60m to €45m. The 22-year-old did not train with the main squad on Tuesday and Ødegaard could feature for the Gunners as soon as against Chelsea this weekend. There is still work to be done to fully complete the transfer. He has bounced around on loan for several seasons since joining the club in 2015. He’s featured in just 11 matches for Real Madrid across all competitions, with most of these coming after his loan recall from Real Sociedad at the start of the 2020-21 season.