The Power of Three

Here's a little tag I decided to borrow from Psych Babbler- What attracted me to it was the title- it reminded me of Charmed. So here it is.

3 Famous names of mine

1. Mags
2. Maggie
3. Mowgli (lol)

Just another post

So everybody, how are you?
Now I'm gonna just brag a li'l bit. You remember that tag I took a few posts ago? The life tag.
I soon realized that it went completely viral on the Indian blogosphere after I took it! Yaaay!

My quiche is happy to see me! :)

Yesterday was my first day of degree college. I was super-sad that my two best friends are in a different class, so we made up for it by going on a little outing after college. T'was lots of fun.
As many of you might already know, I took a li'l break from Project 365 as it got a little too much for me. I'm planning to re-start. But I don't know when.
I see so much interesting stuff on the web, specially in design/architecture categories and I'm debating whether to do some 'showcases' on my blog.

That's all for this little update post.

xo

Inside Vizhinjam Lighthouse [Photo]

I'm not at all in the mood to post something long so I thought I'd do the next best thing- post a photo!
So here's a photo of my parents when we were in Vizhinjam lighthouse at Kovalam, Kerala.
I loved how the spiral staircase looked & wanted to capture it.

Mom & Dad inside Vizhinjam lighthouse.

So what do you think?


xo

Time to get back to snail mail

I'm not sure when exactly I first got the urge to have a pen pal. Probably when I was in primary school & was discovering the fact that I loved writing.
And the urge kept re-emerging over the years. I took to the internet, but no matter how much I googled (with different keywords!) all I got was shady looking websites with even shadier looking users

But just a few days ago I was blog hopping & I came across a wonderful blog where I found something called The Penpal Project. Just leaving a comment on the post can get you a penpal!
After all this social media & blog this & twitter that, it would be great to have a friend to actually write to.
I've already been matched up.
So my Penpal is 'A' & she lives in the US.
I am just so excited and nervous about this whole thing!
So head on over there if you want to get a real penpal (Do it only if you're serious!)
I've yet to exchange any letters (as a matter of fact I haven't even thought about what to write.) But I feel oh-so-optimistic & happy about this!
I only hope mail doesn't get lost in transition:

Cheers,




NOTE [Dec 4th 2011]: Sadly I got a lot of spam due to putting my email out in the open on a post like that. Also again my penpal & me exchanged a few letters but then we just stopped, we both got busy with life I guess?
Anyway if you read the bottom of the Penpal project post you will see that now there is a google group if you're interested in being a part of it. I think it was a wonderful experience & I would definitely recommend it.

Day by Day (Project 365)

Day 1 - Mumbai Metro: Work in Progress.

UPDATE: I'm proud to say that my project 365 blog can be found at http://365.magalic.com !

Remember a few posts ago I mentioned something new I was up to but didn't wanna unveil it yet? I'm ready to let it out of the box now.

Day 10 -  Death can be
Beautiful too!

Have you heard of Project 365? If you haven't shame on you!
It's basically a photography project where you post one photo a day. Every day. For an entire year. And the photo had to have been taken that day itself. (It's like a picture diary for an entire year!)

Day 8 - Let there be light

And I didn't keep this all a secret earlier because I was being secretive or anything. It's just that I did research before I started. And it's hard. Really hard. I've seen people skipping days or just stopping at day 43. Or sometimes they just post old pictures.

When I took it up, I knew it would be difficult. But also terribly rewarding. But I was scared I would stop in the initial days itself. I honestly don't know whether I'll make it till the and. But I'm prepared to try.
You can check out the project 365 blog here: Day by Day.
 It's been 10 days now & I figured it's time to let the cat out of the bag!
So that's that.
Wish me luck!

The life tag.

Saw this tag on the internet. I love the concept behind it (randomness!)

1. Graduated high school.
2. Kissed someone.
3. Smoked a cigarette.
4. Got so drunk you passed out.
5. Rode every ride at an amusement park.
6. Collected something stupid.
7. Gone to a rock concert.
8. Helped someone.
9. Gone fishing.
10. Watched four movies in one night.
11. Lied to someone.
12. Snorted cocaine.
13. Smoked weed.
14. Failed a subject.
15. Been in a car accident.
16. Been in a tornado.
17. Watched someone die.
18. Been to a funeral.
19. Burned yourself.
20. Run a marathon.
21. Cried yourself to sleep.
22. Spent over 10,000 bucks in one day.
23. Flown on an aeroplane.
24. Cheated on someone.
25. Been cheated on.
26. Written a 10 page letter.
27. Gone skiing.
28. Been sailing.
29. Cut yourself.
30. Had a best friend.
31. Lost someone you loved.
32. Got into trouble for something you didn't do.
33. Stolen a book from the library.
34. Gone to a different country.
35. Watched the Harry Potter movies.
36. Had an online diary.
37. Fired a gun.
38. Gambled in a casino.
39. Been in a school play.
40. Been fired from a job.
41. Taken a lie detector test.
42. Swam with dolphins.
43. Voted for someone on a reality TV show.
44. Written poetry.
45. Read more than 20 books a year.
46. Gone to Europe.
47. Loved someone you shouldn't have.
48. Used a colouring book over age 12.
49. Had a surgery.
50. Had stitches.
51. Taken a Taxi.
52. Had more than 5 IM conversations going on at once.
53. Been in a fist fight.
54. Suffered any form of abuse.
55. Had a pet.
56. Petted a wild animal.
57. Had your own credit card & bought something with it.
58. Dyed your hair.
59. Got a tattoo.
60. Had something pierced.
61. Got straight As.
62. Known someone personally with HIV or AIDS.
63. Taken pictures with a webcam.
64. Lost something expensive.
65. Gone to sleep with music on.

I'd love to take this again in a couple of years to see how much more of this stuff I've done.

And anyone who reads this is tagged!

Cheers,

Johnny Gone Down (by Karan Bajaj) - Book Review

Johnny Gone Down by Karan Bajaj.

I just finished reading Johnny Gone Down by Karan Bajaj.

But before I start my reviews, here's a little background info on the book: (from the back cover)

Nikhil Arya has fallen.

Once, he was an Ivy League scholar with a promising future at NASA; now, at forty, he is broke, homeless,and minutes away from blowing his brains out in a diabolical modern-day joust.

It wasn't meant to be this way. An innocent vacation turned into an epic intercontinental journey that saw Nikhil become first a genocide survivor, then a Buddhist monk, a drug lord, a homeless accountant, a software mogul and a deadly gamefighter. Now, twenty years later, Nikhil aka Johnny is tired of running. With the Colombian mafia on his trail and his abandoned wife and son ten thousand miles away, he prepares for his final act, aware that he will have lost even if he wins.

Or will he? Is there any greater victory than living a life that knows no limits, a world that has seen no boundaries?

From the bestselling author of Keep Off the Grass comes the once-in-a-lifetime story of an ordinary man fighting an extraordinary destiny. Can he pick up the pieces one last time or will Nikhil, now Johnny, go down for good?

I saw this book three days ago at my fave bookstore & immediately picked it up. Imagine my surprise when I opened it the later & found it was an author signed copy!

Now for my mini review:

The book is fast paced & gripping. I never had the urge to skip a single page (I tend to do that if chapters get draggy). The violence can be pretty graphic, if this was a film, forget about an A rating it wouldn't have even got through the censor board.

It's also very informative. But it has too much philosophy in the pages which is not what I wanted in a Thriller.

Also there's too much buildup towards the end of the novel but the climax is rather dull & disappointing.

I guess what I'm saying is the novel starts quite solid & ends completely flat!

My Rating- 3 stars ★★★ (out of 5)

Final Verdict- The book costs a mere 99 bucks, so I guess it's a good way to pass a few hours.


Pssst, lookie what I found! Buy it at Flikpart for just 50 rupees! 
So have you read the book? What are your views on it?
Also, this is my first formal book review so please do tell me what you think of it.


Cheers,

It's exactly as I feared...

Before I left on my long vacation, I kinda had this nagging feeling that when I got back from my vacation I would find it somewhat weird to blog... & it happened. Blogging just doesn't feel as 'natural'

Plus I have been kinda busy these last few days. So I have been ultra lazy when I'm home.

Plus Monk got over (I know it got over a long in December 2009 in USA but it got over here just a few days ago!) 

Also I have something new up my sleeve (some of you might already know from Facebook) I'm not ready to announce it just yet.
But I'm gonna get my groove back... soon. Even if I start with just photos.

Cheers,