Last weekend i had the oppurtunity to watch a couple of movies. It's been a while since i have just lazed around and watched movies. I normally associate weekends with going outdoors and doing something.

Having no predefined list of movies or preference, i just used imdb and oviguide to try and select what movie to watch. Of course it had to be pertinent to my mood. Early morning meant a subtle movie..then an action and so on.....

One movie that stood out from all that i watched was "Becoming Jane " a movie on Jane Austen. Now i've never read her books and the closest i've come to her work would be Movies made based on her books!(Hey! that was what TV was made for!!!), meaning i came into this movie without any sort of bias.

I guess one of the major reasons why i enjoyed this movie so much was because it did two important things that i believe is what movies are meant for. Firstly, it did a very good job of transporting the viewer to a different era altogether. Thats what a good movie should do, take you out a bit from the world or reality you are in. Secondly, having done that it was still very realistic.

The movie is based on Jane Austen's life and how she subsequently became a great novelist. It gives a very good insight into the challenges she faced and how that shaped her. A glimpse basically of society and the world that was then.

Thats basically the reason why some of my favorite movies are the "Epic" ones. Movies like 300, Rudy, Remember the Titans, Braveheart, Apollo 13 etc to name a few.

I do enjoy movies such as the Departed or Superbad, but i view them more as a reflection of times.

On a side note, i'm glad to be back at blogging, maybe watching the movie has inspired me to write again!!

Phoenix-Hope to rise again!!

Definitionof phoenix(Mythology). A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes.

Although it has been a couple of weeks since I've been here, the thought only struck me recently.
That being i would have to come to this city to start building my fortunes in this world.

Its the end of the old...yes it has come to an end..all old thoughts, friends and ambitions have almost all faded away. Most of what i hoped and wanted just a couple of months ago still remain. Mainly because it is unfulfilled, but i know i will get there. But the hard thing to accept sometimes is how quickly some things changed.

It's not that i had expected it not to change or want it fore ever, but then it makes you wonder that whatever you tried to build up in the past couple of years could probably all come to an end..so quickly. The people you met, the places you've been too, the conversations that seemed so important.

But then what remains behind is i guess what is most important in my life...presence of God, my family and my dreams and yes maybe a couple of friends. And thats what coming to phoenix has been all about...thrashing out the unecessary and focussing much much more on what is important.

It has been a challenging time, but as i do believe in providence, its here i believe that i will learn things that will definetly help me in the next phase of my life. I have already learnt a lot.

I'm thankful for this transition, while i'm in phoenix and also for the people that have helped me in this transition and do believe like the eagle...it would definetely be time for me to soar again!!

Take care...!

Its another Friday afternoon, the fourth since i reached Phoenix. Lunch will be ready soon. I've decided to get back to blogging(i guess i am really hungry)....not that i was an avid one..but more of being a .. regular one..people say i have interesting stuff to talk about so ..ha ha..here i go again.

Since, my birthday is coming soon, i wanted to talk about Birthday parties. Ha ha..! seems kiddish, but there was a time, my idea of a birthday was cutting a cake, with my friends and family singing" Happy birthday Jude". Almost like my birthday wasn't official till the cake was cut.

Of course i loved the presents i got, when i was much younger, i would get Lego toys, remote controlled cars, make it yourself kits..and yes a boring shirt (there's only so much fun you get out a wearing a shirt).

Times changed and most of the presents i got were in the form of cash put in an envelope and tucked into my hand!! The uncle or aunt(or Godparent) giving it would repeat the now classic lines of "oh you're growing..we didn't know what would fit you or what interests you so we just thought of cash" and yes...a boring shirt or trouser(however the shirt didn't seem so mundane in light of other gifts i got...

The parties grew lesser...it was then only between close family and friends..and then going out to some restaurant for dinner...times changed..i was growing and didn't want the parties where everybody from the neighbors sister-in-law to the guy who sits 3 desks behind my dad showed up for my party...nope i wanted something more private and cordial....

In all this of course, my parents would always get me something ..a shirt(), jewelery..so the tradition of gifts remained..however my idea of a birthday matured.

It was moving to Bombay , where the biggest change happened, i was no longer with my parents...just close family and some friends..and my birthday would always be in between some exam(or two if i was lucky)..which didn't leave much time for celebrating..

But now..here i am in the US...and although i had a lot of friends...the birthdays have always been outside LA..so yeah while the rest of America celebrates with me(which is a privilege) i haven't been able to celebrate with the closest of my friends.....

However, i did have a blast last year with people at work(BBQ and fireworks while watching the world cup)...and I've come to realize( at the risk of sounding preachy)....that i have always have had happy and blessed days on my birthdays..and it's all about being thankful for what i do have. Things pop up which unsettle me..but I'm thankful what i have..and i really have a lot around me..and pray God blesses me and gives me strength for the next year.....i guess my birthday has begun..and not just when i cut the cake.

P.S.-Say a prayer for me.