What is your problem in life? I understand you have been living abroad for two years. But before that you lived in India only no for 22 years? If you cross seven seas and two oceans means you will forget where you came from ah ? This and all is unacceptable I am telling you.

What is this everyday you are tweeting about all these foods with complicated names? You were eating cone ice and Bhel Puri in Gangotri all this time and suddenly you like only Apfelstrudel, Tiramisu and Biscotti  ah ? You knew only Good Day and Milk Bikkis and now you want only Biscotti. Idiots.

And then you put status message saying "Parmesan is so much better than Cheddar in Fettuccine". Have you even tasted anything other than Amul cheese? Just because you want to show off you must not do this. For all that sour sour cheese you are eating, you are going to become one jumbo case. Then you will talk about importance of health. You are all one health sciences student. Chi, shame shame.

It is ok if you left it at eating, but no, you want to bake. You will go buy all cheap items from the baking section at Walmart. Cookie sheet, baking pan, all-purpose flour. Do you even know the difference between Aata and Maida ? "Love the smell of Vanilla extract" it seems. Given a choice, would you have ever eaten Vanilla ice cream in India? All this you will do and the expenses you will put in the shared monthly account with your roommates.

No, wait. I am asking, have you at least boiled water by yourself in India. That is too much - did you even know where the kitchen was in your house? After making a big mess, you will catch one friend who has a DSLR camera and make him take fancy photos, put one watermark also on the picture. This you will put in an album named "Apartment Number Culinary Experiments". So cryptic you think? Stalker will come and catch you. Stupid.

I would stop here, but no, 4 days later you will say "Thayir saadham is the best comfort food ever" , "Grand Sweets, I miss you!" This is what will happen if you keep eating all that Parmesan, Ricotta, Sapotta nonsense. Diarrhea came, no?

Kanna, what I am telling is, you need to have limits. Gone America means no dancing over head. Feet keep on ground, ok? Thalaivar has told! Okbye!

Note: Because despite being peters, all of us are a little local at heart.

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"Everybody loses weight when they come to America" is the biggest lie I have ever heard. Though, I would give it some partial credit. The whole lifestyle change with much more walking and self-cooking shocks your body initially to drop some baby flesh, but then once you get used to the American lifestyle, oh-baby, you are so dead!

When I came to the United States, I was a pathetic cook. Every graduate student in the US says this at some point in their lives. I certainly wasn't the worst of all, but I did suck terribly at it. I couldn't even make dal without burning it in spite of mom supervising me over Skype. I cooked to survive. But now, I cook to flaunt. A few months ago, I was introduced to the whole concept of baking and ever since my weight loss is going downhill. I now find myself following more food blogs then fitness blogs. Much to a lot of people's annoyance, I watch the Food Network more than I watch Glee or How I Met Your Mother. I have spent way too much money on baking equipment. My cupboard in the kitchen is loaded with all these fancy sounding ingredients that when added in different proportions make these amazing, calorie-rich dishes that have even more exotic names. Every time I turn on the oven or light the stove, I secretly say a prayer to hope that I don't set the house on fire like I did when I baked for the first time.

Other than weekly culinary attempts, academia takes the rest of my time. And if you are a graduate student, you know that this is the time of the semester when all the deadlines come breathing fire down your neck. Projects, Posters, Paper presentations, Classes, Assignments, more projects and lots of caffeine to survive through all of this. I'm not sure if all this knowledge has made me wiser or not, but I can vouch for the fact that I have more caffeine in my system than blood. I am much more forgetful than ever before. I set reminders for myself and then have stickies all around the house to remind me about the reminders. I eat for comfort and then run facing the guilt. This is clearly not working for me.

But on the bright side, I have better things to look forward to in a few weeks. Until then, eat a cookie! :)

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Two feet snow. Sheepskin boots. Scrapes and bruises. Discovering OCD. Drummers with Attitude. Encountering strange creatures. Mice running on arms. Atlantic City. The ARR Jai Ho Concert. Raavanan. Saravana Bhavan. Six Flags and its gravity defying roller coasters. Screaming until I fell sick or threw up. iPhone 4. River-side jogging. Multi-colored popsicles. Ducks & rabbits. Fresh margaritas and lots of it. Struggling to stay on the designated lane in bowling. Fire accidents. NYC. Standing in a three block long line for a free Apple Tshirt. Combating bed bugs. Meeting S & P1 halfway across the world for 2 days. Maoz. Fondues & hot chocolates. Frozen Yogurt. Birthdays at PF Changs. A cathartic trip to remember. Y moving to the same city as me. NYC with S, Y & P2.Wall St. Liberty. WTC. Walking down NYC yet again. New roommates. Crazy girls night outs. Maggi at 3am. Golu. License to drive. Diwali. Potluck. Charades. Mad bachelorette parties. Fancy suede boots. Thanksgiving parades. Holiday parties. A Spanish wish. Beautiful jewelry. Pitzelles. Pink puppies. Baking lessons and experiments. Creepy gingerbread men. Meeting P1 again, this time with D. A disillusioned walk in the stinging cold while P1 mumbles the whole way about chocolates. Last minute uncertainties. A flight back home. Filter coffee and crispy dosas. Kaju katlis and girl bonding.

Looking back, 2010 has been nice to me and I actually found it hard to let go of it. But, there always must be an end for a new beginning. I began 2010 away from my parents and ended it with them. I’m beginning 2011 with hopes of a year that will bring much desired changes in my life.

Happy New Year, everyone! May you all be blessed with six packs this year! :D

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I'm officially done with experiencing the 4 seasons in one year. My summer comes to a close next week and I'm not sure how ready I am to face my new beginnings. I seem to be totally out of the beat after working through the summer. The past 3 months have been a great learning experience and I just wish I could squeeze some more juice out of the lemons that life gave me.

I had wished to do so many things over these 3 months and I did get through most of it. I still suck at cooking though. I should really credit my bad food to my newly acquired sense of appreciation and respect for people who can cook! Now that I've said that, my attempts at baking and producing brownies have been almost successful except for the fact that I might have accidentally set the house on fire. I do not wish to divulge into the facts for the fear of further damaging my already tarnished cooking reputation. But you must know that the brownies did come out really moist, chocolatey and brownie-like.

Other than that P & S came to visit me and I had so much fun catching up with both of them. And the next week is going to be even better for so many different reasons. Now that life is going to throw tomatoes at me, I will make Bloody Mary's out of them for I need that extra kick to get through the next 4 months. I've decided to live it up while it lasts!

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