Chicken Pieces

Which do you prefer?

Breast?

Thighs?

Legs?

Ass?

Surely you know what kind of chicken pieces I mean by now?!

And I'm not just asking the males.....

I'm always usually jealous of a chicken's legs coz I hate mine!

*And is it so wrong that I love reading the Padashow?! (And no doubt I will now get pwned by it!)

Awkward Silences

You know when you work in a building for long enough that you can recognise people and they recognise you but you never acknowledge each other because you don't work in the same department or you haven't been formally introduced to them so you don't feel it's "right" to say hello or smile or even make eye contact (you know - walk past with your eyes glued to the floor and hope they didn't see you/recognise you and hope for the best that you don't walk into something!)?! Yeah those moments suck.

But what about when you're in an elevator (lift) with them. What do you do then?!

It's difficult isn't it? I guess it wouldn't be so bad if it was a person that was at least Jack Point a mega hottie and you could fantasise about illicit elevator activities* (if you have enough floors to have a good attempt at least!)!

There's only so long that you can stand in silence before one of you tries to make trivial conversation. Just when you thought the awkwardness couldn't get any better - it does!

*So I'm horny - sue me!

Disbelief!

My parents have been looking for a groom for me. That's fine. I can deal with that. I mean, what do I have to lose right? Besides, it's whichever one comes first and right now - the suitors lining up my door (all two of them) are not really prospective grooms. So I'm letting Amma and Appa (but mainly Amma!) do what they need to do. And also, arranged marriage is different to forced marriage. The way I see it is - it's the same sort of thing as my friend's trying to set me up!

Anyways - things have started rolling now. My Amma being the non social butterfly and not knowing anybody (the benefits being no one can gossip back to her about my antics, the drawbacks being what will follow!) has resorted to some crazy tactics about letting the world know that she has a single eligible daughter ready to be carted off. I'm too scared now to answer the house phone for fear of talking to somebody who's the parent of a potential groom, she keeps pestering my siblings to open up a profile for me on all matrimonial sites from here to Timbuktu and last but not least she has advertised in the matrimonial column of a Tamil newspaper! Stop laughing - it's really not funny!

And recently, my siblings have had to set up an email account for her to deal with the influx (OK - who am I kidding?! The few!) emails. My siblings were telling me about a potential boy they'd found. My mum had been conversing with his parents and they seemed to like each other. Photos were exchanged. This is the scary part. Not being the most confident of people - I am surprised if someone finds me attractive. Yeah, I get by but not amongst my own if that makes sense.

Having not had the Internet for a few days, I didn't the picture of the groom until yesterday. (Let me quickly tell you another story kind of related. My parents had previously tried this about three years ago. And the description of the photo of the guy as my siblings put it: "He looks like a professor!". There is nothing wrong with that at all but being faced with that statement and that photo (he had a tweed jacket on with elbow pads) in your early 20s kinda makes you say no. I'm not shallow but he wasn't my type!)
I kept asking my siblings if he was better or worse than the professor (who had become our reference point it seemed!) and they wouldn't comment.
Opening the photo, I was met with a LARGE guy. Now I'm not stick thin (if only!) but this guy was large. My initial reaction was "He's large. Tall and nice enough looking but large" (Obviously in my head). I could feel my siblings watching my as I took in the photo.
"So?" says my sister.
"So?" says I.
"What are you going to do?" asks my brother.
"I'll talk to him and see what he's like" I reply.

And in slow motion I see my brother turn around and face me with his jaw wide open and ask "WHAT?!". He didn't seem to be able to believe that I'd even said that!! And so I clarified for him again.
To which he replied "Just tell them you're not interested. Amma and Appa have already decided anyways!".
I'm still trying to get them to at least let me talk to him - what do I have to lose?!

And that is how it's going so far!

Hope

I've had five days without the internet. At a time when all was crucial in SL and I needed to get my dose of my regular blogs and news feeds - I was screwed. But it's not so bad. I've managed to have a quick catch up.

And so it's the end of the war. And everyone is harping on about a united SL and equal rights for everyone in SL and the fall of the LTTE. And this is good news. It really is. There is nothing I want more than to be able to visit the home of my parents and grandparents and know that I am welcome there. That I won't be seen as a member of the Tamil Diaspora highly generalised as a supporter of the LTTE.

I have always loved visiting SL. Though there has never been a time when I could just book a flight and not think about the implications of travelling there. "Can I visit Jaffna?", "Will it be safe?", "What will happen if I'm stopped by the police?" amongst so many others. Now that time is over.

Obviously I have doubts. For a government who claimed that the leader of the LTTE was shot, than have his body so badly burnt in an escaping ambulance that was blown up so that it was unidentifiable to then being shot again - seriously?! Maybe with your eagerness to show the world was over, you have shot yourselves in the foot of your own accord!

It will be a long time before the wounds heal. And definitely not without leaving scars but I have so much hope for the future of SL. That's all one can have.

Hot or Not?!

Which adjective do you best prefer to describe aesthetics?

I was having (clearly a deep and meaningful!) conversation with a friend (male) last night about the female population and looks and then progressed onto the male population and looks.

Ladies: Do you prefer being called hot/sexy/beautiful/pretty or any other adjective that describes your looks favourably?

Gents, your turn: Hot/handsome/sexy/rugged/beautiful or whatever else suits your fancy?

I only ask because he said that hot girls are girls that you can't take home to meet your mother (think Kim Kardashian) and beautiful/pretty girls are the ones you can (Jessica Alba was the example we used)!

So basically the hot girls are the "dirty" girls?! Or are they......?!

Signals

You know when you write/text/type :) on the end of your messages when what you really want to write is "x" and denote that you fancy the socks off that person and wish that they could get their arse into gear so that you can both start flirting with each other?

No you don't know? Oh, must just be me then! :-P

Celebrity Swine Flu Fatality!

And we all know who gave it to him....

I couldn't help but post this which I received as a forward! :)

An Individual Diaspora View

This is just the way I feel and constructive comments/criticism welcome. Apologies in advance for any offence that I may cause. *

I am who I am. I know that I have not had to live through what those directly in Sri Lanka have had to and continue to do so daily.

I’ve read various different articles/comments/blog posts that label the Tamil Diaspora (TD) as supporters of “terrorists”. Though I know that people are aware that the whole of the TD are not like that, it doesn't change the stigma or some of the sweeping statements.

RD questions whether you can want Tamil Eelam without being a terrorist. Personally – I think so. Not so much Tamil Eelam but a desire to have somewhere that you can call home without the threat of being victimised. You don’t have to support the “terrorists” in order to have a feeling of being safe.

I’ve always supported the cause. The cause (for me) being equal rights for Tamils. Not just for those living in the comforts of the South but for all Tamils on the Island. I don’t believe that it is fair to ask for a separate state in the fashion that it is being asked for. How are they any better than the government that they claim discriminates against them? Isn’t that what they themselves are doing? And I’ve never supported the methods.

I’ve been attending the protests at Parliament Square. Not to support the LTTE but nor to label them as terrorists. I can only condemn all those who are involved in the killing of those that are pawns in this long term civil war.

I know the chants. Changing everyday. I know which ones I chant to. The ones about saving the innocent civilians. Though the voices are not as strong as when the chants are proclaiming who their leader is. Standing defiantly as these chants ring loudly around the square. It infuriates me. How can you expect to be taken seriously when you are waving flags and cheering for those who are not respected (maybe respect isn’t the best word to use) by the world?

He’s certainly not my leader. How can someone who proclaims to want the best for the Tamil people let so many innocent civilian lives be slain in vain? I don’t think the government is any better. Believe me – I’m not advocating for either side. By supporting either – are you just supporting the lesser of two evils?

Before these protests that have been taking over the entire place, what was being done to highlight the plight of these civilians? Were there as many stories roaming around the internet or were they being swept under the carpet? Can you be so sure that despite many of the protestors supporting the Tamil Tigers, without them, the plight of all those caught in the no fire safe zone would have been highlighted to those less fortunate to be in the know? I’ve had to respond to many colleagues/neighbours even friends who’ve asked me why the protests are happening. People who are usually so in tune with civil wars in Rwanda/Sudan/Somalia or that of the situation in the Middle East but who have no clue on what is happening in SL.

But we must remember that history is something that has happened. There has been a time when being Tamil has meant being treated differently. And at that time it was Tamil “terrorist” organisations that shouted the loudest allowing voices to be heard. The majority of the Diaspora left SL when these “terrorist” organisations were at their most influential. They’d left when these organisations were vying for a better future for them. For many members of the Diaspora, these “terrorists” did in fact carry their voices. This is the memory for a lot of them.

Indeed these “terrorist” organisations are not the sole representative for all Tamils but they are the main representative for a majority of Tamils. Sure they may have lost some of their vision along the way and I'm not saying that they aren't guilty of harming the ones they claim so hard to protect either BUT without them and their actions, who would hear the cries of Tamils?


*Disclaimer: There are probably a hell of a lot of contradicting views in this and it's a bit of a haphazard post. I’m not advocating anything apart from the obvious peace and end of war. I just want for all those who are suffering unjustly to be given a solution as soon as possible. Nor am I even halfway clued up to write about the situation. But this is just something that I wanted to share despite not being sure whether to publish or not. Oh well. :)

The Simple Things

It was a long weekend here this weekend. Don't you just love it when you get an extra day of laying in for no apparent reason?!

I feel asleep on the sofa late Sunday afternoon (clearly doing nothing exhausts me!). I could hear my siblings chattering in the background - making fun of me for falling asleep in 10 minutes (it's a talent of mine!). Clearly not a deep sleep but it was so nice to just close my eyes.

I remember my parents "Awww" ing over me. Me mumbling something about my feet being cold and my father covering me with the sleeping bag.

I remember my mum telling me to go and sleep in my bed. She always worries that I'll get some crick in my neck that I'll never get rid off making it even harder for her to marry me off (well she never said that but you know...!)!

And I remember my sister kissing me on my cheek repetitively and encouraging my brother to do it as well. Both of them laughing at my semi state of consciousness and kissing either cheek. I think they were willing me to wake up in a bid to entertain them.

It is the very simple things that make me smile and as I sit here and type; I can't help but do just that.

Happy Monday People! :)