A pro - choice thought

The current debate in the health care reform about making provisions for "abortion" got me thinking about the issue of abortion. I had no idea in a progressive country like United States, a huge majority gives more importance to fetus who is yet to be born than to the life and choices of the woman who bears it for nine months and then perhaps for the rest of her life. I am definitely a pro choice person. I never remember having this conversation with anyone when I was in India. But after coming over to the US, I had this discussion with many of my friends. Quite surprisingly many of them think it's something "devilish" to go for an abortion. I know many girls who got pregnant because of failure of a contraceptive option. When some of them mentioned that, I asked them if they knew about morning after pill or getting rid of it before the medically possible time line and they looked at me as if I was committing a blasphemy. Well, many of these girls are smart and educated young women. But somehow when it comes to sex and abortion they wish to be traditional.
I of course all for individual liberty. But how can you have a child when you are not mentally and emotionally prepared for it? Being a parent is a wonderful thing and it brings huge responsibility "for life". So the decision should be taken with lot of thinking. Girls spend hours and even days to find a suitable outfit for wedding. Then why not use similar time to think about parenthood.
I strongly believe that whether to be parent or not is woman's right. Of course for a married woman it does include partner's choice too. But since it is the woman who is physically carrying the child, she should know what's out there when it comes to child birth and good child development. There has been evidence that unwanted pregnancy may not lead to healthy children, both mentally and physically. I am not suggesting that abortion is a good contraceptive measure. Of course not. But if there is no other option perhaps it is the last resort. Every woman knows whether she really is capable of having a child and it should be her decision to have an abortion or not. I believe that life is precious. Life of the children who are in foster care or just thrown on the streets is very much precious. Instead of giving births to these children who would end up in such facilities, if possible the option of abortion seems to be much more suitable. Only a healthy and happy mother can raise a healthy and happy child. So for me keeping the decision of abortion with the woman is the most sensible thing to do!

Language..No Barrier

Today, I had an interesting experience. It was the first time I went with my friend P to the gym. It was my first day so I was looking around and trying to figure out how to use treadmill. I was looking around when two ladies entered the room. Apparently, they were there for the first time as they were not sure exactly what to do and how to use the machines. So I tried to help. However, they were from Somalia and did not know English. But somehow through few words and many hand gestures, I was able to explain how to run on treadmill. So it worked and after our workouts we started chatting with them. At that time we found that they were from Somalia. They asked us where we came from. When P said we are from India, one of the women said she loves Bollywood movies and loves Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Amir Khan. We were extremely surprised. I had no idea that Bollywood movies were so famous in Somalia. She told us that , they dub movies in Somali language. How interesting is that! Out of nowhere we meet this girl from Somalia and have a great interaction with her without speaking English and she tells that she loves Indian movies. Guess, when it comes to communication, language need not be the barrier.

Julie and Julia!

I finished reading Julie and Julia. I have already seen the movie, twice and had to keep the hold on the book for almost 2 months before I got it. It took me 3 days to read the book page to page, literally! I loved, loved, loved it. The book is not only about how Julie Powell followed the recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, but also is about a thirty year old girl's attempt to change her life and find a meaning to her existence.

I particularly liked that aspect of "finding meaning". When you are approaching thirty and suddenly you find you are still struggling to get to the point where you feel "worth of something", it can be very hard. However, Julie took her frustrations and failures at everything new she tried and changed it into a new meaning of learning French cooking. She had to go through many many days and nights of exertion to complete her mission. Too many failures before she could complete her project to go through Julia's book. But with each failure she got back on the track to finish the goal and in the mean time she found herself back, with the help from Julia :)

I had no idea who Julia Child was until I saw the movie. Movie made me read the book and now I am borrowing Julia Child's biography right away. Julia too learned her life's mission at the age of 37. How wonderful the thought is. One doesn't have to be successful at the age of 25. In this crazy world, when everyone want you be rich and successful before 30, Julie and Julia show how one can find success at a later stage and it is OK to be successful at a later stage of your life.

Of course, I have decided to learn French cooking as soon as I can afford the classes. Being the enthusiastic cook I am, the book made me curious about the French cooking and perhaps about the cooking in general. Thanks Julie and Julia, you gave me a great comfort when I need it the most.

Welcome the Holiday Season

When you live in Phoenix, snow or even temperatures below freezing is hardly a common experience. In fact in the city where 360 days are sunny, sometimes having a day with temperature in 40s is the most awaited day. And that days reminds me that it is indeed the holiday season. But this year with recession and job loss and hard times I was not in great spirits to look forward to holiday season.

But this Saturday, we just decided to accompany few friends who had already left for Sedona and take a drive to northern Arizona and forget about the routine issues. The drive through Sedona is always beautiful and I enjoy just being there. However, even thought we wanted to stop at Sedona, we missed the exit and ended up going further north towards Flagstaff and suddenly where the directions said Flagstaff 6 miles, we realized that we had drove a little too far than what we wanted. But we were in for a wonderful surprise. When we decided to turn around and drive south, suddenly out of nowhere it started snowing! Snowflakes falling from the sky. I have seen snow after it snowed on roads but I don't think I actually saw snowflakes in last four years (first time in Galtinburg). The sudden snow made me so happy that we ended up bringing out friends from Sedona to Flagstaff.

I stood near a gas station just enjoying snow on my face. It was beautiful. There were Christmas lights in the gas station and Christmas songs on the stereo. Suddenly, the economy and the recession and all those negative thoughts flew out of window and I realized "It is indeed the holiday season". Sometimes in the midst of all the problems, I received an unexpected gift of snow. My holiday season started then and there. I don't need any gifts when I have the SNOW just 3 hours away :)

Movie Marathon

For some holiday season means lot of shopping and meeting family. For me it means end of school work, relaxing time to watch as many movies as I can. So taking advantage of this holiday season I am making most of it by watching new and old movies and having a really good time. So here are few ones I enjoyed recently.
New Moon - Unfortunately, the movie was not as good as I thought it would be. Interestingly, I liked Twilight better than the book. The New Moon movie followed the book but somehow it was too slow and at times boring. First of all, the book has lot of emotions that are not easy to portray on screen. The whole relationship between Jacob and Bella is amazingly written but movie doesn't do justice to that part. Secondly, Robert Pattison sucks as Edward. I thought the same way when I saw Twilight but in New Moon he sucks even more. Especially after all the "hot" werewolves, he looks pale and as if he would die if the wolf even looks at him. Somehow he doesn't look Edward. He doesn't have the charm, maturity and classiness the character calls for. The surprise item in the package is not Taylor Lautner but it's Dakota Fanning. Man, that girl can act. She is there for few minutes but it's hard not to notice her cold Jane. Especially her smile sends chills through your spines. I really liked the whole Volturi sequence. The mysterious Volturi make justice to the notion of the Highest Authority in the Vampire clan. Lastly, Jacon. Taylor Lautner does a great job and looks extremely amazing. He looks the Wolf he is supposed to look. Young but mature, sometimes childlike and sometimes possessive. Bravo, boy! Overall the movie failed to impress me. I am not sure if I would recommend the movie not worth the money you spend on it. But if you get it online, it might be "not too horrible" watch.
Harry Potter Series - It's my love, period. I enjoyed reading the books and watching movies over and over. I still have to watch the Half Blood Prince. So I decided to rerun all five before arriving at six. Believe me it is worth the time and efforts.
Journey to the Center of the Earth - This is the new one. If you are a Jules Verne fan, you will enjoy this one. I have seen the movie by the same name made for television. It was much longer than the 2008 flick. But 2008 with Brandon Fraser is definitely entertaining. However, the movie also was made for 3-D and I am sure it must one hell of an experience to watch in 3-D. Unfortunately I watched it on DVD. But nonetheless, movie is fast paced and entertaining. I would highly recommend it everyone who loves Jules Verne and enjoys the crazy ideas like parallel world in the earth's center.

These are just few ones. Of course there are vampire movies and other fantasy fictions. I am definitely enjoying the holidays.

Dressed to...

These days I am interning with a very famous policy organization in the valley. Given the day to day need to be in the public eye, I need to dress professionally. Of course nothing too conservative as hardly any one can afford to wear a suit in Phoenix when it's still 100F out there. But nonetheless I need to wear formal attire which is best described as business casual. I am not exactly a suit girl but I do enjoy wearing those nice skirts and jackets at times. Apparently, I do have decent sense of dressing as these day I get complements from colleagues. Among all these complements I remember an incident in DC.

When I was interning in DC, my supervisor was flexible and did not require a very conservative attire at work. In DC, every one is well dressed. Many in suits, many in uniforms. Even while travelling in Metro, it' easy to see well dressed people. I was not exactly among them. I used to wear dress pants and a shirt but no pointy shoes as they would kill my feet. No make up or anything. Just get up, dress and then take metro was a normal routine.

But one day I decided to dress up a little. Instead of a ponytail, I kept my hair down, wore earrings, light make up and nice shoes. That day when I got off the train walked towards the office building, couple of people actually wished me "Good Morning" and a gentleman held the door for me(he was carrying coffee and yet he did)and smiled. I was surprised as it was my yet another day to work and this experience was definitely out of ordinary for me. Guess, it was the little make over. Well, what you wear has something to say about you. Of course, it did not happen every day as I immediately stopped wearing make up. Sleep was so much more enticing. But it was an interesting episode.

I think that's why they say "Dress for the position you want". I hope I am sending the right signals :)

Obama urges students to work hard, stay in school

This was the speech that some idiots thought will turn into Socialists or whatever that means. But I think it was one of the best speeches to inspire students to take charge of their lives and be what they want to be. It does not matter who tells you to study and work hard. It is important to work hard to be someone who brings change. President did bring a change in this country by working hard. Let's all just work hard and achieve want to achieve. Yes We Can and We Will!