Evening snacks at work

I think evening is one of the deadliest times when people get hunger pangs. I certainly noticed this trend in my group at work. I see folks taking nibbles of different snacks, junk food like cookies, chips, crackers etc & gobbling them down to get a quick relief from hunger. I am also a part of the evening junk eaters at work. After a moderately sized lunch at noon, its natural to feel hungry in the evening. Also, we tend to stay at work till late evening like 7:30 or 8 pm, which makes the gap between lunch and dinner too long & irresistible. So, i am attempting to create a list of the options for snacks that can be had at work without consuming monstrous calories, do add to it if you have ideas:

1. Fruits: the most convenient & healthy option.Bananas, oranges, melons or any other seasonal fruits can provide some calories to get you through the day.
2. Sprout Salad: Rich in Iron and protein, toss any sprouted legumes with some spices, tomatoes, cucumbers, walnuts & lemon juice.
3. Rawa Idlis: Extremely simple to make in a microwave, just takes a few minutes and is also a healthy option.
4. Sandwich: Tomato & cheese sandwich is easy to carry from home, ofcourse if you don't mind a few extra calories from cheese.
5. Bhel Puri: Easy to concoct, just add the chutneys before eating else it will be too soggy.
6. Baby carrots tossed in spices and lemon juice.
7. Yogurt snacks: Here you can have a fruit flavored yogurt or yogurt mixed with some spices, cucumbers and cilantro.
8. Oatmeal: Last but not the least, might not be the most palatable for some of us but it does a god job of filling you up.
Got more ideas to add to my versatile list?

Common English usage goofs

I goofed up and got tricked on some of the following items. I believe some of these are common goof up spots for many of us , so listing them below. Hope you find them interesting and learn something out of them:
1. Traveller is British english whereas traveler is American english. Both are correct spellings.
2. Tonight is the coming night, however tonite is an explosive compound !
3. In US english practice is used either as a verb or as a noun. However in British english practice is a noun and practise is a verb. My google editor doesnt even recognize practise while i am typing right now, it marks it with a red underline.
4. Both flower and flour are pronounced the same way.
5. Jewelry is US english whereas jewellery is British english. All my life i have been spelling it as jewellery , when i came across jewelry it was unbelievable!
6.license- yes thats how its spelled not lisence.

Chocolaty San Francisco

It was a nice day out with my roomate R in San Francisco, walking along Embarcadero from Ferry building to Fisherman's Wharf, all the way till Ghirardelli Square. Along the way i saw plenty of interesting things ranging from Chocolate/Candy shops to T-shirts, breads and what not! Here is some for you to Enjoy..

Some nice soups

Came across this,
http://soupblizzard.blogspot.com/
Perfect weather for having a hot cup of soup..

Its My Life...

Reminds you of Bon Jovi? Here you go, fantastic lyrics from a fantastic band,


This ain't a song for the brokenhearted
No silent prayer for the faith departed
And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd
You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud

It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life

This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky, gotta make your own breaks

It's my life
And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life

You better stand tall
When they're calling you out
Don't bend, don't break
Baby, don't back down

It's my life
It's now or never
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive

(It's my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said, "I did it my way"
I just wanna live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life!

A road trip to remember

Me and my best friend M decided impromptu to drive to Utah over the weekend. We packed our bags and left on Friday, driving 700 miles through California, Nevada, Arizona and into Utah. Friday went off in just driving, and we reached Hurricane at 10 in the night. My main job on the trip was to be the DJ and keep the driver awake, i think i did a pretty good job of navigating considering i slept only half an hour over the whole drive :-).
Saturday morning we drove through the beautiful red canyon state to Zion. We hiked up Angels Landing, which truly stands for its name, a place where Angels land. It took us 2 hrs to reach Scouts Point which stands tall 1100 feet over the canyon floor. While hiking we saw some Fall colors in the Canyon along the Virgin River. The views were fantastic from this trail. From Scout's point, we could see the gigantic Canyon carved by the assiduous Virgin River. The skies were clear, and there was mild fragrant breeze, perfect heaven. From Scouts , i attempted to go 0.4 miles up to reach the end point of the trail. However, there were unprotected vertical dropoffs, i could just go 0.1 mile up from there when i was almost trembling from the treacherous cliff 10 feet long and 3 feet wide with 1000 feet drop on both sides, and just chains to hang on to. I had to retreat from there :-(. Still, the views were completely phenomenal from Scouts, and we headed back down.
From Zion, we drove to Vegas and spent the night there. Wynn had an exceptional buffet, and we walked on the strip for a while before crashing after a long and exhaustive day. Sunday morning, we went and strolled inside Stratosphere, before heading back home. I-15 became one of my favorite highways after CA-97 on Crater Lake trip. I-15 meanders through the canyons in Utah, then the rocky Arizona , followed by the deserts in Nevada. It felt like paradise driving through this beautiful road.
Overall a weekend well spent in nice company , with nice food and in beautiful places.

The play of weather

The weather started transforming a week or so back. From bright sunny, hot days to foggy mornings, tender sunlight in the afternoon and chilly evenings. With the weather changing, i feel a whole new potpourri of feelings, energy and emotions storming my mind and heart. I must say, i do enjoy this bittersweet change in the weather of my mind & soul. As its a bittersweet feeling, i have things I love and hate about this beautiful Fall, because it refreshes a lot of beautiful & uneasy memories from the past.
I love this weather as it reminds me of the foggy Delhi mornings, and warm afternoons, when me and my mom would amble down to the market. Me and my brother M would sit on the rooftop while Mom would get a colorful plate of winter Salad to relish.
I love the sip of hot steaming ginger tea complemented with Pakoras on a rainy day, and just watching television adds with M. It reminds me how far I am from home and my family, and makes me nostalgic. The falling of leaves bring the memories of the flying cotton meshes from the huge cotton tree in my school. Not just Delhi, this weather also brings another place very close to my heart, alive in my mind. It takes me to the chilly dull evenings when i used to walk on Monroe Street to the campus. And the weekends, spent in the Library, looking out of the window of Wendt while studying. Ofcourse, the basement lab , where each semester was a different project and thus a different memory.
I can write infinite words about the past, but in a nutshell, just go out and let the weather do its play on you. It will take you across a huge ocean of bittersweet feelings, if you leave your senses open and offer your mind and heart as an empty slate.