Five Lesser Known Things About Me...

I have been tagged by Amrit to write about five lesser known things about me. For a while I wondered whether I should disclose my neurosis to the world, but then I figured very few of my friends read my blog, my family is unaware that I write, so it doesn't matter.

1. I have a slight, very very very slight strain of OCD. It's not like "I have to wash my hands 10 times a day or I'll die" kinds. But sometimes I keep on checking and double-checking and triple checking things that I have already done; like checking if I have closed the door, paid the bills, check the code/docs that I have prepared in office for errors, wondering about the above things while I am driving to home/office. I have never told this to anyone and even made fun of a friend who thinks she has OCD, mainly because I have a feeling that it started because I read up on OCD. And secondly because I know in my case it's not that much of a problem.

2. I show my mean side only to the people who are closest to me. Very few people know about this, because there are only few people that I am close to. I don't think it stems from wanting people to like me, coz I never really wanted to be Ms. Popular. But that has become second nature to me now, I am polite to strangers/colleagues/casual friends; polite and impersonal, not letting anyone get too close to me.

3. I used to think I was a cleanoholic. I liked things spic and span and in their proper places. I didn't even like untidy people with shaggy hair, baggy clothes. But when I had to do the cleaning myself, I let go. It's just too much hard work! Now, I have compromised by keeping one side of my bed cluttered and the other side all neat and proper; by clearing up the clutter from my desktop and mailboxes. I go on cleaning sprees every weekend and organize everything and forget about it for the next couple of days.

4. I hate asking people for help or telling anyone my problems. There were times when my 2-wheeler broke down/ran out of petrol, but I would drag it alone, not asking for help and giving dirty looks to those few who did stop to offer help. I don't think I can pull off the damsel in distress look. I have listened to the problems of many of my friends (sometimes sympathetically, sometimes faking it), but I rarely talk about my problems with others.

5. I like to watch little kids walking, as they hold someone else's hand and their little feet try to keep up. It always brings a smile to my face. I don't go "Oh how cute" and rush to hold kids. I prefer to watch them from afar and smile at their antics.

I am not going to tag anyone, but if you are reading this post and feel like doing this tag, do let me know. And when you are commenting on this write, do write at least one lesser known thing about yourself.

Questions Questions...

I was tagged by Shankar for the Questions tag. So here goes...

When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
A: Nothing, I am totally blanked out these days

Q: How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
A: I generally don't have a clue as to how much cash I am carrying. There must 500-800 bucks in my wallet right now.

Q: What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
A: Four.

Q: What is your favourite ring tone on your phone?
A: I generally keep my phone on silent or vibration mode. In any case, the ring tone I have is a standard one, nothing fancy.

Q: Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
A: No one, I delete the list quite often.

Q: What are you wearing right now?
A: T-shirt and track pants.

Q: Do you label yourself?
A: I do, there are too many labels I have given myself, and even more that others have given me. The labels are beginning to hurt now, I didn't seem to mind them so much earlier.

Q: Name the brand of the shoes you currently own?
A: Reebok

Q: Bright or Dark Room?
A: Depends on what I am doing at the moment. How can you sleep in a bright room or study in a dark one...

Q: What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
A: Hmmm, don't really know Shankar that well to comment

Q: What does your watch look like?
A: Which watch are you talking about? :-) I have a thing for men's watches, own two of them. The other two are feminine ones.

Q: What were you doing at midnight last night?
A: Couldn't get any sleep. So started studying for a banking exam, so that I get bored and drowsy.

Q: What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
A: It was from a friend who had sent a reminder so that people don't forget to wish him on his birthday

Q: What’s a word that you say a lot?
A: "Hmmmm" It's a word which I use a lot while chatting

Q: Who told you he/she loved you last? (Please exclude spouse , family, children)
A: It's been a while since someone told me that.

Q: Last furry thing you touched?
A: Not really fond of furry creatures, animate or inanimate kinds.

Q: Favourite age you have been so far?
A: 22-24

Q: What was the last thing you said to someone?
A: Don't say that I am jinxed...to a friend

Q: The last song you listened to?
A: Kitni Baatein from Lakshya

Q: Where did you live in 1987?
A: I think I was in Baroda at that time. Not sure.

Q: Are you jealous of anyone?
A: Nope, not really

Q: Is anyone jealous of you?
A: No idea

Q: Name three things that you have on you at all times?
A: My cellphone, wallet, keys to my home/two-wheeler and a whole bunch of other stuff. Good thing the question only asks for three.

Q: What’s your favourite town/city?
A: No favourites, I had some good/bad moments in all the cities I have lived in.

Q: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
A: I really can't remember!!! It must have been a greeting card to my cousin on his birthday years ago.

Q: Can you change the oil on a car?
A: Where does the oil go in a car?? :-)

Q: Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
A: I can't even remember who my first love/big crush was,so no question of keeping tabs on him.

Q: Does anything hurt on your body right now?
A: Yea my eyes are hurting a lot :-(

Q: What is your current desktop picture?
A: Standard Windows one

Q: Have you been burnt by love?
A: Hmmm, yes.

Well, this was an easy one.

The 15 Books Tag

I have been tagged by Shankar for the 15 books tag. This is my first tag. Yippee :-). And it couldn't have come at a better time. Coz I have been too pre-occupied with other stuff, to write a post. So here's some fodder for my blog...

The rules are: "Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag up to 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose."

So here goes my list of 15 books...in a random order coz I cannot rank them down.

1. Folk Tales From Soviet Union Series (Author Various)

Apart from reading Indian folk tales and the Western fairy tales, I also loved reading the folk tales in this series. It transported me to a land of tsars, tsarinas, dragons, fair maids, giant talking crows, fire-birds. It was absolutely fun reading the stories as a kid.

2. Great Expectations (Author Charles Dickens)
Charles Dickens stories are a pleasure to read, albeit a bit sad. And this one was no exception.

3. Wuthering Heights (Author Emily Bronte)
One story that I wished I hadn't read the abridged version as a kid. So that's why I have managed to get my hands on an unabridged version and reading it again.

4. We The Living (Author Ayn Rand)
A book that I have listed almost everywhere amongst my favorites. I have always liked stories with strong female characters. And the hero of this story was also a female. One who was not afraid to follow her dreams. One who believed strongly in her love, to the extent of sacrificing everything for it. And in the end, left alone, and yet not giving up and moving ahead.

5. Doctors (Author Erich Segal)
Easy, breazy and light. The ending was a bit lame though.

6. Harry Potter Series (Author J.K. Rowling)
I am not ashamed to say that I have read the entire series, own all of the books, and still read them once in every few months. And thoroughly enjoyed all the make-believe stuff in them.

7. Kane And Abel (Author Jeffrey Archer)
Two men, alike in so many ways and yet so different. Hell-bent on destroying one another. A gripping story.Liked the sequel The Prodigal Daughter also.

8. How I Taught My Grandmother To Read And Other Stories (Author Sudha Murthy)
Simple and lovely short stories.

9. Oh Shit, Not Again (Author Mandar Kokate)
This book stays in my head, not because it's a fab one, but coz it's the worst one I ever read. I haven't seen any B-grade movie. And the closest that I have come to a B-grade book is at the book stalls near the Baroda railway station. But am sure, this book falls into the B-grade category.

10. Selected Works of O Henry
The original one who wrote such wonderful stories with a twist at the end. Probably, that's why one I read a story by another blogger or when I read the stories that I have written, the twist seems so tame and expected.

11. Sherlock Holmes (Author Arthur Conan Doyle)
Elementary My Dear Watson...If it was so elementary, wonder why Watson and others were never able to find all the clues. Watching the T.V. series was not as much fun and reading the stories, wondering how Holmes would solve the mystery.

12. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Author Khaled Hosseini)
A sad, sad state of affairs. After turning every page, I wished the suffering of the women would stop. But even though this is fiction, it is inspired by the truth. So, the suffering continues for a long time...

13. The Road (Author Cormac McCarthy)
Grey...that's the image that comes to my mind, when I recall this book. Grey and sad and scary, that's what the world is portrayed to be in this book, which is set in the future.

14. The Secret (Author Rhonda Byrne)
One book which has been lying in my closet for quite some time now, and which would be helpful to me in a lot of ways. Still not ready to read it yet.

15. Angels And Demons (Author Dan Brown)
Same setting as in the Da Vinci Code, a different city, a different enemy, a disappointing ending.

Well well, judging by the list above, I can safely conclude that I don't have a very great taste for literature. But that's ok. If I were reading to impress others, then I know that I wouldn't have been able to finish even a single book in my life.

I tag you all:Shankar, KParthasarathi, Arslan, Pawan ,195 Degrees

I wanna tag you Koyeli, but you seem to have vanished from the blogosphere. I haven't been able to access your profile for a while. And you too JD,but you seem to have given up on your blog.