The next big step...

Well, the move from the north to the south has finally been 'solidified' so-to-speak. After a long, stressful process of finding a house down here, we finally found one we could all agree on, and moreover, one that the sellers agreed to sell to us for the price we suggested.

Below are the photos of the house from the outside:











Though you can't see from these photos, we have a beautiful creek in our backyard which is quite private, and a really nice place for someone like me who likes the outdoors, where I can go and sit and either read, or write, or paint, or do something that I like to do.

It's a beautiful, spacious house, which sits on a 1-acre piece of property and resides in a million dollar neighbourhood. Living there should give me the space I need. I'm quite excited about this!

Now for all the rest of the stuff that follows an agreement to the contract - working with our attorney, having an inspector check the house, go through the closing, and FINALLY take our things out of storage and move!!

After a really, really horrible couple of weeks, this was a nice breather. It's always refreshing to get some speck of good news amongst a pile of bad bits. =)

Johnny Depp in "Shantaram"...!!!

All right, so for all who do not know yet, let me start by saying, I LOVE Johnny Depp. I think he is a superb actor, and Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my all-time favourite movies. In fact, I watched it again just a few days ago and laughed as hard as I did the first time I watched it.

I just happened to be doing some browsing, and I happened to discover that Johnny Depp is going to be acting in an upcoming Indian film by Mira Nair!! [For those who don't know, Mira Nair was the director of films "Salaam Bombay!", "Mississippi Masala", "Monsoon Wedding", and most recently, "The Namesake"].

She will be starting the production of "Shantaram" starring Johnny Depp and featuring Amitabh Bhachan in the fall of 2007! I was incredibly excited to learn this and can't wait to see Johnny Depp starring in an Indian film.

"Shantaram" is a film based on the book written by Gregory David Roberts [also titled "Shantaram"], who wrote the book based on his real-life experiences. Check HERE for the plot summary.

I'm so excited! Did I mention, Johnny Depp is an absolute class act? Now that, placed in an Indian film...Mira Nair may just have discovered something...

Duke lacrosse prosecutor disbarred

District Attorney Mike Nifong violated more than a dozen ethics rules in prosecuting the case against three Duke lacrosse players. The three students, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans, were accused of sexually assaulting an escort-service dancer at a party in March 2006.

This hit closer to home for my brother than it may have for most people. One of the students had attended the same high school as my brother, and was just one year his senior. My brother was acquainted with him, and from the first day this case started back in March of 2006, had vehemently opposed it and knew so surely that at least that particular student was innocent.

Two DNA tests found no match between any of the three men and evidence in the case, but Nifong, who was up for re-election as district attorney at the time, pursued the prosecution anyway.

Disciplinary committee chairman F. Lane Williamson said that racially inflammatory remarks Nifong made last year "were to further his political ambition." The three athletes are white, and their accuser is black. Nifong was re-elected in November.

The bar committee found Nifong lied to the judge in the rape case about whether he knew of any evidence that would exonerate the defendants.

Nifong told the court on Friday that he would resign as district attorney regardless of what the committee decided. In any event, Nifong has now been permanently disbarred.

If you ask me, he deserves that completely. Knowing that the students were innocent, and lying to the judge when requested to come forth with anything that would prove the students were innocent is not ethical especially when it is crucial as a part of your job to go by these certain rules.

It's ironic. Practicing law, then making such big mistakes as someone in the position of district attorney, enough to get disbarred.

I guess that's why they call it 'practicing'.

Indian-Chinese business deals

"Chinese people and Indian people cannot do business together because Indian people can't get along without a bargain, and Chinese people cannot give you a bargain. Their objective is to get every penny from you. And ours is to keep every penny." - Russell Peters

Yep, I am experiencing the full truth of this comic, yet entirely true statement this week. Seriously, you would think that after trying to sell something desperately for 2+ years, someone would be willing to sell it, even if it was below their obnoxious, stubbornly high price, yet still reasonable. Nope...not this Chinese family.

Unfortunately, it's not nearly as hilarious when you are experiencing the brunt of it in reality!

What's 'height' got to do with it??

Apparently, how tall a man is can significantly affect how successful they are in the business world.

My thoughts?

That's absolute bogus. Seriously. How can height be THAT much of an influence over how you perform at work? Yes, I understand the appeal for a taller man, but I thought that was true more for what a woman looked for in a man than what other businessmen looked for in businessmen.

I have a huge problem in general with a lot of these 'studies' that are done. I think some of them are pretty shady. Honestly, how many men do you all know who are short and successful? I know so many! And 'success' I know is measured in different ways. I'm using the 'general' definition - those who are in high positions at work. Almost every older, Indian man I know is in such a position, and let me tell you, some of them are not too much taller than I am, and I'm generally considered to be on the shorter side.

I find it annoying that people say height has so much influence over 'success', rather than your intellectual ability to perform, including your processing power, your knowledge, and your ability to converse and communicate with people. What's the point in being tall and 'pretty' to look at, when you are really not as 'smart' as others who are shorter, and in general more qualified to be in high positions?

And this better not have anything to do with females...

Done

There's no relationship left...

Being 'emotionally spent' probably doesn't 'help' the situation...

Now the hard part...accepting it...

Murder by a teddy bear!

Yes, I know, the title itself is ridiculous. But look at this article.

In short, the article describes a scenario with 4 male students who create a film starring a group of stuffed animals, where an 'evil teddy bear' orders other stuffed animals to murder a teacher who coincidentally has the same name as the students' real-life math teacher.

To be honest, when I first saw this, just the idea of the film struck me as comically absurd. I wanted to break out in laughter. Just look at the title of the article: Teacher sues kids over teddy bear movie. Seriously, it's absurd. This is what makes the news these days.

Actually, this whole issue got me to thinking about how many times I have heard people around me express 'hatred' for a teacher or professor, and how many times I have heard comments about how happy they would be if the teacher 'crashed his/her car and died' or something else of the sort. The only difference between what these students say and what the boys in this news article did, is the fact that one group only voiced these comments, and the other group actually expressed it in a visual format.

The article fails to state how old these four boys are. The age may/may not make a difference in this case. Surely, it would provide a few more arguments both supporting the boys and going against them.

I wonder how seriously this movie would have been taken had it been 10 years ago. It seems recently, the slightest violent notion, if caught, is turned into a largely dramatic case due to a combination of world/national/local events revolving mostly around terrorist acts that have dramatically increased today.

ha!

Now, isn't this just what every desi girl needs to know!

Depressed? Well, here's just the right solution! Go get married!

Haha, how fitting.

Tough...

It's tough to be questioned on the things that you are most particular to tell the whole truth about because they have enough meaning to you, whether or not the other side cares...

And it's even tougher when there is something about you that made them question it, and you have no idea what it is, and probably won't ever know.

It's the toughest to push that aside and continue a fully normal relationship with people who make you feel that way.

I suppose, you have to somehow do it...right?

Yea...right...

?

hm...

Things don't really seem to be adding up. Something one person says doesn't match what the other says. Possible that those who are close to you, and possible that things you took for granted about them, may need to be reassessed?

I am just going to walk away from it. No point in figuring out these dilemmas now.