A few fun events are happening around down. Down the block from me at the MoMA artist Doug Aitken has created a visual installation that consists of films shown on the facade of the MoMA on 53rd, 54th street and the building front facing the sculpture garden. It should be interesting. I haven't seen it yet and plan to tonite. I suggest going after dark.

Also this weekend on Sunday (yes I realize it's Superbowl but stay with me here) there is an art opening at the QMA called Erasing Borders a collection of 16 artists of Indian origin IN THE AFTERNOON. I intend on going and then onto the Superbowl.

I love animals especially beautiful horses that have triumped over pain. Barbaro the gorgeous horse that won the Kentucky Derby last year was put to sleep today. He broke his ankle at the beginning of the Preakness race and was pulled out of the race and unfortunately did not win the Triple Crown and that was when he actually caught my attention. To watch him was magic. He was flawless as if he was flying and his face, those eyes and when he broke his ankle and stumbled towards the end I just cried. And while horses can't cry the doctors said he was in a lot of pain and I it just hurt me so much. Youtube video here.

I had to put a pet to sleep not too long ago not too long after I had to bury one that died in an accident. It was a bad year. It's hard to describe what pets mean to people that may not have pets but my cat Spartacus is family. All my friends and family treat him so and understands his importance and value in my life. A few years ago when he swallowed something he wasn't supposed to and had to be operated on to remove it from his intestines he nearly died and I remember him looking up at me with those eyes, the same eyes as Barbaro's and tonite this news just brought back that sad memory. Obviously Sparty made it but I cried with him that day as he cried in pain and looked at me as if ready to die.

RIP Barbaro.

I just realized today now that the sun is coming in thru my window in the morning & new brighter lights in the bathroom; I'm turning ORANGE. OK more like with very, very deep yellow undertones and I'm supposed to have natural olive undertones! And unfortunately I know exactly why. For the past 1 month, I've been eating half a lb of raw baby carrots EVERDAY.

#8O%^R*()*A&_(^N%(G&$^E&#S^*&U#&)%X($()*6)*%4

 

I can't believe it took 4 months to gather the manpower and syncronize schedules to make this happen but my last piece of furniture got built today and the place is finally done. This thing was a monstrosity. 6+ feet by 6+ feet it wasn't just the giant part it was the putting together and making it stay together part that was tough and heavy of course. It took 2 hours and 3 people to put it together and I'm so happy with it not to mention lucky to have friends who trek out on a Sunday to help me out.

Lunch I made for everyone turned out pretty good. Fresh paneer made at 3:00am last night ended up as pakoras, ground beef chapli kabab & chicken curry with jasmine rice. A bottle of Zinfandale later it looks exactly how I imagined it to be.

I emptied the 2 boxes of sculptures and the last massive box of books and finally I'm done. I can't believe I closed on August 1st and my apartment is finally complete this week. I still have artwork I'd like to buy, walls I'm looking to cover and other creative ideas I've had but there are no more boxes of furniture or general crap sitting around. Yippppieeeeee

Just in time for the bitter cold this week my fireplace is up and working

 

I’ve had a very strange start to the year. Much of it has felt surreal and strangely calm. I have days I feel like I’m physically outside my body hovering somewhere in the distance looking on at myself mildly amused. I’ve been watching myself do unpredictable things and make unusual decisions since the 1st. I’m unusually happy, not like I’m surprised nor is there truly anything unusual about it. I just spent so much of 2006 in a fucked up mental and emotional knot. I almost feel like this is abnormal.

 

Last night during one of those long non stop conversations I have on a daily basis with R that starts somewhere around 8:10 in the morning on the F train he said he missed me a little; the old me. He said I was way too mellow and far less feistier than he could deal with. “Stop being so ridiculously agreeable. Could you please pick a fight with me or something?” he declared. As if I ever did! “You’ve been putting up with more of my bullshit than deserves to be.” He went on. Not true. It’s not quite possible to get any bullshit out of him. He thinks he’s such a bad ass, but he’s put up with my insanity for 2 ½ years. It takes a very kind person with a warped sense of humor about life to put up with me, understand me, comfort me and above all want to do it everyday.

 

I suppose it is OK to finally admit I was seeing someone for the past few months. Last year was rough. I had a lot of physical and emotional changes (half a year without R, being really unhappy with the team at work, buying a new home, making up with R, mom getting really sick and depressed) that took a toll on me. I’m glad I made the decision to talk to someone other than dumping on friends. It helped. It helped in ways I would have never thought possible. My shrink, a little Jewish man with a happy smile and curly hair was super cute in the guardian angel kind of way. He waved his wand of wisdom over a period of time and sometime a few weeks ago declared me ‘healed’. Apparently I’m also ridiculously agreeable.

 

R and I have been talking about work and moving on and career choices and how much of a difference a change in location will make for us. The things we take for granted will be gone. Like today I tried to steal some warmth from him while we were getting blown about by the wind on 5^th Avenue and he tried his best to shield me from getting hit by passing traffic because the hood of my puffy jacket is so big I looked like an Eskimo and had no peripheral vision. Or fulfilling the ‘Market just closed I need some air come downstairs’ requests in the summer. Or being stuck on endless train rides that should take 20 minutes but last 2 hours when someone jumps in front of it and so many fights that lead to bigger clarity later.

 

Perhaps the cold weather is getting to me. I rather enjoyed it today. 9 whole degrees kicked a lot of ass today. I came down prepared to take the local train and not do my mile walk but I was so nicely bundled up I walked it and did fine. I actually wore leg warmers today not for the fashionable purpose they seem to serve lately but for the functional use. They were asking random people on the street of NYC how they felt about this weather on NPR. A delivery man said “I want to tell kids to study hard and get a real good job so you don’t end up turning into a delivery man like me and having to deal with today’s weather.” It made me choke, in a lump in the throat kind of way not in a gagging way. The lump was already there. I’d bid Margherita goodbye 10 minutes before. She asked me not to cry, I told her not to linger and then she walked away and I had a measly tear in the corner of my eye, just there for a long time while I fought with that lump. It’s been a hard day. The Shiraz I opened a couple of days ago and appears to be mildly ‘spoiling’ actually is pretty comforting.

 

I’ve been feeling lost about goals and what I want from 2007 and being that I’m still in January I’m feeling pressure to make some decisions now. I want some direction with the writing. I asked the girls today, especially Ash who has been offering me invaluable advice for over 5 years now on everything from parents to boys to food to work. I need a Simon in my life I told her. I want her to be my Simon. I want someone to tell me my writing sucks and I should just stop it already and quit it, dabble with the blog, be happy and quit thinking I can write a book. I need a Simon. I know he’s been a meanie lately but some of those contestants need a Simon in their life to tell them they suck and to stop singing. Instead she turned all Paula on me.

 

I told the girls I didn’t want a ‘You should pursue your dream and write that book if it makes you happy’ kind of bullshit. I wanted someone to give me a solid reason why I should write this story. Will anyone care? Is there a market out there for NON sandalwood/saffron/mangoes/incense/curry aroma kind of literature from a mad brown woman? I’ve had a rather abnormal life (not like it’s a bad thing) but I never followed the ‘desi’ trajectory for anything I did. Does anyone care? Would anyone want to hear this story? How do I go about doing this? Do I get an editor on my own? What is the process? When do I cross the ‘holy mother of goat my parents might disown me and become deeply hurt’ bridge in this whole thing?

 

I’m restless about this among the 90 other things that race thru my head on a daily basis. It’s like I have mental ADD. One minute I’m thinking about going to the Pakistani butcher to get lamb chops for R to make them on Sunday and the next minute I’m thinking about this scary La Toya Jackson look-a-like lady on the train who could use a trip to What Not to Wear. And a minute later I’m wondering whether the car will start up tomorrow morning and then I realize I don’t even know where it is parked at this point. I’m giving myself a headache.

I told you I have been in a weird way.

Just in time for Valentine's day I read this earlier today and it was so incredibly heartwarming. I think today I will say it out aloud to the universe. I want this.

Oh I know I like Mu. Gooddamn this is one Sake I've never even heard of. Holy mother of god! It was amazing. Needless to say the very loud declaration before leaving work of "I'm not drinking tonite" was total bullshit. I succumbed to peer pressure. A bunch of us went to Sakagura a few nights ago and despite the shady and near miss location it was fantastic. It helped that Tom was sitting next to me and knew exactly what to order. And I got insanely drunk. My  head is still pounding.

It was a bittersweet week. It snowed this week for the first time this season and then it was gone as quickly as it came. My favorite kids came to visit me and stayed with me for the first time. Getting to see them two weekends in a row was the highlight of the week. My dinner was a success so were the cookies and Anastasia. I was also forced to say goodbye to Margherita thru several goodbye celebrations. It's been painful to say the least. My partner, my pillar resigned and will be leaving me. I'm heartbroken and excited for her all at once. This isn't going to be easy.

And then scroll down and look at the last picture. It was a sign on a random poll at a street light and it was just so incredibly heartwarming and so New York.

Yesterday was Blog for Choice day to celebrate a day when Roe vs Wade was knocked down by the Supreme Court and a woman's right to choose was preserved. What I find amazing as a woman of childbearing years that in 2007 this is still up for debate. Perhaps I did not notice the noise in the past 34 years, nearly my entire lifetime and only notice it now because I find it still shapes politics and continues to be a hot button issue and more importantly affects me.

I'm a strong proponent of safe sex and protected sex practices and responsibility but unfortunately there have been many instances where despite all precautions women have gotten pregnant. Legality aside, this is emotional and why shouldn't it be? If tomorrow I was one of those women I would not want ANYONE to have an opinion about my choice, especially not the government. It is no one's business what I do with my body, especially not the government.

So having said that I will thru my lifetime do everything in my power to make sure Roe vs Wade stands. Abortion in the United States is a hot button issue and I wish in my lifetime it would stop being an issue to be raised all the time. This is a non issue.

ME!

No kidding!! I won the building board elections today and am now on the board of directors. I won with 80 votes, 1 vote short of the hightest vote that went to the President who's lived in the building for 35 years. My opponent lost with 29 votes.

I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into but it sounds like I'm going to be a busy girl learning about a lot of new things. Today's agenda was cooling systems and north sidewalk and garage wall rebuilding...all this while construction on the facade continues and may thru most of next year. I really just want the balcony done in time for summer and the pool to be open by July. It's going to be a lot of work.

For now I sleep...I'm tired and I fucking missed 24! PISSED!!

OK maybe just Angelina. It seems Angelina Jolie has brought back some bling from her recent stint in India. Anyone notice the 24K gold jewelry that was screaming 'hello Indian'all over the Golden Globes yesterday? Too bad the dress didn't do it for me. She's so lovely you could put a sack on her and she'd look good but a black dress or even a white one would have looked divine with that gold jewelry.

So some faux gangsta was all up in my business today on SM and wanted me to prove myself because apparently me taking offense to songs like Smack that, Moneymaker, I wanna love you was somehow disrespecting him! And since I've posted quotes about Jack Bauer and I am ugly he can’t imagine how anyone would take fashion advice from me. It forced me to retrospect. A definite good idea to retrospect over the past few decades and this might sound ‘sad’ but I swear to you it’s been the most exciting roller coaster…

 

After high school I ran away from home with no prospects for college. Lived with a Haitian co-worker in Flatbush Brooklyn for a year. Was told to sleep away from the windows. Heard gunshots on regular intervals, more during the summer. Attended Baptist church on weekends with her. Worked at Queens Center mall 6-7 days a week. Came home almost every day after 1:00 am and never had a problem on the street. Gave all my money to her. She ended up saving it all for me.

 

Moved out a year later to East Elmhurst / Corona area in a shared situation (shared bathroom/kitchen with folks that weren’t friends) and started looking at schools. Couldn’t get financial aid because I couldn’t declare myself emancipated because I wasn’t over 21 and went around in a circle of state and federal red tape. Took a loan and started night school at a community college. Still worked full time during the day. Moved up at work, nothing incredible to make any financial dent. There were days I had to ration money just enough for one meal a day. There were many many of those days back then. It was fine. I honestly never missed it. Occasionally a co-worker bought me lunch.  

 

Two years went by with night school and full time day work and I actually got an AAS in Business Administration. No one was more surprised than me. I made Salutatorian. At this point I had moved to the retailers head office in Williamsburg Brooklyn and gotten promoted to Assistant Buyer. It was on the waterfront and 15 blocks from civilization and subway and what seemed like eternity away with several feet of snow on the ground. I was attacked by a pack of wild stray dogs once during those grueling mornings. A passing semi driver saved me from getting killed. An angel. Then there was the year that the East River froze in many sections and I walked out onto the river. OK it was for 3 feet and all of 3 seconds but how many people can say they walked out onto the frozen east river?

 

But my Buyer really took me under his wings and taught me a lot. The owners Syrian Jews who hired a lot of South Asians because they believed in them as good people adopted me as the office child. I suppose I always had guardian angels along the way. People that saw some potential in me and pulled in or pushed me in the right direction. I have always been incredibly grateful for it. I am a true Sagittarian in that sense, ruled by the planet of luck, Jupiter. I have honestly always felt Jupiter's presence in my life. People have been very very good to me.

 

I've always had guardian angels watching over me.  Sometimes they were in the form of the delivery truck driver who'd give me a lift to the subway so I wouldn't have to walk in the cold and sometimes they took the form of the 90 year old man who came to my rescue after I got mugged and stabbed in broad daylight in Jackson Heights and people drove by and did nothing. Sometimes they were also in the form of a Pastor of a small church in Queens that was also my professor who hooked me up with free books and school supplies and sometimes they were in the form of my biggest angel to date, Karen Toussaint, the woman who let me live in her home no questions asked when I ran away from home. I don't know where she is today and it has been the biggest regret of my life. I think she moved to Miami but if I ever see her again I want to kiss her and tell her that she saved my life.

 

I also moved a lot of homes in the two years. They were all random and illegal basements in random houses in Queens where the landlords were always shady and always looking to take advantage of me. One of the places I lived in the landlord came down to my apartment any hours he felt like when his wife wasn’t home. He actually offered to ‘forget about the rent’ if I slept with him. I moved and moved again. Sometimes it was because the apartment was just too cold and there was no heat or hot water. I didn't even known I had a voice that counted. Someone who lived down the street on Elbertson Street in Elmhurst followed me everyday for months to try to convince me to dance. I was scared at times but never rattled. A lot of who I am today is because of those days on the street when I was just a little girl and had to hustle to just be. I was 20 going on 80. I still hustle sometimes forgetting that I don't need to anymore. I finally found a landlord from Bangladesh in Jackson Heights who was just incredibly generous and good to me and where I felt safe.

 

Decided to continue with the schooling. Yeah who doesn’t like to work 50 hour weeks and go to school fulltime at night and not eat or sleep much? You gotta love youth. I know I will never have the drive or the energy I did then. I was seriously like an energizer bunny. I was high on life. Nothing was impossible. I was Superman. Enrolled into Baruch for night school again but had a couple of day classes and Saturday classes. The people at work were incredibly kind and flexible though the number of hours never changed. I was doing well, going to a lot of trade shows and traveling to meet vendors. I developed a knack for spotting urban trends and predicting the hits.   

 

Graduated Baruch as well. Yet a big surprise. Missed Salutatorian by a hairy %. The desi in me was pissed!! That summer at the MAGIC show in Vegas FILA made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. My boss was there. He said I should take it. I did. I came back, resigned and signed up with FILA as a Trend Hunter. What was that? Who the fuck knows. Nike had EKINs FILA had me. I was supposed to be an expert in the urban hip hop market which was just staring to make a massive impact in the clothing and shoe industry. FILA had just gone public, signed up rookie of the year Hill who was dating Aaliyah at the time, Iverson, Jeter & Stackhouse so it was a nonstop party.

I banked on my buying days connections and worked with what seemed like impenetrable markets. Detroit, South Central LA, South Bronx, Trenton NJ and it was exciting and difficult all at once. The kids were tough. I learnt to bribe them with gifts to get the inside info. I learnt the gifts actually went to younger poorer kids in the hood. I got them even more hookups. Eventually they warmed up to me. I even got special status on the street. The information became invaluable in the company. People went nuts over it. FILA did very well with that information. I was a superstar for 10 minutes.

 

I went to a lot of pretty crazy parties and met celebrities I didn’t even know. I was young, very naïve and incredibly stupid about a lot of things. It worked to my benefit. It protected me from making a lot of wrong decisions. The party scene was awe-worthy by today’s standards. I didn’t know better. I didn’t even know who Ronnie Lott was. He had an incredible house in LA. Marcus Allen threw parties all the time. LL Cool J had one in San Diego. Ruben Sierra propositioned me. I had only learnt who he was 10 minutes before. Michael Johnson took a group of us out to eat at Spago then stiffed us with the bill.

 

Eventually I realized the continuous party wasn’t going to build me a career. I jumped at the opportunity of Jr Product Development Manager and took it. Trained at the Via Spiga factory in Italy and leant to make shoes from scratch. Pretty cool stuff. Worked exclusively with Stackhouse in the beginning. His one foot was significantly bigger and he had a higher arch in one than the other so every shoe was custom made. He went thru about one pair of shoes a game so half a production line went just for the season. Lived off and on in Italy. Leant a lot about Quality Control. Wasn’t any place glamorous. On weekends went into the Alps or roamed the country side. Didn’t have any money to spend, didn’t even have a camera but Biella was an amazing place to live in. People were generous and often invited you to eat in their kitchen with them.

 

I started working with the factories in Pusan Korea. The partying gave way to hours of technical drawings. My new boss was a youngin with a vision. He was brilliant. He was also best friends with Mark Wahlberg and Branford Marsalis. Yet again went to some amazing parties and concerts. Went to the Boogie Nights release party and walked into someone having sex in the bathroom with some model whose name I can’t remember now. Eventually FILA changed courses and shut down its NY operations. They had also changed their artistic vision from NY to Italy and badly botched their approach to the urban market. I got laid off.

 

I got my first “real” apartment, in a real building from my severance check. Started dating M at the time who took me to the shooting range with him nearly every weekend. Got pretty good at it. He also taught me how to drive on the Police course and I got pretty good at that too. Bought my first car, traveled like insane in those years we were together. Started writing. Actually got paid for it. Got a lot of people to hate me as well. It was pretty cool. I had a lot of youthful angst I wrote about. Worked out well for that point in time.

 

Couldn’t really find something I really loved so held out and collected unemployment. Did a lot of random consulting product development work for a bunch of companies from Martha Stewart to Victoria Secret to Disney Inc. No never saw any models naked but certainly met quite a few that I wanted to beat with the shoes I made for them. Lived off and on in Hong Kong for nearly 3 years and for quite a bit of time in London. On the side decided to dabble with style coaching and collected quite a clientele. Mostly boys on Wall Street with a lot of money and no idea what to do with it and zero style. I missed working in a real environment with real people. I had days I never got out of my pajamas. I also missed the insurance and I needed it for my asthma. I still had no job I absolutely loved. Decided to go back to the real world.

 

Sent a rather obnoxious and pompous letter to Liz Claiborne’s HR. No resume. HR lady was amused and called me in. I got offered two positions. I took one. It was Business Planning. Loved the girly yet very strong girl power environment as well. Went thru a slew of insane bosses I hated. 9/11 happened. I broke up with M, got a bigger apartment and let my lil bro move in with me. Wow that was some incredible challenge. Things at Liz stagnated. I got bored and annoyed. Eventually left to go work across the street. From 1440 Broadway to 1441 Broadway for the competitor Jones NY. Hated hated it. Amazing boss totally not what I wanted to do.

 

Got a call from L’Oreal Paris finally and left in less than 6 months at Jones NY to come where I am now. L’Oreal is where I see myself build a career but who the hell knows. That I manage a portfolio short of $400M today is something that still manages to amaze me. I still remember days when I felt like I would never finish school and would end up on the streets. When I look back at my Social Security statements and see that I made $12,600 the first year I ran away from home and still survived I feel nothing but grateful. I always had amazing love and support of my friends, people like Jigna and Charchita who fullfilled the role of sisters and sometimes mothers and always guardian angels that looked out for me and kept me from turning into a hooker or rolling a joint.

 

I'm sure you are wondering where my parents were. They were around. I chose to keep them in the background. Perhaps pride and a lot of youthful angst made me do it. I have however amazingly come full circle, a complete 180. I have the best relationship with my parents today and they are the most amazingly supportive people in my life, especially my mother. I wish everyone out there would find a loving, kind and open hearted and minded mother like mine.

 

I was a very very difficult daughter, fiesty, angry, a ridiculous wanderlust, independent to the core and a little rotten too. I pick up and go when I want, where I want. I don't think twice before I speak because I think it's from the heart. I'd jump down a well if someone asked me not because they influenced me but because I knew I'd surive the well and it would make a good story. I was completely insane, perhaps I still am. I make no commitments to anyone so I don't have to break them. I don't take opinions and advice and worse was never the kind of daughter that listened. It's amazing that my parents still think I'm their daughter.

 

But I've always had inspiration around me. New York City has been my home for 20 years and in it I've found the kind of comfort one doesn't in a lifetime. This city and all the people in it that I've crossed over the years have inspired me, comforted me and held my hand during some very lonely times when I had no money and no hope and thought it was the end of the road. I still wake up in the middle of the night in my new home completely baffled that I've come to this moment in my life because I still have memories of those cold basements in Queens when I didn't know what I was going to eat the next day and I was freezing all at once.

 

Everyone should be this lucky. There are people who don't have this kind of luck and inspiration and more importantly moral guildance in their life. Those are the people I hope to find in my life and pay it forward. Life has been such an amazing journey of different roads, why should now be any different? Perhaps I’m older and slower. Wiser? That’s debatable. I suppose I could fill in some of these paragraphs with stories enough to fill a book but how boring would that be. I like gists. Gists are good.

 

OK I love Jack Bauer. Well hell so does my boss. So what? Doesn't everyone? I'm in shock over last night's episode...Curtis...LA. HOLY SHIT.

My boss sent me this today...too funny not to share!!

50 Facts about Jack Bauer 

1. Only Jack Bauer can fly a plane from the luggage compartment.

2. The city of Los Angeles once named a street after jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times.  They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street.  No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.

3. Going to China is all part of Jack Bauer’s master plan to rid the world of Communism.

4. Jack Bauer doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom because his organs are afraid of making him angry.

5. Surrounded by terrorists and nerve gas, and handcuffed to a table leg, Jack Bauer laughed to himself and said, “I have them right where I want them.”

6. If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he’d shoot Nina twice.

7. If Jack Bauer’s gun jams, It’s because he wanted to beat you with it.

8. If everyone on “24” followed Jack Bauer’s instructions, it would be called “12.”

9. Jack Bauer is the only human in the world with the ability to make Chloe O’Brien drop the personality disorder and patch him through.

10. My husband doesn’t wish he was Jack Bauer.  He wishes I was Jack Bauer.

11. Once, someone tried to tell Jack Bauer a “knock knock” joke.  Jack Bauer found out who was there, who they worked for, and where the bomb was.

12. Jack Bauer’s calendar goes from March 31st to April 2nd, no one fools Jack Bauer

13. Upon hearing that he was played by Keifer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland.  Jack Bauer gets played by no man.

14. There have been no terrorist attacks in the US since Jack Bauer has appeared on television.

15. Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys.  He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.

16.  If you wake up in the morning, it’s because Jack Bauer spared your life.

17. 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer.  Sounds like a fair fight.

18. Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.

19.  The state of California plans to reduce violent crime by changing the method of capital punishment from lethal injection to Jack Bauer.

20. When Kim Bauer lost her virginity, Jack Bauer found it and put it back.

21. If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef, then it’s fricken beef.

22.When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists.  Jack Bauer hates lemonade.

23. Jack Bauer sleeps with a pillow under his gun.

24. A standard deck now contains 48 cards.  Too many people were getting hurt for trying to play “Jack”.

25. Let’s get one thing straight, the only reason you’re conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.

26. Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

27. American Idol is only popular because it has commercials for 24.

28. Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.

29. It’s no use crying over spilt milk…Unless that was Jack Bauer’s milk.  Oh you are so screwed.

30. Jack Bauer was never addicted to Heroin.  Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.

31. On a high school math test, Jack Bauer put down “Violence” as every one of the answers.  He got an A on the test because Jack Bauer solves all his problems with violence.

32. Jack Bauer could strangle you with a cordless phone.

33. Jack Bauer is the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men.

34.  Jack Bauer doesn’t have a firewall on his PC.  He has a Bauerwall.  It’s basically just a JPEG of Jack Bauer.  No virus has ever attacked Jack Bauer’s PC. EVER!!

35.  Tony was once shot in the neck, rushed to the hospital, underwent emergency surgery and was back on the job in just a few hours.  Jack Bauer still can’t believe that wuss went to the hospital first.

36.  Jack doesn’t believe in Murphy’s Law, only Bauer’s Law: Whatever CAN go wrong, WILL be resolved in a period of 24 hours.

37. Killing Jack Bauer doesn’t make him dead.  It just makes him ANGRY!

38. If Rosa Parks was in Jack Bauer’s seat, she’d move to the back of the bus.

39. There is the right way, the wrong way, and the Jack Bauer way.  It’s basically the right way but faster and more deaths.

40.  When someone asks him how his day is going, Jack replies, “Previously, on 24…”

41.  In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times.  What the heck have you done with your life?

42.  In order to control illegal immigration in the US, the president installed cardboard cutouts of Jack Bauer along the US/Mexico border.

43.  Jack Bauer doesn’t miss.  If he didn’t hit you it’s because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.

44.  Jack Bauer set an ordinary flash memory card to self-destruct.  Don’t ask how he did it, he’s Jack Bauer.

45. RIP Edgar.  If you see this give it a 10.  Just cuz it’s what Edgar would have wanted.

46.  Superman’s only weakness is Kryptonite.  Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness.

47.  The truth may hurt, but it doesn’t hurt as much as Jack Bauer.

48.  Jack Bauer doesn’t take fingerprints, he takes fingers.

49.  Osama bin Laden’s recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.

50.  Jack Bauer doesn’t speak any foreign languages, but he can make any foreigner speak English in a matter of minutes.

Rutvik turned 6 this weekend so I went out to Lewisburg to spend some time with him and Dhruvi and Charchita, which was so nice. It's amazing what a mere 4 hours outside of NYC will do for you. It was relaxing since it was crappy weather most of the weekend and Lewisburg is so sweet and quaint and laid back it's like a mini vacation. I slept in late and woke up to the kids climbing all over me, watched nonstop movies and football all weekend and played catch and had the dog chase me around. Ate quite poorly of course but it was a lot of fun.

Watched the Saint's kick the Eagles ass. Watched Tom Brady perform magic yet again and lead the Patriots to win over the Chargers. Watched Night At the Museum and thought it was adorable. I've yet to meet someone that said they hated this movie and yet it continues to not get great ratings. I loved it. The kids loved it too.

Also finally saw The Devil Wears Prada and of course loved it, mostly for the superficial clothes and stuff. The story behind it wasn't so impressive mostly because I personally have known so many of these type of pre-madonna's that it didn't surprise me. I think however I'm in love with Daniel Sunjata. Yummy!! Anne Hathaway is cute, Stanley Tucci is predictably excellent but Meryl Streep is just WOW. She's such a fantastic actress.

Lewisburg is home to Bucknell University and the town has a lot of university culture. They don't have any major department stores other than Wal-mart and I believe a JCPenney but it is still however a small town as you can see from the newspaper clippings below (my favorite is the second to last quote from Jennifer Bellve about MLK day). It's a conservative town and even thought it's merely 4 hours from NYC it feels like you've landed somewhere in the south. Yet everyone is Lewisburg is so nice and that is the one thing that always brings me back to it.

On the way back I hit extremely dense fog somewhere along the Poconos. For a large part of the stretch the visibility was barely a 100ft yet everyone was doing 70mph+ so it was a big scary but I found the whole ride terribly thrilling.

This is a follow up to my previous most popular to date post on make up!!! You can find that post HERE.

 

Skin care is something I never really learnt from my mother. In fact skin care is something mothers of her generation barely worried about. You grew old gracefully. But the dangers are different now and we live in a time when we CAN do something about how our skin behaves and growing old gracefully is for the old. We aren’t old yet.

 

Good skin care should be a twice a day regime that includes, wash/cleanse, tone/tighten & moisturize/SPF protection every time. The regime should also include use of a good scrub a few times a week as well as good masque once a week. This applies to you whether you have oily or dry skin. Products vary but the steps are always the same.

 

Some things I need to state right off the bat.

1. Never use wash cloths. They don’t thoroughly clean your face and are harsh.
2. Never use waterproof make up. No matter how great your cleanser all of it is not coming off.
3. Never rub your eyes EVER.
4. Never go to bed without washing your face bare.
5. Never skip sun screen.
6. Do skip wearing makeup at least once a day on the weekend.
7. Do drink lots of water.
8. Do invest in a very good humidifier and run it ALL the time.
9. Do eat raw veggies and fruit everyday.
10. Do invest in good skin care products.

Here are some very good cleansers:

 

For women who wear little make up Cetaphil makes various different Daily Facial Cleansers, everything from normal skin to sensitive skin to oily skin. It’s a great gentle basic cleanser but not very good with removing make up.

 

For women with oily skin or skin prone to breakouts I’d recommend Neutrogena’s Deep Clean Facial Cleanser. It’s the right kind of strength to get makeup as well as completely clean out your surface oil. I also recommend the Ideal Balance line by L’Oreal. The cream cleanser is very good.

 

 

I highly recommend using scrubs on your face even if you don’t use make up. It helps renew our skin and give it a fresh glow. Remember to be gentle and use a circular motion with our fingers with no pressure. Stay away from the delicate eye area.

 

Scrubs come in all forms. Gentle scrubs that can be used daily or in the form of a Micro-Dermabrasion kit meant to be used once or twice a week.

 

L’Oreal’s Refinish is a fantastic Micro-Dermabrasion kit available at drug. It is rough so I’d stay away from it if you have sensitive skin. However if you have hearty skin use it twice a week and I promise you the difference is visible in 4-5 uses.

 

 

Always use a toner right after you are done cleansing and right before you put on a moisturizer. Oil of Olay has a great toner called Olay Clarity Toner that can be used everyday. All

 

On the higher end Biotherm’s Biosource line makes great toners for combination skin as well as dry skin but their Hydra-Detox is perfect for oily skin.

 

Do use a masque once a week. Peel off kind if you have oily skin, clay wash off kind if you have dry skin.

 

Neutrogena makes a Oil Free Acne Wash 60 second mask scrub for oily skin that is one of the best in the market. Also Oil of Olay has a Daily Facials Intensive Clay Masque that can be used twice a week for a deep pore cleaning.

 

Freeman’s Clay masques are great for dry skin. Biore has a very good Shine Control Clay Mask that is great for dry skin. You will actually feel your skin tighten with this mask.

 

I actually make a home made masque I’ve been using for years. It’s my mother’s concoction and I’m sure quite common in most Indian households. 3 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon gram flour (Besan), 1 tablespoon ground almonds, ¼ teaspoon turmeric (Haldi). Make sure the cream is cold so your masque is cold. Mix to make a pasty consistency, add more cream if needed, put on with fingers, leave on for 30 minutes, rinse.

 

Best spot treatment for occasional breakouts is Biotherm’s Acnopur. One tiny dab overnight will make the bad boy disappear. I won’t even recommend any other brand because this one is truly the best I’ve ever used.

 

 

There are 3 types of Moisturizers you should use…daily moisturizer with SPF, a heavier night moisturizer to go to bed at night and a separate eye cream for the gentle eye area.

 

Look for words like Vitamin C or Vitamin E. These two ingredients make for incredible moisture and smooth and supple texture when put on. I’m not so fearful of oil and don’t necessarily gravitate towards oil free products because I have dry skin. In fact I look on the lable to make sure that water is listed lowest on the ingredients list or not in there at all and I will especially stay away from a lotion that has Water listed first on the ingredients list. It evaporates and it most probably used to hold the product together.

 

For day I recommend these moisturizers:

 

L’Occitane Immortelle Very Precious Fluid is a great moisturizer for the day. It offers all the benefits of a great moisturizer as well as SPF 40 protection.

 

Murad makes a Essential-C Moisture lotion that comes with SPF 15 that’s a very good day moisturizer.

 

Cosmedicine Primary Care Moisturizer offers all around benefits with SPF 20. It’s very light and gets absorbed in the skin right away and very good if you have dry flaky spots on your face.

 

Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Face lotion with SPF 15 is a very good drugstore moisturizer. It’s oil free, contains my favorite Vitamin C & E and comes in a sensitive formula as well.

 

Oil of Olay’s Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer comes with SPF 30 and excellent benefits Vitamin E & Green tea. Oil of Olay is the category leader in skin care at drug so most of their moisturizers are very good.

 

 

For night I recommend these moisturizers:

 

L’Oreal’s Wrinkle Decrease line has a Night cream. It’s an anti aging treatment with Boswelox. If you are starting to see first signs of fine lines around your mouth and eyes this will work the best in minimizing them.

Origins Plantitdote Mega-Mushroom Face Lotion is an oil free concoction that gives you immediate relief. On days when you feel like your face has been thru the wringer and it’s sensitive this face lotion is fabulous.

 

Biotherm’s Line Peel is incredibly rich and perfect for overnight renewal. It will truly hydrate your skin if you have drier skin. You can use this even if you have a oily T zone.

 

Lancome has a overnight treatment called Primordiale Optimum Night, again for first signs of aging. This cream is one of those truly luxury creams that you wake up feeling like your skin ran a marathon and won overnight. You will truly see a visible difference with this one. It’s expensive but worth it.

 

I use Leaf & Rusher’s Active Serum. It’s ridiculously expensive and not easily available. In NYC I can only find it at Saks. It is amazing. It’s the lotion that will make you go “WOW”. The combination of no water, Vitamin C & Retinol is brilliant.

 

You don’t need to use anything expensive. The key is to use product though. By the way do ask for samples at the counter. Usually a sample contains enough for last two treatments so ask for a couple and try it for a few days and see how you feel about the product.

 

Lets talk about eyes. They are the first features on your face that will start showing signs of aging. If you have naturally oily skin, your eyes are benefiting from it. If you have dry skin like me your eyes will need some extra help in terms of moisture replenishment. Here are my recommendations for the best eye creams out there.

 

Biotherm’s Source Therapie eye care. It’s a rich cream I’d put on to sleep with at night and it’s a great moisture source.

 

Kiehl’s Imperiale Repair Eye Balm contains Vitamin A & E which is so good for your eyes. It is also intensely moisturizing.

 

Aveda’s Tourmaline Charged Eye Cream brightens dark circles and reduces puffiness. This is a good cream to wear during the day because it dries on the surface and seals in the moisture and you can wear makeup on top.

 

Once a week if I’ve had a late night, before I hit the sack I soak cotton balls in cold heavy cream (milk) and put them on my eyes till either I fall asleep and they fall off or for about a half hour. This prevents you from waking up with puffy red eyes.

 

Remember there is no such thing as too much moisture for your eyes. Your eye area is so delicate it’s where the first signs of tiredness and aging show. Make sure you get enough sleep, elevate your head a little always, don’t abuse alcohol, eat on time and your eyes will reflect it.

 

 

Last but not least do protect your lips especially now in this weather when it’s cold outside and very dry inside. Even on weekends when I’m home and don’t have make up on I wear a lip balm because indoor heat can still chap your lips.

Rosebud Salve is this great little lip balm that offers wonderful benefits