Child Abuse

As most of you already know, Nikita Gupta started another blog sometime ago, called - "A Little Psycho-Babble".

Want to share a link to her latest post on the after-effects of Child Sexual Abuse... "CSA: Psychological Dynamics".


She's planning to write more on this subject in her new blog. Also, her Masters dissertation topic, "on victims of incestuous rape and sexual abuse", got approved finally, after much haggling with her professors apparently!

So she needs more research material on this... case studies, feedback, good references and your personal views on it. If you feel you may have anything to share, please drop her a comment. You can also email her if you wish to remain anonymous... her email ID is given in her Blogger profile.

And no... before any of you mention it... she's NOT paying me for this publicity! :)) I'm doing this out of my own accord... because for once, somebody is actually putting blogging to some productive use! :D

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Spicy!!! Ouch!

Remember we used to fill up those childish "slam books" in school for our friends? Most of them asked us about our "most embarrassing moment in life"! Guess what! I just faced MY most embarrassing moment in life today!

This mail just popped into my inbox minutes ago, saying that my recent post "Clothes... again!" has been selected by Blogadda for their "Spicy Saturday" section! This is what they say about my post...

It is the festival time and time to gorge on to festival delicacies. In the process our body gains a few inches as well. Kaddu experiences this phenomenon and her last pair of jeans refuses to fit in. What does she do? What are the thoughts running in her mind? Read the post to find out.

Wow! Out of the almost 275 posts on my blog, they had to select that very post, didn't they! So that now the whole world knows that I have gained weight, and that my last pair of wearable jeans are gone for good! Dead and cremated!

Some spice for blog readers! :(
Boo hoo hoo! Where should I go hide my red face now?

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Living with the Blind

Some people apparently just hate you so much that no matter what you do, they always find a reason to criticize you.

That doesn't mean that you are a bad person. It simply means that their eyes have lost all beauty... for beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

If they seem unable to see any reason to love and appreciate you... and to thank God for your presence in their lives... then just ignore them.

They are NOT God. Their views/feelings about you are not the Universal Truth.

Not everybody appreciates the presence of trees around either... their silent gift to our lives... or the Sun that comes out for us every morning... or this air, which people so shamelessly keep polluting!

Know that this is just basic human nature -- to take everything "for granted" -- everything, including the people in their lives.

Know that you are special, despite what such people make you feel. And know that the Universe completely appreciates your presence, or you would already be dead by now!

Love and appreciate yourself... ALWAYS... regardless of what *some* people around you make you feel... for some people simply cannot see beauty.

P.S. - 'Blind' aren't those whose 'eyes' cannot see... they are the ones whose 'hearts' cannot see.

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Clothes... again!

Remember I once wrote about the importance of the right kind of clothes in shaping one's personality? It so happens that the old piece of writing wasn't just a production of an over-imaginative-cum-over-analytical mind! What I wrote then still holds true... even after 1.75 years!

The latest update is that the single pair of jeans, that I was able to get into for almost an year now, has taken its last breath recently. The fabric has started coming apart now... 'coz I wore it so much! In short, it is not wearable any more! And the other 2 pairs that I have, don't fit me anymore. Worst part is that they JUST don't fit me... the slightest little eensy-weensy bit!

I'm hoping that my 20 minutes walk every morning to attend my German class should be able to get me into them in another week or 10 days. Yeah I know -- 20 minutes isn't much, but hey! It's better than nothing, right? And whoever said that you can't lose weight by walking alone, needs to get his/her fundas right. Because I have gone down from 70 kgs to 60 kgs, in just about 2.5 months, back in 2001, ONLY by WALKING!

Anyways... so I'm back to wearing suits these days! I see absolutely no point in spending at least 1200 bucks on a new pair of jeans that will become loose within days after buying!

But I hate suits! They make me feel like I've been caged! And the "dupatta" simply refuses to stay on my shoulders, so I have to pin it on both sides to my Kurta! "Aunty-ji"? Heck no! Even "Grannies" don't dress like that these days!

But that's not the reason for my woes! I've never seemed to care much about how I look! "Aunty-ji"... "Granny"... whatever! The important thing for me is comfort! And salwar suits make me uncomfortable like hell! Not that I've ever been to hell! So probably I shouldn't use that as a metaphor here!

Oh but anyways... I've realized that I'm so uncomfortable in suits that I even tend to walk with my eyes fixed to the ground! I keep adjusting my glasses on my nose, and wishing I'd become invisible! I feel totally WRONG! Like I'm being forced to play the wrong part or something... and I'm not prepared for that role! And it feels like the whole world is watching me! God!

On the other hand, when I'm in my usual jeans and kurtis... no "dupatta" wrapped around me like a *protective* blanket... I feel more confident, more myself and I even grin at random strangers passing by me! You'd think one would feel more secure WITH some "protection" around him/her? Well, it's just the opposite that happens with me!

Bottomline: I completely lose *it* when I have to wear a salwar suit! I become a totally different person... a meek and insecure little mouse... from the usual ____________! Well, let's just leave it at that, shall we? Those who know what goes into that blank can just grin to themselves with a sparkle in their eyes... and those who don't know... well they can just keep guessing I suppose! :D

In the meanwhile, I need to do something to put those 2 pairs of jeans to some use soon!

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Farming in Germany!!!

Alright! I have a confession to make! I have a seriously "one-track" mind. (Not the kind of "one-track" that men have though!)

I have been like this since I was a little kid. I do things in "fits". When I get involved in something, I give ALL of myself to it, and I find it very difficult to divert my attention to something else at that time! And right now, my entire attention is focused on my new Hobby -- Farming -- and my German Language Course.

Today, we had our very first test in this course. And guess what! I scored 49.5 out of 50 in this test! :D It turns out that I broke all past records in the Institute. My Teacher tells me that nobody has scored so high on any of her tests till now! :D

One of her old students, who is currently doing the Second Level of the course, took this test again with us, because he's preparing to give the International Certification Exam conducted by Max Mueller Bhavan (or Goethe-Institut, as it is known internationally)... and he scored a 46! :D

So you know now why I have been away from this space for so long! Of course, FarmVille also has a big hand in this! Here's what my Farm looks like now...



As you can see, it's not the whole Farm... it's just a close up of one small section of my Farm. You can see my Farm House there, and the Workshop next to it, and the blue Tool Shed at the corner. You can also see all those beautiful Swans that were once-upon-a-time really ugly ducklings! You can see some more ugly ducklings too in fact, next to the second pond in the picture. Oh and you can also see the sparkling new Hot-Air Balloon that was on a special Weekend-Promotion... on sale for just 10 coins! Makes the Farm look so much more cheerful, doesn't it? I had to sell-off 2 of my carts though, to make room for it on my Farm! :p

Well, this German Course will be done before Diwali, as our Teacher is leaving for Germany right after Diwali, and won't be back till end of December! And hopefully, my fit of farming will also be over by then! These days I seem to work on 2-lane tracks apparently! When I was studying for my PGDBA exams, I was full-fledged into blogging too simultaneously! And with the Java Certification preparation, I was more into playing Mahjong in my "breaks"! German seems to have paired up with FarmVille I guess!

Anyways, I'll try to get regular here again as soon as I can. Until then... miss me! :D
Cheers to all of you!

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Adding Colors to My Smile!

Tried the Smiley pattern on my Farm with different combinations of crops. Posting some pics below:

Blueberries and Strawberries - bad idea!

Blueberries and AloeVera - The Blueberries aren't ripe yet, and the Aloe Vera flowers look like Diwali lighting in my Farm! :D

Blueberries and AloeVera - Both ready for harvest - Looks AWESOME!

Carrots and Rice - Both ready for harvest - Looks so-so...

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Smile for You!

Spreading Smiles on my Farm!

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Trip to the City

It looks like I have become completely addicted to farming… so much so that I don’t even feel like visiting my blog these days! Sighhhh! You should listen to the kind of phone conversations I have with my sister these days – what crops to plant, how to utilize space more efficiently, what crops give the maximum returns, how to plan your plantations so that you don’t miss harvesting your crops on time! Oh! The entire family has turned into farmers! Even my Dad finds it fun to look after my farm when I have other work to do! He reaps the harvested crops, plows the land, and plants fresh seeds, while I’m busy cooking lunch!

Anyways, it’s high time I posted something here. Besides, I still have those 3 awards from Sandhya to announce. And guess what! In the last few days, I have managed to collect 2 more awards, this time from DazeDiva! So that makes it 5 now! Phewwww!


So let’s start with the “Timeless Friendship Award”. As the name suggests, the Award goes to those of my blog friends with whom I enjoy a special friendship, not confined by the boundaries of time. And I choose to give this Award to Shreesh, Mahesh Nayak, Abhiroop, Shobhit (Ok, he was my batch-mate in school, but, we actually became friends on this blog!), Robin and Douglas.



The “Beautiful Blogger Award” - No! It doesn’t go to all the good looking bloggers in my community! :D It goes to some of the most beautiful blogs I read… content-wise, and not on the basis of the templates that have been used! And I give this Award to ShilpaGarg, HopelessRomantic, LazyPineapple, Phoenix, WhySoSeriousToday, Rane and Corrine.



And now my most favorite of the lot that Sandhya gave me -- the “Humane Award”! The Award defines “Humane” as being characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion; marked by an emphasis on humanistic values and concerns. But, I’m going to do it in a slightly different way! I am, after all, Kaddu! :D Therefore, I’m giving this Award to all those of my blog friends who seem more like Aliens! :D And the deserving winners of this Award are Blog Gore, Mukund, Roshmi, Iggy, Parv, Spirals, Dave, Prabhjot, Vyazz, Shanu, Websnacker and Lotstodo! Enjoy your moment of Glory, Aliens! :D


Now the Awards from DazeDiva…

The “SWANK Award” obviously goes to Tangerine, Dhiman, PG, AgentGreenGlass, Rads and Coffee Angel.

And the “I Give Good Blog Award” goes to Sandhya, Colors, DreamingEyes, Rashmi, ashkd, Sujata and Garima.

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'Love' Vs. 'Relationships'

A quick post here...

Just want to share something Shobhit (of 'Mindzpeak') has written @ http://mindzpeak.blogspot.com/2009/09/decision-or-emotion.html...

I couldn't have written it with more clarity and precision, if I were to write about this! Especially the following lines...

"Can a dream career/ fame/ big pay-package take preference over love in one’s life? It can’t… ! And if it does, it is not love. It is just a relationship. Because love can never be a hindrance to any dream. In fact, it is a great motivating factor towards any achievement a person dreams of. One can break-up a relationship. But one can never break-up love."

In short... you CANNOT *love* with your *brain*!

Since Shobhit has already covered it all up so nicely, I don't need to add anything else for a change! :D

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