Few Did-you-know s that i came across

Lately I have been thinking of being productive wrt what i write in my blog posts. And i thought, why shouldn't i pen down the information that i read/hear/watch on television which might be of interest to the blog readers. So here i go listing down few of the latest did-you-knows i came across.

Did u know that Tapas are the appetizers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. Barge into any bar in Spain and you can find wide varieties of these small meals offered with drinks. Tapas have a history of their own. Long long ago King Alfonso X of Castile recovered from illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. Henceforth King ordered every tavern in spain to serve tapas along with wine. Legend also says that these tapas were used as the covers to the prevent the wine from fruit flies hovering over the drinks. Tapas are designed so as to encourage the conversation because people are not focussed upon an entire meal set before them. It is also customary to stand and move about while eating Tapas. Such people are called Tapears for fun. While vegetarians relish egg plant, olives, garlic,peppers and tomato bread as tapas, non-vegetarians have a platter of sea food to choose from. All in all, a great snack to gulp in that glass of wine without letting it into one's head :P

Did-you-know that anything and everything in Vietnam is made in or dipped with fish sauce ?? yes, as Cognac in France, Ketchup in America, Vietnamese cannot live without fish sauce. Its salt, pungent, fermented taste is very famous and an island called Phu Quoc is dedicated to a finest fish sauce production. Its called Nuoc Mam. About 2500 tons of fish sauce is produced and sold under the knorr brand in vietnam. Typically, every woman in the family knows how to make fish sauce, the man goes to hunt the fish daily and the lady prepares the sauce. There are more than 80 producers on this island working in this business. Fish sauce is made from anchovies, salt and water. This mixture is stored in wooden barrels and allowed to ferment to produce salty fishy liquid. Some say that this could be an influence of Chinese on Vietnam. The island of Phu Quoc is also attracting many affluent tourists as well as investors, resulting in fishermen plunge into deep waters to find anchovies.

So much for today, shall try to pen down some more interesting facts this week. Till then Tạm biệt or Adiós

Zeal unlimited

A beautiful saturday in jersey city, walked across the snow maze on the street to reach a private firm on central avenue to file our taxes. As our appointment was 5 minutes away, myself and the hubby-dear sat down staring at the hustle and bustle of the tax payers in the office. Came in a mom with a 5 year old kid and rushed to meet her tax advisor. The kid sat down with an abacus, curious and lost in the world of colors. As i was noticing the kid's reactions to the colored beads, an old man walked across to the receptionist asking for his next client. I was awe struck and could not help but question myself if i were dreaming. I observed his every movement as he slowly walked around the office greeting the clients with a pleasant smile. Next came our turn and the receptionist guided us to a cabin. A medium build hispanic lady gently greeted us and looked into our papers. As our filing comprised of 3 different states in 1 year, she felt we needed to take the guidance from an expert and called in another senior advisor. To my surprise there walked in the same old man, with a humble smile he greeted us and asked us to follow him to his cabin. As we seated, my husband started explaining him our tax specs. After the conversation, he took in the required documents and slowly said i shall call you and fix another appointment in a week. He scribbled our information on his notepad as his fingers trembled in cold. We were about to leave and my husband expressed his anxiety in a mild manner about the deadlines. There came in the words which i shall remember for the rest of my life. The old man said "My name is Krishnakanth and i am 76 years old. I am in this industry since 49 years. I shall take care". He slowly confided in us that he was a maths teacher who glided into this profession, has been in US since 1980s. After we came home, i started frying some papads for lunch and my thoughts drifted back to him. How much zeal should a person have to work even at such an old age. The weather conditions have been pretty severe recently and it certainly takes some pain to reach the office and work at such an age. I was deeply impressed with his independent nature and zeal to be active. I believe its there in all of us, just the matter of realization and breaking the conventional walls of retirement. We need not work 8 to 5 every day all throughout our lives but certainly can keep ourselves active with any work we love at our own convenience. And i remembered the words of a wise corporate lady to whom i heard to recently "Do not retire before you have to". 

Who cares what time it is , I am retired !!! Never say that.

One can never satisfy everyone

Silence, a state where one can stop, take a break and look into themselves than at others for a change. In rough times, its like a coconut. Even though you want to be stern and be for yourself in this state, it ultimately shows you how soft and capable you are within. It helps in understanding what you aim for and how petty the ups and downs in the life are when compared to the final goal. Sometimes it gives time to just be yourself in the best composed manner and realize how much you are going along with the flow of life and how much different you once wanted to be. It is the phase where one can not only introspect but retrospect and contemplate the actions and reactions. Just entered such a blob of silence and hoping to reap some results.

Silence is not silent.

Silence speaks.

It speaks most eloquently.

Silence is not still.

Silence leads.

It leads most perfectly.

Enroute -10

Do you want a quick tip for good health, are you interested in loosing weight come what may, do you stay in a place where wearher is highly unpredictable and does it stop you from jogging or exercising outdoors ?? I have a solution. Loose pounds easily by just cutting on sugar. I started my weight loss regimen with jogging everyday for 1/2 hour, thanks to the winter in Jersey city, the riverview park i visit is covered with snow. Well, when there are roads waiting in the queue to be cleared, we cant expect parks to be specless. So, i took few minutes out and thought for myself. This might happen many times and i need to find an alternative to keep myself fit and flexible even on a cold winter day. As i do not have access to the gym indoors, i started with a resolution of sugar-free diet and weight-loss yoga for 1/2 hour everyday. This happened on december 22nd.  I suddenly realised how much sugar we consume in different forms on daily basis, which is absolutely not required for our body. Main culprit was my cup of coffee early morning and tea in the evenings. I got used to sugar-less filter coffee but sugar-less tea seemed a little challenging. I switched to green tea and voila all my measures to loose weight helped me in touching 130 pounds today. Its Jan 07th and my target date is Feb 02nd and i already lost 5 pounds !!! I would keep you posted on how the diet and yoga are helping me and i would really appreciate if you have some tips to share. Commit to get fit!! Way to go 2011 :)

Snow-covered Riverview Park

Weight loss regimen

How in the world am i gonna stick to a plan. Well this should give you a hint that I am a little frustrated with myself.

Hence thought of seeking some help from a website to track my progress towards a goal.

To loose weight... ufffff.

Weight - 135 pounds

Height - 5 feet 3 inches

BMI - 24

Analysis  - Sounds healthy :P

Goal - To lose 10 pounds

Target - Feb 2, 2011

Treat for the child in me - My first short black dress in a cruise on hudson river to enjoy a dinner with my husband.

Started with shredding 312 calories today. Lets see how it goes. Wish me luck !!

Sunrise and the New York Factory

Though i detested to see the smoke in the sky, the view was very captivating. Here i go. Click click click.

Lousy afternoon, staring through the window, there i see the lil one quenching its thirst. Wish i had time to pull up the window and click.

Sunrise

I want the picture to speak for itself. This was the sight that greeted me when i opened my eyes from sleep.