kar·ma/ˈkärmə/

Noun:

(in Hinduism and Buddhism) The sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in... Destiny or fate, following as effect from cause.

Optimism isn't my forte..by a long shot, but being a nice person I generally I try to be. So when a person stopped me on the street today, telling me that they lost their wallet and needed money to get back home, I did what naturally everyone would have done; ran in the other direction.

Just kidding.

What everyone should do is put themselves into that position. What would you do if you lost your wallet and were stuck in a different city. I know that it would kill me to swallow my pride and ask a complete stranger for money for a train ticket. Even if they didn't give me any money, I would know that they would look at me with either pity or rage and judgement would be passed over a mere 1 minute conversation. Is that fair to anyone?

Conversely, there is a second position to consider also. What puts a person into such a situation that they HAVE to beg or ask for money. No one wants to be considered a "bum/tramp", or wants to have people pity or judge them.

This man, whose name I unfortunately didn't catch, looked genuinely frazzled to be asking for some money, and appropriately embarrassed.

Either way, today I helped out someone. Sure I lost 20 quid, but money is just paper. Sometimes it's important to remember that even though you may not have everything in the world, there are people who have less. Plus, I am a Buddhist after all.

Time to eat my words

I think I have to retract a previous post about Cougars... following the demise of all relationships (famous) of older women and younger men. I realize now that maybe it's not the best combination. Kim Kardashian's divorce after 72 days, and now Demi Moore's divorce. Have they realized something that I haven't yet?

I think it's important to point out that even if the man is older, it's doesn't mean a relationship will work. I think in both mentioned cases, trust and respect are needed, as with all relationships.

MAYBE at the end of the day, an older woman is always going to be older. And wiser. It could be the wisdom that can become daunting and intimidating, or just downright annoying.

Age is just a number, not a negating factor to a relationship. At first it is exciting, I will be the first to admit that. But after awhile, it's not important; it stops playing a role. That person just becomes that person who treats you well or not.

So good luck to all the Kim K's of the world, may you find your Prince Charming.

Cooking Tip number 1

Like most, I had never cooked in my life until I moved halfway across the world and decided that food from a box/can/tin was no longer acceptable. And what I craved the most was home cooked Indian food.

After cursing myself for never paying attention to what exactly my mother did in the kitchen, I set out to emulate her food hoping that what I made would be edible.

Here is my first tip on cooking basic Indian food at home:

The Base

All subji or dahl have the same base, it's what is added to the base that differs in each dish.

This is the most basic you can get, and trust me, it's all you need when you're starving.

1 onion diced for dahl, or cut long for subji

2 cloves garlic finely diced

a little bit of ginger finely diced

1 tomato diced

1 tablespoon of crushed tomato

1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of tumeric powder (haldi)

2 teaspoons of crushed chilli flakes

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

fry the onions until golden brown

add the cumin seeds, garlic and ginger

fry until brown but not burnt

add the tomoto

add all the spices

if too dry, add some more oil or water

let it all come together... then add protein of choice

This works really well with vegetables or chicken

If adding chicken, add some more water to get some gravy too it and eat with rice

Honestly this should take about 12 minutes to do, and it will taste good because YOU made it!

Enjoy~

If I'm a cougar then I'm the smartest animal out there

What do Demi Moore, Kelly Brook, Kim Kardashian and myself, have in common? Besides nice asses, it's our love for the younger man.

Just this past weekend, Kim K got married and is getting a lot of flack for it. Not so much for the extravagance of the wedding but people are putting bets on how long it will last.

From experience, my much younger boyfriend is more attentive, agreeable, caring, etc. I don't want him to sound like a muppet, but as a younger guy, any younger guy, he will be in awe of an older woman. He will feel that the world has given him something so great and he will try his hardest to keep her and keep her happy.

A younger guy knows that he is inexperienced and will never try control as a tactic, unlike an older/experienced man.

In the end, a happy relationship is not dependent on age but on how a couple respects and treats each other. Without trust and respect, it doesn't matter how much older the woman is - the relationship is doomed.

Life Partner... or Life Pleaser?!

The other day my Dadi (grandmother) asked me to get married soon so she can partake in my wedding (she feels that's she's getting too old). Being the annoyance that I am, I baited the old lady into WHY is it imperative that I get married.

"Because you need a life partner" was her clear concise answer.

Fair enough.

That is until I realized that she thinks my mom should bend to every single whim of my fathers. Before my Dadi moved in with us, it was the other way around. My father would hang on my mother's words, would do as she said, ate what she cooked, asked what she wanted to do. Now, due to elderly influences, it's my mother that asks how high when told to jump.

Does she want me to get married so I can please another person completely and have no say in my life? I hope not because I am not a flexible person. Literally.

come out, come out, wherever you are

The London Zoo

I went to the London Zoo (http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/) this week.. after much anticipation, I can say I was actually a little disappointed.

National Rail does 2 for 1 offers, but make sure you actually have the voucher, they won't budge on this! THANK YOU to the random man who happened to have an extra voucher. Come to think of it, why would a random man (no children) have extra zoo vouchers. Animal lover? Let's hope so.

The animals were mostly away on 'holiday', which was a little annoying, entrance at £19.50 per person should ensure non-holidaying animals. Majority of the reptiles were not in their little glass habitats, which actually really doesn't bother me too much.

I am a huge monkey fan, and there really weren't any. The penguins were away at Whipsnade Zoo, which didn't help because I wasn't at Whipsnade (but clearly I should have been).

It was mid afternoon so most of the animals were napping (saw some tiger behind and a lion briefly made an appearance) but other than that I can honestly say it was a pretty boring zoo.

However that said, it is in a gorgeous area in Reagent's Park and if not paying full price, should definitely be checked out. The soft serve was pretty damn good.

And do make the short trek to Primrose Hill for a great view of the city. It's a mission to walk up there, but on a gorgeous clear day, worth the blood, sweat, and tear to get up there. And make sure you do a little Rocky victory dance!

Cookie for one

I had a great afternoon last week - while I was waiting for some friends to finish at a conference, I walked around Holborn, enjoying the sun, and settled at Costa coffee on Upper Street (Angel). As is a complete faux pas to sit in a coffee shop and not order, and as I wasn't hungry or really thirsty, I ordered a jam cookie and a glass water.

It was great, I had all I needed to pass the time. Food, water, phone and a Murakami novel. Sometimes it's the little things that make a great time.

Posh Indian Restaurants: To eat or not to eat?

My dad recently came to town, and as usual (as is most of our travels) this trip was centered around food.

My dad think himself to be a food connoisseur, and following in daddy's footsteps, so do I. Although the similarities end there. He will only eat at Indian restaurants, and one's that serve 'fine dining' - according to him. I'm not a huge fan in paying lots of money for food that I grew up eating and now can somewhat manage to make on my own - but if he doesn't mind paying for it, I don't mind eating it.

Veeraswamy

http://www.veeraswamy.com/

Branded as the U.K.'s oldest Indian eatery, I have to say I was slightly disappointed this time. The menu changed slightly; the vegetarian options were withered down to 3 choices from a previous larger variety. Albeit that the majority of sides are vegetarian, it gives the effect that if wanting to eat vegetarian you are only good enough for the side portions.

We each had a thali - an assortment of foods that come on one plate - but had to order naan separately. £9 for a basket which is a little ridiculous, but when in Rome..(or India in this case..). Dessert was gulab jamin and vanilla ice cream, a sad departure from what we had last year - deep fried straws filled with gajar halwa with a side of chocolate dipping sauce. Alas, £128 later I was full but not happy. This is a yearly tradition dad and I do, so hopefully next year the menu changes again, and we are happy eaters once again.

I do have to say that the service was impeccable, amazing staff, really polite and friendly. Highlight of dinner was the basil and tomato soup for starters, brought separately and effortlessly poured into already set soup bowls. A really elegant touch. Also amazing was the rose and lychee lemonade, could have done with some more rose water, but otherwise an amazing combination.