Eat Pray Love

I've read the book and, finally, watched the movie*. I totally enjoyed both. If you thought I'm going to add to the plethora of reviews out there and bore you to death, I have a pleasant surprise for you. I'm not.  This is more of an observation post. We can call it "Eat Pray Love and the Crazy Mommy":

• I read the book in three installments, with a week break between each city. A book that size would normally be devoured by me in less than 48 hours. (I started speed reading way before the concept became common. Since I was reading Enid Blytons from the age of three.) I initially started reading it like a normal book, however when I got to the end of the Italy chapter I started reading up on the stuff referenced in the book. Let me tell you I had hours and hours of online fun. That's when I decided to do the same with the other cities. The end effect, I felt the movie was way to short, with not enough focus on the writer's descriptions of the cities. This didn't stop me from enjoying the movie throughly, I would have just liked more of it. 
• I dragged V along for the movie (she's loves going to the cinema and actually watches most of the movie). Halfway through the techie and I wished we hadn't brought her. In the scene where Julie Roberts and her beau are romancing, she insisted on explaining to the whole theater that "mummy and daddy are doing cozy, cozy"! I swear we only kiss and hug in front of her nothing more. V also learnt her new favourite word - "sexy". She kept saying "mummy, the daddy in the movie said sexy" and giggling throughout the break. Lucky, everyone around us thought she was cute and entertaining. My ears were red by the end of the show.
• The major outcome of the book and movie has been that I'm drooling over totally unaffordable houses in exotic locations. In fact, I now have 5 dream houses instead of one! I've also gone back to planning my post-retirement world-trip. (I hope to retire by 40, at the latest).

What effect did the book/movie have on you? Did everyone enjoy and analyze it as much as me, or am I just a one off case?

*I actually started this post on the 28th of October (we are not that behind with movies here) and didn't want to change it for authenticity sake. 

Unexplained Love

When I read a novel that is based on human relationships I always wonder if the author has experienced firsthand what they have written about. Plots based on action, adventure or historical fiction can be researched and then the skill of the writer gives life to the story. However, in the case of a storyline based on human emotions, unless the author understands his character like an actor preparing for a part, the story fails to touch the reader. In the case of Cecelia Ahern, I have had the same impression right from her first book. Though after reading "P.S. I Love You", which was way better than the ones that followed, it was obvious that here was a girl who has never been married.

To cut to the chase, her current book, "Thanks for the Memories", can be compared to a box of half and half. The rich creamy part is where she describes the central character's relationship with her father. The interchanges are realistic and the scenes well crafted. The thin milky part is the attempt at creating a love story. The romantic bits are uninspiring and there seems to be no sense of chemistry between the hero and heroine (to put it loosely).

Warning: The next bit may contain spoilers, so if you plan on reading the book or are a die hard Cecelia Ahern fan please don't read further.

Though the author has done some basic research on an unexplained phenomenon, it seems like she hasn't convinced herself of it's existence. A woman in her thirties has an accident a requires an urgent blood transfusion. Post procedure she has flashes of memory that don't come from her life - a young girl growing up,  the deterioration of a marriage, the loss of a parent - as well as a whole bunch of facts and knowledge that she has never studied or come across before. The story tries to convert this weak link into a full-blown love-at-first-sight story, which just doesn't stick. In addition, the woman is confused about her identity and sees herself as two people, the potential girlfriend and the recipient of the donor's blood. The supposedly romantic scenes are dragged out with the heroine's reasoning bordering on stalkerish and illogical. With the whole plot coming to a convoluted but predicable ending, this book is definitely not worth spending your leisure time on.

P.S. - This is something I just read. The T.V. series, Samantha Who, was co-created by Cecelia Ahern. I love this series. So the author has just been redeemed in my eyes.

Office Romance

Last Wednesday was one of the rare days that the techie and I actually worked together for a while during office hours. We had to accompany the brand consultants on a site tour of a couple of our satellite centers. The weather was great since we had a mild drizzle which helped cool off the city, after a terribly hot week, and we where getting to spend sometime outdoors. In addition, designing and building the brand is one of the most creative and interesting aspects of running a business, which is what the exercise was aimed at. So I was already feeling quite chirpy.

Our brand consultant and design expert are really interesting people to hang out with and we had a productive   morning. We finished around lunch time by when I was starving, so we decided to splurge on a nice lunch, since most of our lunches are a 20 minute run-eat-run back routine during which we update each other on our areas of operation. We drove around looking for a new place to eat and ended up at this lovely little restaurant with a picture window looking out on to the beach. After lunch we strolled down to a local ice-cream shop and had  dessert. Though we ended up discussing the morning's work and our schedule for the rest of the day it was still some nice couple time, which we hadn't got in a while.

This episode has taught me to stay alert for opportunities in the future. Time is what we make of it and this little interlude will keep me going for a month at least.

I have to add that when we got back to the office we had a heated argument on the finances. However, all through that discussion I was actually smiling in my head.

P.S.- Did my title mislead you? Hey I'm married and not into extra marital affairs. Plus, the techie is the best looking guy at work (I'm not biased).