15. take 20 photographs of yourself, 20 expressions

Taking pictures of yourself (or sel-phortraits as I like to call them. I don't really like calling them that, I just thought it would be cool to invent a new word) isn't as easy as it sounds. Setting up a tripod and getting the camera settings right can be time-consuming. It's also a pain in the ass if your camera doesn't support a custom self-timer. My camera does not.

So anyways, these are my attempts at being expressive. Some are rather bad attempts, some are amusing ...

subtle smile

toothy smile

laughter

light bulb

excitement

elation

disappointment

suspicion

stink eye (horrible I know!)

surprise

anger

serenity now

warning

two thumbs up

one thumb down

two thumbs down

this guy!

o-face (just pathetic)

steve jobs

miss universe

14. fruit for dinner

I would've just had fruit with a sprinkling of chaat masala. But I felt like doing something different so I tried making fruit chaat, which is a very popular snack at street vendors and homes in India. I used apples, mangoes (I picked out a disappointingly bland one), watermelon, grapes, pineapples and cucumbers (not sure if it's considered fruit). For seasoning, I added chaat masala, red chilli powder, black pepper, amchur (dry mango powder), a pinch of asafoetida (in hindsight, not a good idea) and some lemon juice. It was more than a satisfying and filling meal ...

13. go through old photo albums

I might be a tad under the influence (of alcohol, that is), but that is no reason to disregard the words that I write here. I've changed a lot over the last few years. By few years, I mean 5 years, the years I've lived in Cleveland; I have most definitely changed before my years in Cleveland. I've felt I've significantly changed at least twice while I've lived in this city (not necessarily because of it), and I might as well be on my way for a third time.You're probably thinking "This guy is full of himself!!" If you think it's an overstatement, test me ...

This is me (apparently whining about my birthday cake, a delicious ice-cream cake at that) on my 24th birthday:

This is me right before I turned 29 (apparently whining about something on my camera; you can't deny the cool t-shirt though):

These photographs do not take into account the changes I've experienced internally. And yes, I'm probably full of myself because I only check out pictures of myself in the past; I most likely only see the changes in myself. Family? Friends? Who? Wha-? Hmmmm?

12. cook a 15-minute recipe

I tried the masala rice (these ladies at ShowMeTheCurry rock!). Used some leftover rice, the peanuts take it to another level. I skipped the green chillies, still awesome. Probably ended up using more turmeric than the recipe asked for. But it's all good - with Indian spices, you can't go wrong with too much. It was prettttty dellllish for a 10-minute recipe. If 10-minute recipes are this good, I need to try them more often.

11. learn and memorize 10 new words

10 new words:

1. animadvert
2. parergon
3. aesopian
4. flounce
5. collogue
6. revenant
7. gadabout (sounds a lot like 'get about')
8. chichi
9. darkle
10. rapine

Also. Yesterday, I heard this 'song' (from the upcoming movie Rockstar) for the first time. And I cannot get it out of my head. It's a poem by Rumi. It's just a few lines, and such simple ones at that. But something about it has imprinted itself in my memory. I cannot stop playing the words in my head ...

do you know?
miles and miles away from this place,
beyond the realms of right and wrong,
there's a field.
I will see you there.

10. read 5 random articles on howstuffworks.com

I did say 'random' and this was before I knew howstuffworks.com actually has a link for random articles. So I picked the first 5 random articles that were interesting:

1. Why is the birth rate so low for giant pandas? Apparently, male pandas are not interested in breeding or they do not even know how.
2. 5 ways cats teach responsibility to children
3. 10 ways television has changed the way we talk This made me smile: "Admit it: How many times did you say 'yada, yada, yada' when Seinfeld was all the rage?"
4. How Jerusalem Syndrome works Never knew such a syndrome existed. 
5. How oil drilling works

9. 25 push-ups, 50 crunches, 20 burpees

What is a burpee? This is a burpee:

8. read 5 articles on photography techniques

I've always felt that the color in my pictures lack a certain pop. I've seen average digital cameras do better. And that annoys me because I have this very fancy, mind you pretty expensive, DSLR and I can't get similar results. The results aren't horrible, they just lack some pop. Hopeful, better use of picture styles will help.

Found some more useful stuff that I should've researched earlier, not 1.5 years after owning a DSLR:

Auto-focus modes
More settings for the auto-focus
Black-and-white photographs
White balance

7. cook an Indian recipe you've never tried before

This dance worked out really well for me since I was supposed to cook something for a potluck. So I actually did two recipes today. One was kala chana (black chickpeas), and the other was dhokla. The first was quite the disappointment, mostly because I tried to make it fancier than it needed to be. Sometimes, you really should 'keep it simple stupid'. The latter was a mouth-watering success for the same reasons.

the disappointment ...

the success ...

And so, that wraps up 7 days. I'm quite proud of myself (really Pratik? Do you really want to jinx it so soon?). It hasn't been been easy. Day 1 was just plain uncooperative; in hindsight, it was probably inauspicious (and I don't even believe in auspicious days). Day 2 was a disaster. It wasn't mentioned but day 3 was half-hearted. It's been better since; I've been lucky with some of the easier dances.

I will admit to a certain excitement every morning. The excitement of picking a dance that has potential to make or break a day. Hell - it could even be an insignificant blip. It doesn't matter. For me, the idea of 'performing' these dances was to force myself to chip away at my bubble of hobbies and curiosities (my bubble just keeps growing and growing). So that I never have to whine about how there's "so many things I want to do, and so little time". Freedom of choice has a downside - you can choose to avoid something just because you "don't feel like it". For me, these dances were meant to eliminate that excuse. 

6. write a poem

Sometimes, you can't explain why your mind speaks the words it does. You can write it on paper, but you still can't explain why you chose those very words ....

it's all just a joke

till it happens for real

deep inside just misery

that the smiles conceal

with your eyes wide open

you let the dream take shape

and now that it's in pieces

such a shame you forgot its face

dream another dream you shall

but for sleep you must wait

might as well say your prayers

it's a long ways coming

so dark, oh so cozy

but still no dream

have patience, restless one

some day you'll sleep again

5. watch trailers of upcoming movies

Yep! I made it to day 5.

In Hollywood:
Like Crazy
The Way
Answer This
Martha Marcy May Marlene (love that song at the end)
Tower Heist
The Dark Knight Rises (you gotta fancy anything Nolan makes. I doubt he can top Inception though)

... and the Hindi ones:
Jo Dooba So Paar
Dirty Picture
Soundtrack
... even though I'm not a big fan of SRK - Don 2
... and even though I'm not a fan of Hrithik - Agneepath

4. watch a non-docu movie on the netflix queue

I watched Shades of Ray; it's been on my list ever since I saw it on the roster for the South Asian Film Festival in 2008. Not bad, a decent one-time watch. A little formulaic, but it's funny at times. And like I said, it's not so bad.

3. read a chapter from your favorite book out loud

Chapter 1 (The First Night) from The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

2. writing exercise for 30 minutes

This was quite the disaster. I will not be posting what I wrote up. It's pathetic. It's disappointing. And I probably need to do this more often.

Coincidentally, one of my friends posted this nifty article yesterday. It should've motivated me for today's dance. But ...

1. sandwich for dinner

Today is day 1. It should be a day to remember. And it has been, just for reasons undesired. I just cannot wait for this day to end - I had a car accident while trying to change lanes in bad traffic, I was held at fault for the above-said offense, my fender is probably going to break down if I don't do anything about it, I dropped a soda bottle on my kitchen, I ran out of paper towels while cleaning up the above-said mess, I went to Target to buy bread and cheese for my sandwich, and I forgot my wallet at home to buy the above-said items . I'm hoping this isn't an inauspicious omen for my 30-days-30-dances program. This is day 1 after all - every dream must be savored in REM sleep before it is shattered ...

I was really excited last night - I had my list ready. All that remained was putting those 'dances' on paper and finding a bowl for the daily lucky draw (I never found a worthy bowl).

But anyways, I think the dust has settled on this day.

[I hope the rest of the entries won't be as long as this one turned out to be. That's what killed my previous blog (RIP Previous Blog, may you live to survive another post)].

Here's the sandwich: everything bagel with veggie burger, cilantro chutney, chilli ketchup, Miracle Whip with a side of Ruffles chips. Probably not very healthy ...