Just talking - 2013-12-25-09-25 and then 2014-01-17-21-57

. . . . From the desk of Ms. Ann Abraham . .

Apparently God, when He created everything, and an image of Himself, which He called man, said, “It is not good for man to be alone”.   And so created a being from the rib of man and brought it to man, and man called it “wo””man”””, because she was taken out of man.

And then comes Jesus.  And he is asked about marriage.  And apparently He says, “Some are born eunuchs, and some do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of God”.

Now, Jesus used to elevate everything in the Law.  If the Law said, “You shall not murder”, then Jesus said, “You shall not get angry with your brother without cause”.

If the Law said, “You shall not commit adultery”, then Jesus said, “He who looks at a woman to lust after (or for) her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart”.  (Oh my, my – looks like we’ve already done it….).

2014-01-17-21-57

But the tribe of priests in Israel was a real tribe, and they had children… within marriage… 

The first commandment of God, when He created the earth and then man, was “Subdue the earth, and have dominion over it.”

The next commandment was, “Be fruitful and multiply”.  Just as a mango tree is fruitful and has mangoes, so the human being is supposed to have other human beings…. But not all do that… As Jesus said, “Some do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of God”.  But he was not talking about priests.

Genesis 1, and Matthew.

Just talking - 2014-01-17-21-51

. . . . From the desk of Ms. Ann Abraham . .

So once upon a time there was a king, who was told that his army would fight better if the soliders did not um, copulate.  So it was forbidden, and the soldiers soldiered on with that… some glad, and some sad.

Then a priest took pity on those who didn’t want to be that way, and he secretly married the willing soldiers to their spouses.

And that priest is celebrated today.  He was Valentine, of Valentine’s day.

Happy Valentine’s day, to all lovers,

And “Happy Valentine’s day” to all non-lovers, because he did not force you to get married..

Cheers!!  Have a tall frosted glass of carbonated apple juice.  Looks good, and goes down easy too..!

Just talking - 2014-01-15-15-12

. . . . From the desk of Ms. Ann Abraham . .

So there is something called a “Dollar Store” in the U.S., where apparently you can get anything for a dollar or less.

Oh!  I was so excited to hear that.  I went to the dollar store, and I pigged out there… Bought half the soaps, a frying pan, tons of candles and so much more…

In fact, there was so much stuff to bring back that I left my boutique clothes behind….

(When I had to leave because my work deputation time was apparently over, or because someone was calling me back, and so I had to leave… would have loved to stay though, but that call was so much stronger… then).  In fact, I should have stayed.  It was all disastrous after I went back.  1998.

Now, apparently there is something on the Indian market called the Rs. 999 store – available now on flipkart.com…

After what happened in the other Dollar store, I don’t know if I’m going to shop in this one.

Just talking - 2014-01-14-19-45

. . . . From the desk of Ms. Ann Abraham . .

So there are these resorts near the sea-shore, with all sorts of amenities.  And they are really good for those 1 or 2 days stay…

However, in Chennai, with all the building activity that has been going on, there are many apartment complexes, with fully furnished apartments, with also many amenities – gymnasiums, pools, conference halls, etc., restaurants, and all…

So if someone is planning to visit Chennai, consider booking an apartment for a month or two,  at lease, .. stay awhile, tour the city, see what’s on offer,… buy, sell, barter, make…

Do whatever…

So there is a lot of accommodation to be had… Just waiting for the people …

Here’s to Chennai!

Just talking - 2014-01-13-11-23

. . . . From the desk of Ms. Ann Abraham . .

So there is all this food waiting to be cooked.

And I pile it into my cooker, and I let it cook for a while.

And it uses the LPG or electricity, depending on what I heat the vessel with.

Then I masticate it with my teeth, and pulverize it in my mouth, and then I swallow it down, and it goes inside.

But the red-chilli – well, I’ve not yet learnt to chew on that…  I used dried red-chilli.  Maybe I should just buy the fresh green chillies that are available in the market, and then let them sit till they ripen, and then I’ll have fresh red-chilli, and maybe that will taste better than dried red-chilli. 

Or maybe it is the species of red-chilli that I was using.  I was using Kashmiri red-chilli, because of the red-chilli powders available, that is the mildest.  But as a whole, in the cooker, it leaves me wanting more…

So I’ll try a little hotter variety – maybe that will satisfy me..

There used to be a small round chilli that used to grow abundantly in my garden…. Our neighbours in the next house, upstairs, many years ago, moved to another flat, and my mother and I visited them, and then that mother said, “Well, we have that red chilli growing in our garden”.  Oh damn!  That must have been the price I paid… when I got desperate to play with someone and played with the little boy in the next house – We played badminton on my roof, and the shuttle fell in the space behind, and I tried to get it, and I fell down, and hurt my, um, chest.  That space was a few feet down, and I lost my balance then, and I fell down in that space.  But after that, my father built the roof-space on the other side into a big fish-pond (on the outhouse roof) and then paved that gap to lead to it, so there is no gap anymore there….  No place to fall down!  I always wondered about that pavement, when I walked there… And now I remember that fall…  Oh my!

Now I see that little red-chilli in the shops – I really should try that again… Who knows how it actually tastes …  Might actually be good.