Laptops can burn

Just read recently that keeping your laptop on your thighs can permanently scar and burn them for life....while I am grateful for the information (considering I am a practising lapper!) I wonder who actually thought of conducting this study in the first place...

There are many such strange pieces of data that bombard us every day....why dont scientists do something worthwhile with all that labortary equipment available to them...and who funds these....it was obviously not the laptop owner...must have been the desktop guys!

Mumbai - rocks or sucks?

Having recently returned to India with husband and toddler in tow, wasn't quite sure what I should expect from Mumbai. In all the time that I was working (full-time mommy now) in India before moving to England, I always told my husband that irrespective of anything, I don't want to move back to Mumbai again...having started jobs there, we hadnt exactly fallen in love with the city ever!!

But then life makes you eat humble pie quite often and before we knew it, we were here...its now going to be almost one whole year since we moved and it seems only apt that I put down my thoughts on the city having lived in it for a bit...

The things that make it rock are probably a mix of living in India in general and in Mumbai in particular and the things that make it suck are so particular to the city that its sometimes hard to come to terms with....!

I am sure all of you out there have your own experience with it but for me what makes Mumbai rock is...

• All you have to do is ask for directions, its as if all of humanity joins hands to answer your questions...some even drove in front of us to guide us 
• Its so easy to make friends - you meet some folks in the neighbourhood, next thing you know, you are getting together, fixing up a quick meal and drink, your kids are at each others houses and you have bonded for life over cribs about maids, inlaws, other neighbours!!
• The weather is so mild ! After a cold European winter, this awesome December can turn anyone into a Mumbai fan... 
• The city has a strange buzz to it that drives you to work harder, earn more, spend more and just live it up...while its hard to comprehend the wealth given the obvious gaps between haves and have-nots, people seem to still love the struggle and look for the silver lining always...
• Life is an endless party especially after August, first Ganpati, then the Dahi Handi, then Diwali, Christmas, New Years....the cracker-sellers must be filthy rich !

Unfortunately, I am a realist and a lot of the 'rocking' bullets also lead to some huge negatives that drive me up the wall!! Here goes my list of laments...

• Whats that smell ?? Its a weird mix of fish, pollution, the sea, the obvious filth...ugh
• The sheer numbers are daunting...in one square foot of space on the road, you could be surrounded by 15 people....and the fact that it translates to so many chawls, slums et al and the 'sarkar' just doesnt seem to care
• What the above also translates to is that if you want a good school for your child, you must register when they turn 1, 2 or maybe even when you conceive them...one school we called asked us why we had waited 2 months before we called them...ideally we should have jumped off the British Airways plane and gone straight to the school with our jet-lagged toddler in tow claiming a place in the registration racket!
• Pricey Real Estate - need I say more?
• The last grudge is probably more general though it seems harder in Mumbai due to distances and crazy traffice jams is the lack of things to do with kids...every weekend is either the local park or the local mall...i wish there was more!! 

I guess every city has its pros and cons but for some reason Mumbai brings out such strong feelings that some days you think there is no better place and some days you just hate it!!