Top ten..

These days everyone seems to have their own "top ten" list. Not all of which make a whole lot of sense... like "Top ten reasons I hate broccoli." Now what kind of list would that be? Anyways, I digress.... I have decided to get onto the "top ten" bandwagon and here's the first of my lists. You can look forward to a lot more of these in the days to come. And unlike the broccoli list, they shall be very enlightening.... providing useful insights into the mysteries of the universe besides helping you make a ton of money in the stock market...

It's now been an year and half since I returned to India after completing my Master's and it's been a very good year and half by any standards. But I'd be lying if I said that there was nothing from my life in the US that I missed. Here's a list of the Ten things I miss most:

i) Fixing myself a large bowl of raisin bran and cold milk for breakfast. Idli-vada's not bad at all, but I really miss my cereals...

ii) Law and Order (all the three variants). If you're wondering what the "Law & Order" I'm talking about is, you really have led a deprived life. It's only the best TV drama series.... ever....

iii) The trolley ride through downtown Knoxville. One of the joys of living in a mid-sized town in America.... quaint downtowns. And Knoxville was no exception. The trolley ride from the University campus to downtown and back was a real joy... and best of all, it was FREE!! ... words that are music to the ears of every desi grad student.

iv) The public library in downtown Knoxville. The reason I was no wiser after my MS than I was before, as I preferred Wilbur Smith to Wide Area Networks and Arthur C Clarke to Automata Theory.

v) Chips Ahoy Chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chips... in a cookie... life really can't get much better. The guy that invented these should have been made president of the US!!!

vi) Cici's all you can eat pizza buffet for $3.99 .. the first time I went to the Cici's pizza parlor in Knoxville, I was able to have all of three slices of pizza. And towards the end of my stay in Knoxville, I could have ten slices of pizza without breaking a sweat... a testament to the fine art of pizza making espoused by this pantheon of culinary delights for the masses.

vii) The dollar movie theater. The first time someone told me I could watch a movie for a dollar at the Dollar Movie theater, I thought they were just trying to make a bakra of the naya desi in the department. A sandwich at Subway cost like four bucks.... and a movie in a hall for a buck!! no way... it just didn't make sense. But as I discovered, much to my delight, sense it might not have made, but true it was!!! Woo-hoo!!

viii) Catching the first day, first show screenings of mind-numbingly stupid Hollywood action flicks made for the populace... of which I am an integral part!!! Case in point: Matrix II and III, Tomb Raider, Bad Boys II... the list really goes on for a bit...

ix) And much as I hate to admit it, American football. Grown men in funny attire charging at each other, fighting for a very weird shaped ball that they even had trouble holding on to... but boy, was it fun...

x) The easy and carefree student life. I can't really thank the country enough for affording me an all expense paid two and half year long vacation... with a degree at the end of it. America... truly the land of milk and honey... and chocolate-chip cookies...

So, there you have it... my very own top ten list. As I said before, it'll help you make a pile of money in the stock market. And you will be able to do that as soon as you figure out exactly how to use the information provided above to that end. You seriously don't expect me to babysit you to the bank, do you? Besides as you may have gathered from my earlier post "Stock Taste", if any of my tips do manage to help you make money off the stock market, it's totally accidental and wholly unintentional.... for which I would be well and truly sorry!! So stop dreaming and get those dollar signs out of your eyes, you greedy mercenaries... :) .. until later.... cheers...

ps: I have no idea how I forgot to include this one in the list of things I missed.... South Park!!! outrageously offensive, incredibly crude and distasteful.... and absolutely hilarious.... and now, in the immortal words of the inimitable Cartman, "Screw you guys, I'm going home!!!" ;-)