The Scrounger

Actually the title of this post should have been “The well off scrounger”.  Even though it is a good Oxymoron I  somehow felt that it would give the plot away.

My perception of a scrounger has always been of someone who is not so well off having to borrow stuff from other people. Stuff he has no intention of returning. But the person I am writing about is completely opposite of this description. He is young, a professional who has a good career with great prospects and is definitely more than well off. In fact he can be categorized as rich. Even though he is a man of means this guy never pays. For instance if someone is hosting a group of friends for drinks or tea he would order a pack of cigarettes saying that he would pay later and conveniently forget about it. It is the same when it comes to going on outings with friends. He will say he will pay his share on a lter day and conveniently forget about it. Even when reminded after many months he will quite thickly say I will pay later.

This gentleman belongs to a profession where there are lots of fees which have to be paid to others and I was told whenever he pays his dues he always keeps a small portion of the money back. For instance if he has to pay 10,700/- he will pay the 10,000 but never the 700.

It is the same if  he sees a pack of cigarettes. He will help himself to it till it is over. Without even thinking about the owner of the pack. The best thing is he does not smoke. At least when he has to buy his own.

These are not one off random events which I am writing about but something I have observed over a span of nearly ten years. What is happening as a result of this is that people are slowly but surely moving him out of their circles. Guess that is understandable. What is most interesting is apparently that his mom is just like him at least when it comes to paying back her fees. 

It was only when I heard this tit bit of information I realized that scrounging too is hereditary. 

Good Bye Hard Copy

I love books. Good old fashioned books. I love having them around me. And I love seeing all of my books lined up in the shelves. Believe it or not it gives me a sense of comfort.

Sadly things have begun to change.

It seems that I have been abandoning my trusty hard copies in favor of the more convenient soft copy.

In fact the last couple of hard copy books I read have been left half way on my bed side stool; on my desk or in my carvehicle; never to be picked up and continued with again.

I always read books on my phone. But now that I got an Android Phone and the fact that Kindle app works so beautifully on it has made reading on my phone an absolute blissful experience.

I find this far more convenient. Especially when it comes to the ease of keeping up with the story line and reading in the night without glasses and lights.

Also the kindle App has opened up a wide array of reading resources which cannot be found anywhere else. I have discovered that there are many authors who write only for kindle. Giving me access to some amazing reading material for just a couple of dollars. Sometimes as little as two or three.

I realized that I was truly converted when I was reading the hard copy of Dan Brown’s inferno and was wishing I had it with me on my phone so I could access it every time I had a few minutes to spare.

It was then that I made a promise to myself from here on now I will always chose the soft copy – if its available - over the hard copy on all future reading materials which I plan to purchase.

Some might call it Betrayal.  I just call it convenience.

Another Amazing Sri Lankan – Shanaka Fernando founder of Lentil as anything

Some people dream whilst others go about and make their dreams come true. 

Sadly I don’t belong to the latter but I am glad to have come across this story which really warms my heart. What makes me even more proud is that this is done by a Sri Lankan. Amazingly someone I came into contact with during my misspent youth.

Lentil as anything is a vegetarian restaurant in Australia. But what makes it special than any other such enterprise is the fact that it might be the only restaurant in the world where there is no price list and they don’t insist that you settle the bill once the meal is over.  In fact one can pay whatever they feel like or even choose not to do so at all.

What a beautiful Idea!

What makes it more beautiful is that the model is still working and the restaurant is still functioning many years after they opened their doors.

It seems people at large are much nicer and have more good in them than we give them credit for.

Kudos to you Shanka Fernando! For having the courage to do something different that actually makes a difference.

And we consume this stuff????

1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any.
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
15. Stinky feet - Jello !
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on
25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar !
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27 Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!
36.. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate toothpaste
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
They are:

Monday = Blue,
Tuesday = Green,
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow.

So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

Don't forget Gatorade for Migraine Headaches. PowerAde won't work. Pass this information on to friends so they can be informed :)ang

Fantasy Sushi

Volcano - Tempura Prawns, Avocado, Tobiko and Crab Stick

Sometimes Colombo can be a place full of culinary contradictions. For instance the best Chinese food I have eaten comes from an Indian Managed hotel chain. Of course I am referring to Golden Dragon by the Taj.

And now I realized the best sushi I have eaten is at a sea food restaurant. Yes it is better than the Sushi I have tasted in Japan or any other Japanese restaurant in town including Ginza Hozen which till now was the number one Japanese food destination for me. Even though it was pricey no one else can came close to the flavor and freshness of the food… till now.

The seafood restaurant I am referring to of course is the newly opened Ocean restaurant at the Kingbury. I must confess I am not too impressed with the so called opulence of that hotel. In fact I think it is a bit… hmm the word I am looking for is Godey I guess. To me it is a classic example of how all the money in the world cannot buy a person good taste. From what I know they had put in a whole load of money behind this project as they wanted it to be a luxury hotel. Now for those who do not know a luxury hotel is supposedly beyond a 5 star hotel. Hotels such as the four seasons are considered luxury hotels. When I too am a politico I shall experience them. I must also state that my observations here are made after visiting the lobby areas and the restaurants. Maybe the rooms are different but guess I will stand to be corrected when the hotel gives me a complimentary night.

Oops I am digressing. Let me get back to the main subject matter once again.

The décor of the ocean restaurant in complete contrast to the rest of the hotel is amazingly lovely and out of this world. The food is damn good too. Even though on my first visit I did the wrong thing by ordering food which I was familiar with at the lagoon. Which was the wrong thing to do as it did not measure up to my expectations. However on my second visit I tried something different and also followed the advice of a friend to try the sushi which as described by her was “out of this world”… and it was.

Even to call is Sushi is a misnomer. Hence the reason of titling this post as “Fantasy Sushi”. The Kingbusry have brought a special chef down who specializes in the art of sushi. Instead of just reproducing the standard type of sushi which all of us are used to this gentleman does his own creations. Yes they are creations because they are lovingly rolled and hand crafted by this guy and served in the most beautiful manner. I actually had the opportunity of talking to him and his you can see the passion in his eyes when he talks about how he comes up with his creations. You cannot believe that so much love and effort can go into something which sells at roughly 750/- a dish. Even though each portion holds only six pieces they are quite big in size and could be described as extremely generous. But before I forget I must mention the flavors he manages to infuse into the sushi is astonishing. If my tongue had a life of its own it would have got down on its knees spread out its arms and looked heaven words and screamed halleluiah at the top of its voice. Trust me it is that good. He cal also do Sashimi even though it is not on the menu.

I found the service at the Ocean excellent too. All the chefs come out and mingle with the people and everyone is extremely friendly and nice. And the waiters and managers are very attentive. Sometimes the niceness can get a bit sickeningly sweet but it is all good. For the first time in my life I had a valet telling me “Thank you for visiting the Kingsbury”! I nearly fainted but it was still impressive.

Anyway the point is I can’t wait to go back to the Ocean to experience more of the tantalizing taste of their Sushi than their sea food.

Salmon and Ebi - Fresh Salmon, Prawns, Avocado, Cucumber, Chives, Red Onions and Plum Sauce

Black berry slave no more…

When everyone around me was shifting to android based phones and i-phones I held on to my black berry tight. Regardless of what was happening around me. Regardless of the taunts from people telling me  how old fashioned and  how out of date I was. The i-phone was nice but I did not want to be an i-clone. None of the other android based phones really tickled my fancy. One other major fact which contributed to the fact of me hesitating to switch was my complete dislike to be typing on a touch screen opposed to a normal key board. I loved my Blackberry and it suited my personality like some people like their Volvos. Not as aggressive as a BMW or loud as  a Mercedes Benz. Quiet, sophisticated and understated that’s exactly what I wanted. And I was ready to compromise because I was in my comfort zone
Then I got myself a Blackberry 9900 which was the beginning of the end. For a top end phone it was bad. Really bad. Firstly the battery did not last long it gave me less than two hours talk time. Which means I had to walk all over the place with lots of spare batteries around. Which was an absolute pain in the ass. To add insult to injury the processor could not keep up with the capacity of the phone which meant constant hard restarts and the phone getting stuck midway of some action. Finally I could not take it no more and I made the move to a Samsung Note 2.
Holy Cow! What a change it was. It was so fast and reliable. The freedom of having to move about without lugging stand by battery packs was exhilarating. What a lot I have been missing out on.
But you know the amazing thing? I still miss my Blackberry.

I finally found the ultimate burger... yeah!

I am always on the lookout for a good burger joint.
I mean I have had a few good burgers in my forays into the world of all things food but none of them have made me stand up on my chair and sing hosannas as to how good it is.
At least till now.
Finally I believe that I have found the ultimate burger.
And it was in the last place I expected to find a burger instead of the ultimate burger.
Believe it or not I found it in the Paradise Road Gallery Café.
Yes, it is renowned for its good food in the fine dining arena. But what they have done to the burger is amazing. Just writing about it makes my mouth water.
 They generally say a picture says a thousand words. Sadly in this case it only tells half the story. One has to experience the flavor and bask in its bliss to really appreciate it. Trust me when I say this  it could be easily described as orgasmic.