vocab for the week 33

What is the meaning of ‘kitchen cabinet’?

Every head of state is believed to have his/her own ‘kitchen cabinet’. It usually consists of a small group of people whom the Prime Minister or President turns to for advice. These unofficial advisers are not politicians, and the head of state implicitly trusts them. It is believed that sometimes the kitchen cabinet has a greater influence on the head of state than the official cabinet. This is understandable, I guess, because the official cabinet consists of politicians, and as everyone knows, politicians are not meant to be trusted — even if they happen to be from your own party!

The expression ‘kitchen cabinet’ was coined in the United States in the 1830s during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. He had three friends whom he depended on for advice. Since he wanted to keep their visits a secret, he usually had them ushered in through the kitchen door. It is believed that most of their meetings actually took place in the kitchen: hence the term ‘kitchen cabinet’. Other expressions which have more or less the same meaning are ‘brain(s) trust’ and ‘think tank’.

Kkonfused o' wat?!

Sniff sniff!

There goes my nose again. It's acting nasty since last night and I am in no mood to get it straight. Got a few things hovering in my mind. Yet I've to make some space amidst this clutter for some quality study (boohoo!). Kinda restless, the reason being the nasty nose and my li'l brain which sparked off a few questions stated below:

Why can't I simply skip the 3.5yrs of articleship and appear for the exam?

Why do I catch a cold so soon by being in an air-conditioned room for just a couple of days?

Why can't I just hop and walk at the same time? What fun it would be right?

Why can't I have a cuppa whenever I want? (Actually I love tea..with extra milk and not that dark-coloured strong one!)

Why can't I meet my friends often like I used to meet them a couple of years ago?

Why I haven't written a poem this year?

Why am I thinking so silly(ly)?!

For those who, by now, have thought that I'm going bananas (or any other fruit you hate :p), I would like to ask if You got some random thoughts at any point of time in your life. If the answer is a straight No, well, I guess, something is wrong! Random thoughts are a part of me, I guess. A good thought or two pops up amidst such tit-bits. Just like it did now (which is that I need to stop here and start my day!) Chao!

vocab for the week 32

What it the meaning of ‘cut loose’?

The expression has several different meanings. While watching cricket, we often hear Gavaskar and Bhogle say, ‘Sehwag has cut loose’. In this context, the expression means ‘free and relaxed’. In other words, the batsman is not holding back; he is going for his shots, and is thoroughly enjoying himself. He is batting without restraint. He is like an animal that is no longer tied up.
*When Prahlad, Bala, and Rakesh get together, they really cut loose.

Winter...Brrrr..!

Well, winter is my least favourite* season (*exceptions:the festivities!) for a simple reason that I really can't stand this cold! My hair stands straight just like the Centershock guy in those awesome ads..boohoo! However winter has something good in store for me apart from such goosebumps(the goosebumps are not-so-good!) Following is the good stuff about this chilly-cold season (No matter if its sweating right now, for me, winter is always cold :p)

-A hot cuppa at 5 am..Aah..And the tea should be in my special cutting-chai glass (With 'chai piyo mast jiyo','surrr k piyo' etc painted on it!)

-Clicking the foggy scenes from the Central Railway train

-Enjoying every bit of warmth of the 7.20 am sunrays (If there ARE any sunrays to enjoy at that point of time..hehehe..had seen on a few days believe me!)

-Feasting on a hot (extra onioned) toast sandwich when the limbs get cold-blooded!

-Getting a smart new sweater to go with the smart new T shirt!

-Scruffin' and pushin' through the crowd, getting into the train to successfully snatch the seat opposite to the direction of where the train goes (to escape from the wild wind you see)

-Standing in the terrace at evening with the cold breeze trying to push you to the door and you standing with a super-warm shawl smiling wickedly..hehehe..

Guilt

Scene 1 : You commit a mistake. You admit it. You are freed. All said all done and all learnt. Scene 2 : You commit a mistake. You admit it. You commit the same again n again n again. All said much done and nothing learnt. The result : Guilt. That's what happened with me recently. In a series of events. No no, I haven't committed big bad blunders but petty mistakes here n there that pile up so much that I blog on them over here. The last week was good except for those moments of guilt that made me look like a statue anywhere and anytime. My friend noticed me standing like that on a crowded platform while waiting for a train! Crazy. But guilt kinda eats up your peace just like the way silly rats nibble on their bread. The only difference is the silly rats nibble up quickly and are done whereas guilt acts like a shrewd one nibbling at a slow pace and emptying up the peace and making its presence felt. Bad. I would like (like? gosh!) to mention the top most guilt I had last week. Studies. (I didn't commit a mistake by studying silly - but by not studying!) Rather, studying to less than 50% of what I intended to since January 1.  That obviously leads to another question-What the heck am I doing over here then? Well, feeling much better now. That's because I managed to pull out of these teeny-weeny but many bits of guilt in a couple of days - met my school friend (sorry for the delay pal), studied at a strech this morning and will soon meet my granny (sorry for the delay Aaji!) Got a few pending tasks too. And I am pretty much sure that I'll be guilt-free soon! Hehehe..

Am proud to mention over here that my Masta-moments diary was kinda a life-saver. For the unknown lot, I have started a ritual of penning down the best moment of the day in a sentence or a few words regularly from the first day of 2010. One bit o' advice : Try maintaining this diary for yourself. Am sure you'll  get nostalgic about those moments five years down the line just like I will!

vocab for the week 31

What is the meaning of ‘tryst’?

The ‘y’ in the word is pronounced like the ‘i’ in ‘fist’, ‘mist’, and ‘list’. ‘Tryst’ is considered to be a literary word which is mostly used in British English. The meeting of two lovers in a quiet and secluded place is called a tryst. The word nowadays is being used to mean ‘appointment’. Tryst comes from ‘tristre’ meaning ‘appointed station in hunting’.

*According to some people, India has a tryst with destiny.

The Moon of 2010

Yep, the calendar is changed, the Year of the Tiger is here. 2010..Twenty Ten..Sounds so cool! Hope my year is as cool as this term is hehehe..Well, I've already posted my to-dos of 2010 and I've 'actually' started implementing! Good start.


The best thing about 01/01/2010 was the moon. Proud to have it as my ruling planet too! (which undoubtedly proves that I'm a Cancerian huh!) Clicked a few pics on 31/12/2009 and 01/01/2010. A partial eclipse was schedule to happen (refer the internet pages for it) and my uncle had brought his mini-telescope for the same. Had fun with the amazing thing. And I went on a clickin' spree once in the evening and then around midnight. Here's the best pic of the spree..What more do you expect from a simple Samsung SN85 5x optical zoom?!

vocab for the week 30

Does the word ‘nomophobia’ exist? What does it mean?


Yes, it certainly does. A lot of young people have this phobia. What is the thing that most teenagers and people in their 20s are addicted to? What is the gadget that they love the most? Something that they cannot do without? It’s the cell phone, of course! Many people are overly dependent on this particular gadget. When they don’t receive a signal on it, or when they receive a message saying that the battery is low or their credit is almost over, they have a panic attack. This fear they have that they might be out of cell phone range or their cell phone may die on them is called ‘nomophobia’. ‘Nomo’ is short for ‘no mobile’!