Useful links - Budget 2010

Checking out the following links right now. Hope you find them useful:

http://budgetlive.nic.in/windowsd.html
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/02/26/union-budget-2010-live-updates.html

vocab for the week 37

What is the meaning of ‘as good as it gets’?

When you tell a person that something is ‘as good as it gets’, what you mean is that his present situation is the best that he can hope for. His situation is not going to improve in any way, and therefore he shouldn’t hope that things will change for the better in future. If he continues to keep his fingers crossed, he is going to be very disappointed.

*There is no point in shouting and getting upset. This is as good as it gets.

The expression can also be used to mean ‘the best’.

*Some people say that when it comes to vacation, Goa is as good as it gets.

vocab for the week 36

What is the meaning and origin of the expression ‘kiss of death’?

In the old movies dealing with the Mafia, whenever the Don kissed someone squarely on the mouth, it meant the person was going to be ‘bumped off’ soon. It was the kiss of death. The idiom ‘kiss of death’ refers to an action which results in the ruin or failure of something. It is the instrument of a person’s downfall.
Throwing up on the stage was the kiss of death for Rahul’s acting career.
The origin of the idiom, however, has nothing to do with the Mafia. Judas helped identify Jesus to the Roman authorities by kissing him. The idiom ‘kiss of death’ refers to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. The earlier expression, I understand, was ‘Judas kiss’.

vocab for the week 35

What is the meaning of ‘chairdrobe’?

‘Chairdrobe’ is a combination of two words: ‘chair’ and ‘wardrobe’. There are people who are too lazy to put away their clothes in their cupboard. They prefer to leave their washed and unwashed clothes on a chair, instead. The piled up clothes on the chair is called ‘chairdrobe’.

*Go through my chairdrobe. You’ll find the shirt you’re looking for.

Books and more of 'em!

Bought a couple of books in a couple of days. Umm..not a couple of books but 5-6 of them! Here is the list:

Devil in Pinstripes - Subramanian

I bought the Monk’s Ferrari - Ravi Subramanian

Malgudi Days - R.K.Narayan

Swami and Friends - R.K.Narayan

Yes or No – Spencer Jhonson

And a respectable mention:

The Income Tax Act,1961 as amended by the Finance Act,2009 - Taxmann! :D

An Articled Assistant's Wishlist!

Thought of the following points last month while chatting with a friend who is a very good blogger and going to be the proud writer of a book in a couple of months!

What a *normal Articled Assistant wants..or rather..wishes! (in alphabetical order and NOT in the order of preference) Read on..


-A Lowered minimum aggregate passing percentage for clearing CA
-Able to listen to some favourite(the articled's fav and not the CA's! music atleast during the dreaded audit work!
-Free internet browsing
-Friendly may-i-help-you staff at the ICAI branches
-Getting a raise on time (Actually getting a raise for some assistants!)
-Getting stipend on time
-Getting the standard leave for exams without any persuasion(read:crying lying and trying!)
-Leaving articleship on time, without getting that nasty angry look from the CA
-Not working during deadlines (read:July and September) at the cost of bunking coaching classes
-Smooth uploading of all tax returns at the last minute without any technical glitch
-Studying during articleship hours..sigh..

-Writing the above stuff and day dreaming it to be true!!

*means an Articled Assistant not undergoing 'dummy articleship'!

P.S(es)
1.Please ask any CA/CA student if you are not familiar with certain terms. What's the use of reading the above without knowing any?!
2. CA, here, refers to Chartered Accountancy and not certified accountant, cartoon artist or complete aaraam for that matter!!

Dumbledore says..

It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices. 
- Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets


Powerful thought by a powerful wizard.

Right here Right now

I wish, right here-right now, to:

Para-sail! Day-dreaming since an hour or so. Missed it at Goa a couple of years ago (the para sailing shack was  closed due to reasons unknown to me till date!) Aahh..how I wish I could para-sail a teeny weeny bit now..Why don't they start it at the 'khaadi' at Kalyan?!?

vocab for the week 34

What is the meaning of `scuttlebutt'?

This is a word which comes from the world of sailing. `Butt' means `barrel' or `cask', and `scuttle' refers to the hatch on the deck of a ship.

A`scuttlebutt' was actually a barrel containing the day's supply of drinking water for the ship's crew. Since this barrel (butt) of water was placed near the hatch (scuttle), the container began to be called `scuttlebutt'. What do you think happened when the members of the crew got together to drink water? The same thing that happens today when colleagues in an office gather around the water cooler or the coffee machine. They gossiped! The sailors drank water, and gossiped about what was happening on the ship. In informal contexts, the expression `scuttlebutt' is used to mean `rumour' or `gossip'.

Have you heard the latest scuttlebutt about my new neighbour?

I don't pay too much attention to the scuttlebutt around here.