A week away from the madness ...

This post is to notify all my newly-acquired-blog-friends (once again.. THANK YOU ZEE!!!lol) that i will be away at a conference hosted by the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) which is running from 2-6th july in Pietermaritzburg... so no entries for the next wk...

I will be acting all professional, and im even presenting a poster on the research that i have done thus far... (impressive hey?) The title of my poster is : THE ANALYSIS OF HSP 70 GENES IN WILD TYPE(COL-O) AND MUTANT(EDS 16-1) ARABIDOPSIS CELL LINES USING SUPPRESSION SUBTRACTIVE HYBRIDIZATION (SSH) ....

yeah, i know, its a mouthful, but im hoping to have lots of nerdy fun... n hopefully if the weather is good, we planning on driving down to Durban for the day... The BEACH... YAY!!!!

so, until next week..
ciao

googlisms on my name...

i tried the googlism on my name... here are some of the weird things it said about me... (*) .. not real name :> :>
ruby* is an amazing singer/guitarist ( i cant even sing in the shower!!!)
ruby is working at a greenbrier elementary school with people shorter than her(they must be REALLY short people... !!!!)
ruby is a 27 year old asian woman with two young children (i will be 27 in two yrs n 30 days time, n not likely to have ONE let alone TWO kids by then at the rate that the set-ups are going...)
ruby is truely a phenomenon .. YEAH.. thats true !!!
ruby is the second eldest true again!!!
ruby is stable (havent been admitted yet, so, methinks thats true
ruby is holding her regular morning classes to teach muslim women in kerala how to read and write (wouldnt mind having the classes, but not in kerala)
ruby is a bimonthly newspaper and a federation of revolutionary anarchists in canada (im so cool, i have a newspaper named after me ha ha ha )
ruby is also in this distinguished group, they are all regarded as perfect ( u read it right, puuuurfect !!!!!
ruby is cherished by mahometan writers (perfect, n cherished, truly a phenomenon!!!)
ruby is quite uncommon in lebanon (????)
ruby is a licensed minister and a born again blues woman (minister hmmm, i wonder of what? mayb Science n Technology in bout 10 yrs time? )

for a good laugh!!!

Googlism.com will find out what Google.com thinks of you, your friends or anything! Search for your name here or for a good laugh check out some of the popular Googlisms below.

go to googlism.com, and type in ur name...

Words worth pondering over..

I know, im being quite reflective today...

Tomorrow is Not Promised

Sometimes people come into your life
and you know right away that they were meant to be there,
they serve some sort of purpose,
teach you a lesson
or help figure out who you are
and who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be:
your neighbour, child, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger
who, when you lock eyes with them,
you know at that very moment that they will affect your life
in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you
and at the time they seem painful and unfair,
but in reflection you realise
that without overcoming those obstacles
you would have never realised
your potential strength, will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance
or by means of good or bad luck.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity,
all occur to test the limits of your soul.

Without these small tests,
whether they be events, illnesses, or relationships,
life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere,
safe and comfortable,
but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life
and the successes and downfalls you experience
create who you are,
and even the bad experiences can be learned from;
In fact, they are probably the poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you , or breaks your heart,
forgive them,
for they have helped you learn about trust
and the importance of being cautious
to whom you open your heart...

If someone loves you,
love them back unconditionally,
not only because they love you,
but because they are teaching you to love
and opening your heart and eyes to things
you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment
and take from it everything that you possibly can,
for you may never be able to experience it again...

Talk to people you have never talked to before,
and actually listen,
let yourself fall in love,
break free and set your sights high...

Hold your head up
because you have every right to.
Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself...
for if you don't believe in yourself,
no one else will believe in you either.
You can make of your life anything you wish.

Create your own life
and then go out and live it!
"Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last...
Tomorrow is Not Promised"

You cannot do kindness too soon
because you never know how soon it will be too late

Make time, before u run out of time....

A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to read, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.....

I think that this poem is amazing in it simplicity. We get so involved in our daily lives, that we seldom stop, look up into the sky and appreciate the patterns that the clouds make,gaze at the stars on a clear night, or the color of the sky just before sunset. If we truly want to live life to the fullest, enjoy every minute of being alive, healthy (even if u not wealthy) and give Thanks to the Al-Mighty for granting u with one more day, so that u may smile at a person who is on the verge of crying, give a helping hand to those in need, and provide a shoulder and be a friend to someone that is buried in a sorrow so deep, that nothing seems important to them anymore...
yet, we only worry about ourselves, and in this rat-race of life, we don't stop and say THANK YOU to the people that love and care for us, instead, we curse and complain over the people that are not worthy of our love.....

" I am not worthy"

The pic. is for His Royal Highness blah blah blah.. all hail King of all bloggers "ZEE" ... as u may have guessed..
This entire entry is dedicated to my darling, super cool, ultra- intelligent, handsome, charming, (im running short of adjectives to describe him now) brilliant and slightly obsessive compulsive friend..... the one... the only...
F-A-M-O-U-S ZEE.... who believes that without him, i would still have been an undiscovered treasure and as a "thank u " for being mentioned on his blog.. (thereby enabling my blog to be noted) , he is now responsible for all the lovely ppl that have come into my "Blog-LIfe" . so, I am hearby saying THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANKYOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU......

buT, I have to mention a teeny weeny fact, Zee's latest entry now has 22 comments... and that was based on a cartoon that i sent to him... so, me thinks that I am worthy after all... n I should be thanked as well .... anyone agree?

these are the dates of my life !!!

firstly, let me apoplgise for not having blogged for well over a month. There was a wedding (not mine, my brother's, and then I was in bed with bronchitis, n then, the ever present problem ... WORK !!!

And between all of this,(about a month ago... ) I had yet another blind-date which seemed like it was going sumwhere, but later took a drastic left-turn into a ditch!!! heres the story... hope u guys have a good laugh, its too ridicule not too... the pic is a tribute to the Dr.Idiot (who is French from Mauritius, but, to my disappointment, idiot in french is spelt the same...)

A really sweet n wonderful friend of mine had a brainwave... to set me up with her boyfriend's friend...so, i agreed...(after the last 11 odd disasters over the last two yrs, i fugured it couldnt be too bad.... since this guy was a Doctor!!!)

anyway, the blind date went well, followed by a movie, followed by a text msg that evening saying it was niceto have met me.. n when was i free for coffee again.. so, this started a series of coffee-dates and daily mxit conversations which lasted for approx. 2-3 hrs every day... ( those of u who havent heard of mxit.. its an online chat program on ur cellphone, that is really cheap n saves u from making an hr long phonecall to ur bestfriend to update her on the latest gossip...)

anywayz, after bout a month of constant contact.. this dude then decides to "explain a few things "
This is a snippet of the conversation that we had....
"""Idiot: i hope that u r not expecting anything from this relationship. I really like u, u r really cool n an interesting person, but we have differences
Me: I wasnt expecting anything from u , but what kinda differences?
Idiot: Someone who is not traditional...
Me: Traditional meaning?
Idiot: the way things are done, weddings etc.
u r different from me, i am looking for sumone who is like me, im not sure how she must be exactly, mayb i wont ever meet her .. im not being fussy, thats just how i feel... im sorry if i have hurt u ... i really like, but as a friend... so, can we still spk everyday n meet up?
Me: I have a lot of friends, but i dont chat to all of them everynite, so i dont think thats a good idea...
Idiot: oh yes, i can see how that would cause us to become involved...but thank u for agreeing to be my friend, and im sorry if i have not lived up to ur expectations!!! """" (the rest of the conversation went downhill from there, whereby he made it sound as though as i was hopelessly in love with him n i propositioned him(for God alone knows what) and he feels that he is hurting me so, sorry... but i really want to be ur friend... )

I ask u ... which dumb ass goes on a blind date/ set-up to "make friends? " did he not realise that the point of a blind date.. is to met a person who could be a potential "sumbody" ??? n y waste his time, as well as my precious time (for a month) when we have such extreme differences?

so, the conclusion to this disaster is... NO MORE SET-UPS/BLIND DATES... be it my family or even my best best friend ..I will be out the door and missing before they can even mention his middle name...

I was browsing on the net and came across this quiz website, that has some really cool quiz topics. so, i did the one called "what John Cusack movie are u " and guess what... Im SERENDIPITY... Its fate i tell u .. get it? and then i did a quiz "which Sex n the City vixen are u ?" and guess what.. I am an idealist like Charlotte... ***Your Life is Like***


Serendipity


What John Cusack movie are you?
http://ynr.blogthings.com/whatjohncusackmovieareyouquiz/


Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?
http://ynr.blogthings.com/whichsexandthecityvixenareyouquiz/
***You Are Most Like Charlotte!***
You are the ultimate romantic idealist
You've been hurt before, but that hasn't caused you to give up on love.
If anything, your resolve to fall in love is stronger than ever.
And it's this feminine optimism that men find most appealing about you.

Romantic prediction: That guy you are seeing (or crushing on)?

Could be very serious - if you play your cards right!



and What Flower Are You?
http://ynr.blogthings.com/whatflowerareyouquiz/

***You Are A Lily***


You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist.
People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you.
You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words.
Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

true love, lust or INSANITY

My parents ahve this family friend since they were married (over 30 odd years now) who has over the years been married , has two children and sepearted from his wife about five years ago. Anyway, accoreding to mum n dad, this man was head over heels in love this woman, 30 yrs ago, but, his family did not approve of her, so he was sent away overseas, ( typical bollywood material dont u think) and by the time he got back, this woman's family got her married to some other poor guy.

now, this womans husband passed away last year (september I think) n my family heard about it in through the grapevine. not even 5 months later, the family friend calls to say that he is getting married to her. Soap-opera material indeed.

my question is... how can u decide within 4 months to marry someone whom u knew 30 years ago... They definitely not the same people that they were, do thye truly believe that they still IN LOVE with each other??? what makes a person decide to marry the person that didnt have the guts/balls to stand up to his family 30 years ago, and fight for what he wanted? Is it true love that never dies? is it just reminiscing about their old times together that has them thinking that they still feel ht same way? or ... is it pure insanity????

the circle of friends

I was reading a blog yesterday, by this indian girl that lives in toronto,(a friend of mine recommended her blog as a link on his blog, so, i have also started reading hers) and she has some very interesting thoughts and comments.

her latest post was on how indian girls hate seeing other indian girls succeeding, be it in careers or their personal lives, and I am forced to agree with. Gone are the days when we would look at our friends, smile and truthfully and sincerely congratulate them on an accomplishment, No! we smile and congratulate them while we silently curse them to hell and back.

Point of note..
I recently introduced a friend of mine to my another group of friends. Now, this girl is younger than we are, has just qualified and has started a really good job. I think she is absolutely wonderful, sweet, and is a really nice person, but at the end of the evening, one of my friends commented that she found her to be "a pretentious bitch" . Now, she has no valid reason for saying this, since she hardly ssaid two words to the girl let alone asked her about anything that she does. She based her entire opinion on "sweety" becauase of the way she sat... yes, she called a "P.B" because this girl has the good sense to sit up straight, has good posture and has manners, when it comes to talking to people, so, instead of learning from her, jealousy rears its ugly head, and she stoops down to name calling and slandering... all for NO GOOD REASON... Get to know the person, speak to them and then form an opinion, dont !!! DONT judge a BOOK by its COVER...and GROW UP !!!!

It can only happen in South Africa

I saw a really strange roadsign that I'm sure cannot be found anywhere else in the world.. but before I explain, let me introduce you to my beautiful country South Africa.
The pics of the city, is the skyline of Johannesburg (where I live) and the coastal pics are of Cape Town and Durban... (places I would rather be in right now)

the story about the roadsign...
My family and I were invited to a cousin"s wedding who lives in the country. So, we set out for the two and a half hour drive early last sunday morning, driving along the quite two lane road, lined with maize-fields on either side, swaying gently in the wind, sunflowers smiling down at us as we merrily drive by. As we near a cross-road, we see a road-sign thats says " BEWARE! HIJACK SPOT 500m AHEAD"

Now, where else beside sunny, wonderful South Africa will you be priviledged enough to be warned , by a ROADSIGN, of a possibility of being hijacked?

Update on Set-up

well, it seems like I could be employed permanently as Cupid'ss helper... The two friends that I set-up "liked what they saw" and will soon be meeting up for coffee.. alone this time.. so, fingers crossed that all works out for them ...

Sexy Arjun Rampal... could'nt resist

Fresh blood for the clan of DATE-CULA

I have coined my own word for " a blind date" ... it will now officially be called a date-cula... and if you couldnt guess from the pics, the blind date in question is assumed to look like Dracula, and the person that arranged the meeting is an assistant of dracula, and the meeting spot whichever coffee shop it may be at) will henceforth be called "THE CASTLE OF DRACULA" ...

why?
Because, I have now reached the point of drawing blood from any person that even begins to mention the entire Blind date/ set-up concept to me, and to get back at all thesextremely irritating people, I have ventured out, and found new blood for this horrible clan... NEW BLOOD.. as in new people that are also single and I have now changed my position from dater to datee.. and I have organized my first official Set-up.
victims are: male- A really good friend of mine, who has had a lousy time with a girl that he has been interested in, and Female- a sister of another friend, and I am setting the two of them up... so, fingers and toes crossed that I will not be considered Dracula's assistant but Cinderella's FAIRY GODMOTHER instead. ....
will definitely post the outcome of this exciting event to take place this coming weekend!!!

Serendipity

I have lots and lots of topics that I really wanna discuss, but I don't have the time right now. And, the only time that I get these amazing insights which I want to blog, is when Im about to fall asleep at night, and then its just too tedious a task to sit and write at that time of the night, so my cellphone now has little notes saved and I will have to just refer to those ...

If anyone has taken the time to read my profile, You would have learnt that Im a sucker for any romantic movie... Especially the sweet ones that everyone has watched from years ago. On sat nite, just before I went to bed, I switched the telly on and guess what was on... SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE.. So, naturally, I couldn't go to bed, but ended up watching it again, for the 10th time now I think...

I started watching from the point where Meg was trying on her wedding gown, and the sleeve tore and she said " its a sign". I believe in signs... There are signs everywhere... Its just the know-how of which signs are important and which you shouldn't bother about that's tricky...

back to SIS... Tom is asked whether he believes if "people that have truly loved, can love again" and he says "that's hard to imagine" and he goes on to describe the first time that he met his now-deceased wife... "I touched her hand, and it was like coming home, a home that I never had, and it was just me taking her hand to help her out of a car" That bit always has me in tears and before I can recover from that emotional speech, the song "somewhere, over the rainbow " begins to play... Needless to say, my poor, romantic soul can only take so much...

The point is - people that have truly loved,and have truly been loved by another, take it for granted, not realizing what a special gift they have been given,until its too late, and everyother person in the world roams around blindly, seeking fulfillment and don't really know if they will ever find that love, the love that can last for eternity and a day!!!!

IT WORKED yay!!!!

my experiment finally worked... I know that no-one that reads this gives a shit whether my dumb experiment works or not.. but this crappy part of my thesis has been giving me sleepless nights since Nov last year, and today, ten minutes ago, it has finally FINALLY worked....

n that is why I just had to post about it... This means alot in the grand scheme of my Masters project. You see, I was supposed to have been completed with the experiments by April, and because this shitty thing hasnt worked, Im now behind with everything.. but NO-MORE... I can now go full steam ahead and hopefully get some results before the end of this month so that i can go to a conference in July ... hopefully, hopefully, every experiment here-on carries on working....

And now, I have decided to take the day off... and go and watch a movie...

Women just love being pampered!!!

I apologise for not posting for the last few days, but I have been swamped with work, and the weekend was so lovely, that I didnt get a chance to sit in front of a computer...

the highlight of my weekend was a Glaomour/Clarins workshop that I was lucky enough to attend. Let me explain: I am an avid Glamour reader, and I have to buy the mag. the day that it hits the shelves. anyway,the Feb. issue had this notice about a workshop that Glamour was running together with Clarins. Now, there were going to be only two sessions each in JHB, Cape Town, and Durban and only 30 people were allowed into each session. Thankfully, I emailed the lady in charge the instant I read this article and I was one of the first lucky ppl to get a place in this workshop. But, being the generous soul that I am, I also booked tweo extra places for my sister and my best friend.

So, we went for the afternoon session that was from 2-5 pm and boy, was it awesome. We were given full clarins facials followed by a make-up application, a really realaxing tea in the weel-maintained gardena of Clarins House and then a Beauty update by Glamour's Beauty Editor. And we got six months subscribtion to Gloamour and A hamper from Clarins. It was truly Awesome , and an excellent way to spend a saturday afternoon...

$$$$$$$$$

Don't you just hate pop-ups? They have a tendency to appear when you right in the middle of something important/ interesting on the web, and it doesn't matter if you try blocking them, they have an uncanny way of working around it, and still appearing on your screen.... But, sometimes, a pop-up of note can appear, and that's what happened today...

The Forbes Billionaires List popped up as some as I sat down today, and it got me reading all about the most wealthiest men on earth. I was personally impressed because of the ten men, that I read up on, four of them have degrees in Science, and two actually have Masters degrees in Science. Now, I know, that all science degrees are not related, but, please, let me just delude myself this once by believing that if they can do it, so can I... Who knows, this blog may one day belong to not only a
F-A-M-O-U-S person but a F-A-M-O-U-S B-I-L-L-I-O-N-A-I-R-E .... NAMELY ... ME

so, without further ado... The top Ten Billionaires
1) Bill Gates , 50 yrs old, Self made in the software industry, net worth 50 B
2) Warren Buffet, 75, Self made, Investments in well known brands like Coca cola, Dairy Queen, American Express, and Gillette amongst others, 42 B
3)Carlos Slim Helu , 66, Inherited wealth and growing, Telecommunications, 30 B I was really amazed by this guy, and he could be considered a modern day version of the Emperor Shah Jahan since he has had the Mexico City's Museo Soumaya built, which he has founded and namely after his late wife .. awwwwhhhh, isn't that so romantic....
moving on..
4) Ingvar Kamprad, 79, self-made, owns the chain of IKEA across US and Europe, 28B
5) Lakshmi Mittal , 55, Inherited and growing wealth, Owns 78% of Mittal Steel,23.5 B
6) Paul Allen , 53, self made in Software (Microsoft) , 22B
7) Bernad Arnault, 57, Self made in diversified areas, A year of celebration for the "Pope of fashion." His high-end luxury goods empire LVMH, with brands including Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Christian Dior and Mokt & Chandon, posted record sales of $16.6 billion.21.5 B
8) Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsuad, 49, Self made in investments, This nephew of the Saudi king is one of the world's wealthiest investors, with a big stake in Citigroup. Received much publicity–some of it negative–in December 2005 for the $20 million gifts he made to Harvard and Georgetown to expand their Islamic studies departments. In January 2006, with a partner, announced a $3.9 billion deal to buy Fairmont Hotel & Resorts. In February listed his hotel holdings on the Dubai stock exchange. Planning to take his main investment group, Kingdom Holdings, public on the Saudi exchange later this year.20B
9) Kenneth Thompson and family, 82, inherited and growing wealth, Media, 19.6B
and number ten on the list is
Li Ka-Shing, 77, self made, Asia's richest and most influential investor's fortune is centered on conglomerates Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa. Real estate developer, cell phone provider, retailer, major supplier of electricity to Hong Kong and the world's largest operator of container terminals. In June donated $180 million to University of Hong Kong; $40 million to University of California, Berkeley. Son Victor helps father run his massive empire. 18.8B

Thats what friends are for!!!

This post could be considered as a continuation from yesterday's, since its regarding the same, god-forsaken topic... (sorry, im just really p'ed off).

I have this really awesome, cool, sweet friend that was in my Honours class with me in 2003. We have done lots of fun stuff together, as well as sitting and bitching and swearing about all our study stress and the disasterous love-lives that we had during that horrible year. Anyway, when we graduated I continued with my post-grad degrees and she went into the industry to work. So, we dont really see each other often, but meet up for coffee once in a while when our busy social schedules permit.

I called her last night to confirm if she was joining a group of us for supper on friday night, and ,we were chating along, about general stuff(and people that we know) when she suddenly says "RubY, I have a guy that I want you to meet" and I immediately, without a moments hesitation said " NO, plz, not you as well...."
so, she goes on to say: He is a really nice guy, A bit dweeby, but please just meet him...

so I ak her ... Sweety, If he is a dweeb (her exact words were " If you see him, You will think that he did IT or something in that field) (no offence to IT people) but immediately a distinct image of a guy in a white shirt, a skew pair of specs dangling off his nose and a couple of ballpoint pens in his shirt pocket flashed through my mind!!! I know, im really judgemental.... then, as if that wasnt bad enough she goes on to say "he is a really shy guy, complete introvert to you being an extrovert, but mayb he needs to meet someone like you " and " On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate you, my friend, a seven (a bit low I thought) and I'd give him a 5...
A FIVE . My friend, who thinks im extroverted, a 7/10 and knows the type of guys that I generally find attracttive, thinks that I am soooo desperate, that she wants me to meet and accountant/IT guy, who is an introverted, 5/10...

Desperate times call me desperate measures, so, I have put my thinking cap on, and I need to come up with a brilliant plan to deflect all these people that are being thrown at me, from all directions... QUICKLY, before I go insane !!! Rite now, its a seed of an idea, and when it begins to germinate, and my wonderful idea blossoms I will definitely be posting about it ( you can see, that i grow plants can't ya)

Blind dates would work if i was BLIND !!!!

I have been hunted down, and forced into meeting people that I have no interest in meeting because of two important facts:
1) I am almost 25 (considered way over the hill in Indian culture)
2) I am single
and this is not acceptable!!! Every single person that I know, has taken it upon themselves to find "a nice guy" for me since it seems that I cant find one on my own.
It would however, be okay with me, if the guys that turn up, dont make me wish that I was blind, or invisible or both.

Last year, I was subjected to 8 such "set-ups" (according to my fan-club, I cannot call them blind dates cos I had spoken to them before ) and even though its only the third month in the year, I am once again harrassed into meeeting some sad sad prospects (3 people to date, with two more up-coming sure-to-be-disasters. )

Dont get me wrong, I am not adverse to meeting someone, and hopefully taking an interest in them,(and hopefully they return all feelings involved) but, I'd like it to happen spontaneously, when I least expect it, and I want to see stars and feel my heartbeat speed up, NOT when I am forced to sit through a coffee/supper date . Okay, I now that my idea of the meeting is ridiculous but a girl can dream rite...

IN the meantime, while Prince Charming is battling his way through the peak hour traffic on the M1 , in a effort to get to me , I will just have to grin and bear the idiots, and hopefully everyone will just give up, or run out of people that "I Just have to meet!!! "