the power of pause

the disciples said to Jesus , “everyone is looking for you” listen to His response : “then let us go somewhere else” here’s the bottom line : for Jesus , withdrawing is not optional . it is intentional and essential. i give , relate , care , listen , and serve wholeheartedly if i am at home in my own skin . when i am in the hubbub of daily life , i can lose sight of that. . .  i know that when i give in to the “should” of being all things to all people , and when i give up the need to withdraw for rest and renewal , i lose the rhythm of life that feeds my soul . Jesus is saying to His disciples , “do you see that clump of people ? do you know why I have any power in that clump ? because I regularly say no , to withdraw to a place where I listen to a different voice — my Father’s voice — about my identity” power of pause , terry hershey

when average isn’t so average

today , i was looking up phobias on google . i typed in “i fear one…” and it guessed “i fear one day i’ll meet God He’ll sneeze and i won’t know what to say” . i don’t know what i would say either . mlia

i’ve been reading a lot of these . my life is average (mlia) almost never fails to make me laugh ever since someone introduced it to me . from funny ones :

today , i realized that obama has the same slogan as bob the builder . this amuses me way more than it should . mlia

today , while in my school’s dining hall , i saw a girl who i thought was my best friend . so , naturally , i yelled her name . right as a whole bunch of people turned around , i remembered my best friend goes to another college . i turned around and looked for the imaginary yeller, too . mlia

today , my little sister found out the tooth fairy wasn’t real by putting a mouse trap under one of her pillows . i’m so proud . my dad , however , seems very upset . mlia

today , i felt like wearing an eye patch around town for no reason. a kid came up to me and asked me why i was wearing an eye patch . i told him my mom told me not to run with scissors . the look on his face was priceless . mlia

to the cute ones that make you go aww :

today , my boyfriend came dancing into the kitchen singing my name over and over , just as i was preparing to leave for work . he saw me , blushed and said “oh , you’re still here” . made my day. mlia

this one takes the cake (so far) :

today , i was teasing my mom on the phone about my cousin who is pregnant without revealing who is actually pregnant . i was giving her hints such as they’re 18 years old , it’s not that surprising etc etc . finally she said “who is it , you?” i paused slightly and asked her how she knew , she freaked out for ten minutes then hung up the phone . i don’t know what’s more surprising , that my mom forgets that i’m really twenty-one , or that my mom thinks men can get pregnant . my life is average (mlia)

right steps 09 annual dinner : bollywood nite

i saw michael jackson resurrected ! albeit in a female form .

one and a half weeks ago , i got a call from my aunt , saying that she had a couple of spare invites to right steps dance studio’s annual dinner (try saying that fast five times) . i was initially a little hesitant as i had already made plans for the night and had an early morning the next day .  needless to say , i’m glad i went anyway – even if it meant i hardly caught any sleep .

it’s probably the best annual event i’ve ever been to – on account of the endless entertainment . the food was rather good too but i was hoping i would have a lot to photograph during the show – since it was a dinner hosted by a dance studio . and it’s safe to say that i wasn’t even the slightest bit disappointed .

even the welcome itself was a burst of color (true to the theme) :

then they deviated a little – just to show off what they were capable off . from belly dances :

some latex raunch :

and a touch of soulful latin :

to childrens’ waltz :

and a little bit of hip hop :

they can also claim rights to an original production – michael jackson meets STOMP :

to wrap up the night , the guests were invited to win prizes for themselves ; after jumping through a few hoops of course , from the dance-and-sing-like-you’re-lovers-in-a-bollywood-movie challenge (back-up dancers thrown in for free) :

to “karaoke” (complete with a live lyrics-prompting tv) :

(it’s harder and funnier than it looks in the photos)

to the use-provided-props-as-the-music-changes challenge :

well , at least they got the hula skirts right . can’t say the same for the coconuts though (well at least , i hope not) .

what a way to finish off – laughing till your belly aches .

joy is

pronunciation: \ˈjȯi\

function : noun

etymology : middle nnglish , from anglo-french joie , from latin gaudia , plural of gaudium , from gaudēre to rejoice ; probably akin to greek gēthein to rejoice

date : 13th century

1. when in the past 16 hours , you’ve been asleep for 4 .

2. you spent the other hours photographing

should i or shouldn’t i ?

deepavali nal valthukal

because it is the festival of lights

(and yes , that’s the only tamil phrase i know)