REUNIONS!!!!!

The Oxford Dictionary defines a reunion as a social gathering of people who have not seen each other for some time. But is it just that, just meeting up?

I used to think so, but now I’ve realized it’s not just meeting up, it means, meeting up with friends you really mean to meet, whom you miss a lot. And even after you meet just asking “wassup??” isn’t enough. Talking about the past, the fun we had together, the pranks played on people, the most stupid secret or just the silly reason for getting scolded makes a successful reunion. Such reunions are beautiful, you just don’t want the time to tick off…But as clichéd as it may sound, time doesn’t wait for anyone. We just have to return home, hoping for the next reunion to be as soon as possible!!!

THE QUEST OF EIGHTEEN!!!!

I call it as the quest of 18, because when I was not 18 then I used to wonder why is 18 given so much of an importance and why not nineteen which by it’s ending –teen should be preferably given much importance? I used to wonder why does the band Creed have a song “I’m eighteen; I get confused everyday, eighteen I just don’t know what to say”.

But now I’ve realized it, when I’ve finally reached the age EIGHTEEN!!!!!! I’ve reached this age in November and since then till now really my mind works a lot, more than it should on matters, not so important. And then I wonder why in the first place was I thinking about it?

There is a constant fight within; I just don’t know how many personalities reside inside me! I become highly unpredictable, at times surprising the angel within, and at times the devil.

Sometimes it’s just the urge to be like everyone else, sometimes the heart just wishes to go against the trend! Sometimes there is a feeling of being a teacher’s pet, sometimes of being a total punk. Sometimes I want to be a drama queen; sometimes I prefer the back stage. Sometimes I want crowd around me, sometimes I just want to be lonely in my room!

And on all that when I try to see what I am exactly like, through some silly know yourself quizzes, I feel like selecting all the options given….??? Eventually confusing me more than I am already!

Then I wonder why in the first place am I thinking of all this, when I’ve better things in life to think about? Like, how my internship in companies like Cadbury and Shangrila will be, or how I enjoyed my stay at my friend’s place!

But that’s what your brain does when you are EIGHTEEN!!!! Before you are EIGHTEEN you wonder why it’s given so important, after you are EIGHTEEN you just wonder, why are you doing, whatever that is being done! And after EIGHTEEN maybe I’ll think why I did this, or did not do this when I was EIGHTEEN? Thus carrying on the quest of EIGHTEEN till eternity!

Monosodium glutamate, safe or not?

I heard that M.S.G. is GOOD for health apart from being safe. I tried to know what exactly M.S.G is, and I’ve come to a conclusion that I’ll try to avoid it as much as possible.

Monosodium glutamate, sodium glutamate, flavor enhancer 621 [M.S.G] is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. It is marketed as flavor enhancer. The Japanese company Ajinomoto turned it into crystalline powder form, MSG, and patented it in 1909, hence the name Ajinomoto [essence of taste].

The controversy over MSG started in 1968, when a Chinese-American physician wrote a rather lighthearted letter to The New England Journal of Medicine. He had experienced numbness, palpitations and weakness after eating in Chinese restaurants in the United States, and wondered whether the monosodium glutamate used by cooks here (and then rarely used by cooks in China) might be to blame. This was experienced by many people consuming such food and hence it was also known as CHINESE RESTAURANT SYNDROME.

It interferes with the neurochemical process. It is an exciter neurotransmitter i.e. it excites the taste buds into thinking the food is GREAT, even if the taste is not that good. It also messes with your satiety index (how full you think you are after eating) so that you end up wanting to eat more food, it also leads to behavioral addiction to that food. And overeating is linked to obesity, so let’s just try our best to stay away from it.

Higher doses of MSG lead to cell death, by over excitation of nerve cells. It is due to the absence of the blood brain barrier in hypothalamus of humans. Between 1980 and 1994, the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition received 622 reports of complaints about MSG. Headache was the most frequently reported symptom. No severe reactions were documented, but some reports indicated that people with asthma got worse after they consumed MSG. In some of those cases, the asthma didn't get worse until many hours later.

The glutamic acid we eat isn’t always natural. In our body L-type is found, whereas glutamic acid we consume is D-glutamic acid. Which is not handled by our body well, and it is prepared by fermentation since it is found in bacterial cell walls.

Some say that they do not consume M.S.G., but its forms are other than just monosodium glutamate, they are Glutamate, Monosodium glutamate, Monopotassium glutamate, Glutamic acid, Calcium caseinate, Gelatin, Textured protein, Hydrolyzed protein (any protein that is hydrolyzed), Yeast extract, Yeast food, Autolyzed yeast, Yeast nutrient. Reading the contents on the packet is necessary.

We cannot completely stop the intake but can surely avoid, and while eating food having MSG we should keep in mind that it’s just the flavor enhancer which is why it tastes so great, and we need to control the amount we eat, doing just this will actually bring a change in our health problems. The change may be small, but significant!!!!!!

THE WEEK THAT WAS!!!!

I've been such an irregular blogger, now, you cannot blame my laziness for that, even though it exists in me. The reason i couldn't blog much was due to my tightly packed schedule.Having my final practical examinations going on. and have to really break my head for that, study for the theory exams banging on my face!!!!!!!But thanks to my college Reading Hall, I study there more than i would have studied in my room!
These days i get nightmares of being late to my practical examinations, not taking the required material and all that.
But one of the way i found out to beat frustation and stress is by listening to lounge music by Karunesh, it's nerve soothing and sort of spiritualistic touch to the music actually brings out some positivity in me.
Personally this week was quite good with my biochemistry practicals going on very smoothly especially the part i was most worried about THE STAINING AND FOCUSING. Got off it quite well!
The capsules of klebsellia pneumonia were very happy for me and were easily spotted in the microscope. Hope I am in equal or better luck for my remaining practicals and my exams too!
On the football front, I am a Gunner, and started following it very recently, and i was treated with a very sad news "ManU beats Arsenal by 4 goals...hmm....now what to say, lets not look at the back i said, it was just a [fa cup] game and a day gone bad, there's always the champions league to look forward too. Next match with AC milan score => 0-0....hm...NOT BAD!...atleast not disappointed!
On the BIOCHEMICAL FRONT!
Heard that M.S.G. [ajinomoto] is good for health?, well will have to read more about it, but no time now, only after I am done with my exams.
Now the use of internet to search things only restricted to the syllabus, after all the knowledge I have is going to be proved by my marks!
So till 12th march adios!

India And It's Science

We always come across the names of many scientists when we study any part of science. The best that we have done is research on already made inventions. But what about innovations, new ideas and inventions of technology?
It is not that India has not made progress. But whatever progress it has made is not up to the mark. To make it more clear let us compare ourself with China. 10-15 years back, China was scientifically backwards, and today it's contribution is nearly 15% to the world's scientific research while that of India is less than 3%.
The major reason for this is our attitude toward science. Science does not come to an end with the completion of post-graduation or any such degree. There is always something new to LEARN, something new to DISCOVER. As it is commonly said, 'There's a lot more than what meets the eye'. Science does not have a horizon. The study of any branch of science goes on till eternity and any sub-branch of it can never be out of vogue. As prof. C.N.R Rao once said, 'Today's science is tomorrow's technology'.
But unfortunately, research is not valued or given importance in our country. Plus the infrastructural facilities and the labs are insufficient to carry out highly developed research. This is mainly due to the scientific funding in India, which is as low as 1% of GDP. This is also the reason why India produces only 4000 PhDs compared to 10000 in Brazil and 16000 in China.
The only way to make India a knowledge superpower in the world is to mend all the bits and parts i.e. Government should give in a higher % of GDP towards scientific funding. The other important change is the change to be brought in our attitude towards science. Creativity cannot be thought, nor can the skill to think beyond. But we can create an environment which will promote innovations. Eventually when the passion for science is developed in a student , the student himself will be eager to find out more, which will lead to a glorius PhD or a research paper. These small amendments will make India a leading center of the knowledge world!!!!!

DUS KAHANIYA- The 10 predictable stories

It was a dull day. My alarm rang at 4.40 I turned it off and slept. After some time I yawned and looked at the time it was 5.30 and i was late!!!!!!AND SOMEWHERE IN MY HEART I WAS HAPPY !!!!!!!!because I will miss my early morning practicals. Still I got ready just like every other Tuesday morning and I boarded a train to my college. Fortunately or unfortunately it was a fast train and i reached college on time.
My friend met me and she said she has a plan of watching a movie "DUS KAHANIYA" i said the critics have given it a 3 and a half star so maybe the movie isn't that bad. I agreed. So finally our plan of going to the movie after the lectures was finalised.
The movie starts with a kaleidoscopic view of some scenes in the movie. Which ends on a scene where the first story starts. All the stories are interesting mostly based on the metro life and new cultures. Many of these stories have a lesson at it's end, like those we had when we were kids -" THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS"-. The cast is too good and Sanjay Gupta's direction also wasn't disappointing. The only drawback in the movie was the stories, yes there were twists but they could be easily predicted.
All in all it was a "PAISA VASOOL" movie. And even if you don't find the stories or acting interesting it has a good sound track as backup ;)

My first post

This is my first blog, and in my further posts you will get to see reviews about movie, tv shows and new products in market. Apart from that you may see my views into what i think about he issues going around us. The posts will also have some excerpts from my life and the happening events of my day.There may even be some surprise posts which may have things apart from this. ;)