New Car... Yippie

We just returned home with a new car... but more on that in the next post. This post is NOT about the car.
I have a box of cherries at home. They were purchased on the weekend... it is too much for one person but the store guy was not selling them loose. I started looking up recipes to make something with them and have saved some. Due to lack of time I could not buy the necessary ingredients and the cherry dessert will have to wait till tomorrow.
During the search for a recipe, I came across one for chocolate macaroons. It is extremely simple and made with ingredients at home. I came home and within half an hour had a plate of beautiful, tasty macaroons. They are not typical macaroons- for that I would have to make 2 parts and filling in between.
They are more like cookies... but soft and gooey.
I am posting the recipe below... will have to search where I copied from.

Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 1 and half cup powdered sugar

Method:
- Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. I did not have any so used oil. I think parchment paper would have been better. I used a muffin tray since I did not want the batter to spread out and become one flat cookie.
- Mix all the ingredients till it becomes a cohesive mixture.
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and wet your hand before rolling the mixture into small balls.
- Arrange on the tray and bake for 11 mins.

KC was not happy with the soft texture. I prefer it soft and gooey rather than hard. I kept licking the batter off my fingers... it was that tasty. I don't know why they are called macaroons... maybe because they cannot be termed as cookies.
Yum!!!

Punju Wedding

I attended my first Punjabi wedding. Technically, I did not. I left before the wedding started but after dinner was served.
A friend (who used to be close) got married. We (me and another common friend) along with KC were invited for the engagement and wedding/reception. This common friend- lets call him D, is also a Punjabi. The three of us have worked together and now are in separate companies. Like D said, "you are my friends from work". Yeah, he has a lot of categorizations- friends from school, college, work, current work, family friends, relatives etc.... too many compartments to fit all the friends in his life.
But before I get to the wedding, I need to talk about what I wore... or what I did not wear.
In 2008, when I had just moved to Gurgaon I was invited to the wedding of the brother of a colleague. I had no intention of attending but a call in the evening from a senior made me change my mind. I had just moved from sales to the HQ and my clothes reflected that- daily wear, semi formals, comfy clothes and nothing for a party/wedding. With no time to shop I pulled on trousers and a top which would fit party wear. Big mistake. I was mortified when I saw the turnout. Colleagues who looked drab at work had transformed into swans. So, when another colleague was getting married a year later I took the time and money to buy a wedding dress. That is the only dress I have worn to ALL weddings. It has been 4 years. 1.5 years back I had to attend KC's friend's engagement. I bought a sober dress to wear there. After that, I wore it at the office Diwali celebrations. Taking all this into consideration, I decided not to buy anything new for the friend's wedding. But I did not feel like wearing the same clothes. I decided to wear western outfits. The only people I knew at the wedding were the friend, D, KC and maybe 1-2 batchmates from B school. I didn't care what they thought.
Coming back... the engagement was at Pitampura which is in extreme North Delhi. I have been there a few times and regretted it. On Friday evening/night, I reached Pitampura at 9 pm. The time on the card was 8 pm. I was late... or so I thought. The friend- lets call him A, was waiting for the to-be bride... food had not been served... 50% of the people had not arrived. WTF!!! At 10 pm, the bride-to be arrived and by 10.30 pm they were engaged. We reached for the dinner and left by 11 pm. There was a DJ and I assume the party actually started at 11.30 pm and went on till wee hours.
The wedding was on Sunday night in some godforsaken farmhouse in Chattarpur... there were no street lights and the road was bumpy. I told KC if we have come to the wrong address, we will head back home and go to sleep. We arrived at 9.30 pm and I thought we are late. Guess, who meets us at the gate? The groom... in the car... with the baraat around him. He had not yet entered the venue. Finally, after all the dancing and insane noise he entered the venue at 10.30 pm. By then, KC and I had eaten dinner and were planning to leave. At 11 pm, we left just as the bride was arriving. The wedding probably started by midnight.
In all my life, below are the different kind of weddings I have attended:

• Family friends: Since I was in the boarding, I did not know most of my parents' friends. So, these weddings were a pain. My sis and I would plead with our parents to let us stay home but 9 out of 10 times we had to attend. Who was going to cook dinner for us? It was a quick outing... enter, meet the couple, smile, get pics clicked, rush for dinner, eat, leave. Done- by 9-10 pm max. By 11 pm even the couple would have left for home. Btw, this is in Gujarat... so, no liquor
• Family- Sister: Sis's wedding was different... weddings at home are different... the time and day does not matter. It is an entire week of celebrations. We had a sangeet along with mehendi, janoi (my brother's), garba night, engagement (along with DJ night), wedding and reception. People turned up for whatever functions they wanted to. Relatives and close friends attended the sangeet... everyone attended garba and janoi... engagement and wedding were at Indore so it was just close relatives.
• Relatives: I do not remember the actual wedding because I was not there... I was probably gossiping with cousins or playing badminton (no kidding... we did that... played badminton at the other end of the ground), playing with cousins or out frolicking with my cousin brothers. Time did not matter. It was an entire week of celebrations for family and there was the reception for outsiders.
• Close friends: Umm... except one, all the other friends are single. I chose not to attend the wedding since I am not into it. If I had a choice, I would not have turned up for my own wedding... actually, if we had a choice KC and I would have had a live in relationship all our life. 

Punjabi (or is in Delhi) weddings are notorious for starting late... the invitation says 8 pm but the wedding starts at 11 pm. Thats how it is- I was told. Different... very different from Gujarat weddings. 

Few months back my sis was in town and I had taken her shopping. We came across gaudy bling in most of the shops and my sis wondered what happened to the fashion conscious Delhi people. I guess, at a wedding it all goes out of window. Being a Sindhi, I am no stranger to bling... but the bling of this level was beyond my imagination. There was a lady dressed in a blingy saree, with a bling blouse, gaudy jewellery, bling on her eyes and the blingy footwear. For a moment I thought she is the bride to be (I have met her only once and was blinded momentarily by the bling) until I spotted the chudas and realized she is a newly wed. 

I am glad its over and will be avoiding any future weddings. Requesting my friends not to invite me. I think RT is the only friend whose wedding I am looking forward to... the wedding will be in MP and we can go to Bandhavgarh from there. 

2 weeks to go...

... for the Summer workshop. I am excited. The previous workshop- Winter Workshop was quite a bummer. I did like preparing for it and it was hard work but the performance was just not "Me".
In dance, everyone has a style. We are encouraged to watch a lot of videos of different dancers and try and develop a similar style. In the regular classes, we perform on fast, peppy numbers - T Pain, Rihanna, Madonna, Janet Jackson etc. We performed on 'Ladies Choice' from Hair spray (a musical starring John Travolta as a female). It is a fun song but every different from anything we had done in class. I think, everyone struggled to get into the music. It did not come out well. Our instructor kept making changes till the last minute. Partners were changed numerous times and on the final day I did not have a partner... which sucked. I didn't want to perform. I could have walked away and nobody would have noticed. There was a piece in the end performed by a guy and girl at the end. The girl did not turn up on the last day and didn't even call the instructor. The only one who knew the part as well was the instructor and she performed with us. I was just glad it was over.
This time it is different. We are performing on 2 songs- 'Call my lover' and 'Rhythm Nation' by Janet Jackson. The first is a girly number and the second a fast, peppy one. We are almost through with the steps... there is a lot more to do but we are getting there. The best part is I am enjoying it. It is close to what I have been doing these last few months, the songs are good, the instructor is not confused and it is coming along well.
Fingers crossed. The workshop is on 8th July'12 at 8 pm in Delhi. If anyone is interested in dance, contact me for a pass. It costs Rs 150. You just might get inspired and decide to join. 

My Sister's Keeper

I finished reading the book 2 days back and loved it. Why did it take me so long to pick it up?
An amazing book which really got me thinking.
It is about Anna... or is it about Kate? Kate is diagnosed with leukemia as a kid. Bone marrow transplant is one of the suggested treatments but neither her parents (Brian and Sara) or her brother (Jesse) are a match. The doc suggests that they can have another child who maybe a match. They make a designer baby... they pick out the genes needed for a baby with a perfect match and Anna is born. Her entire childhood is spent making donations- umbilical cord, platelets, stem cells, bone marrow and then, a kidney is needed. Thats when she hires a lawyer- Campbell to sue her parents. She wants the rights to her body and does not want to make any more donations. I will not reveal the end. The book is not so simple. It has separate chapters which are first person accounts of each person- Jesse, Anna, Kate, Sara, Brian, Campbell, Julia etc. I loved this style of writing. It would have been easy for the author to have taken sides- Kate or Anna. She could have made Sara seem like a negligent mother. But, when I read Sara's account, I realized it is not so simple. Sara is a human being... she wants to save her daughter... she will do anything to keep her alive. At the same time, it is not humanly possible for her to manager everything- 2 other kids, husband, relationships, a dying daughter.
We forget that parents are humans and are bound to make mistakes. As kids, we hold it against them. They are expected to be perfect. And more often than not, parents don the superhuman role. They forget that they make mistakes and are not perfect.
Completely off the point, but a thought struck my mind. What if a parent said that he/she does not love his/her kid? Society.. anyone will be shocked to hear that. But it is possible, right? We cannot love everyone. Just like we don't choose our parents... we do not choose our kids.
In India, parents don't understand the meaning of "love". Love is about liking a person. You cannot love someone you don't like. It is about respecting the person.

 I am not sure if parents even LIKE their kids.

Coming back to the book- fabulous. Please read it.

I watched the movie as well. Disappointing. I do understand that a movie cannot compete with a book. Never. But, the movie has focused on Kate and tried to turn on the audience's tears. It has missed out on the interactions within the family... what each person is going through. Campbell is an amusing character in the book... in the movie, he has a few scenes. Jesse has been side tracked. Did not like the movie. It could have been better but has skipped the best parts of the book. 

Current Read

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.... The Girl who played with Fire... The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

I read the first book and was hooked. The end and climax were disappointing but I liked the characters. The book is about Blomkvist who is a journalist, editor and part owner of a newspaper. When one of his stories goes wrong he takes a break to solve the mystery of a missing girl. Salander is a complex person with many skills except one- she has no social skills. She is a loner and does not like making friends. She works as a researcher at a security firm. Blomkvist hires her for his research and she ends up saving his life from a killer. They also sleep around. At the end of book 1, she has fallen in love with him but he has gone back to his previous fuck buddy.
In the 2nd book, Salander is accused of murdering a journalist working with Blomkvist. She is also accused of murdering her guardian. Blomkvist proves her innocence and catches the real killer who is her father and half brother.
It was while reading the 3rd book, I realized that all 3 books are linked. They are not just about some mysteries solved by Blomkvist and Salander. It all starts with her torturous childhood which ultimately leads to the murder of the journalist.
Loved the last book.

Food... more food... and then some more

For KC's b'day we went to TGIF for dinner. He picked the place. I was not too pleased about celebrating at a regular haunt. So, I picked the restaurant for my b'day. It was Tonino located on Mehrauli road. We have passed by the place many times and it looks extremely quaint from outside. Online reviews said that the food is good but expensive. The restaurant serves authentic Italian food. It has seating outdoors, indoors and on the terrace. We were seated outside since it was not too hot but a more pleasant weather would have helped us enjoy the meal. The area is surrounded by trees, plants and lamps are hung everywhere. The ambience is as good as Olive (Bandra and B'glore). The menu is not very exhaustive and we ordered chicken sausage with mash potatoes as starters. They were ok. We have had better sausages at Potpourri (Inorbit Mall, Vashi). We used to visit PP everytime KC was in Mumbai- sometimes every week and have only the sausages. We have not tried anything else there.
Anyway, for main course we ordered a sphagetti in red sauce with veggies. After 10 mins of waiting, the waiter told us our food will be ready in 10 mins. WTF!!! Thankfully, it was a b'day dinner and we were in no hurry to reach home (though it was a weekday). On a regular day, I would have been very irritated. The thing is when KC and I go out for food, our aim is to eat food... not lounge around or spend time together. We can do that at home. So, when service is slow it can get bugging. Anyway, the pasta was ok. We have had better (Amici Cafe in Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj food court and Select Citywalk mall serves the best pasta). We ordered a melting chocolate with amretto and ice cream for dinner. It was yummilicious. There was a chocolate covering (a little on the bitter side made with some kind of flour) with melted chocolate inside (not too sweet, not too bitter) and ice cream and amretto on the side. I loved that the outer covering was bitter and balanced very well by the chocolate and ice cream. A very unique dessert. I would visit the place again only for the ambience and maybe dessert. The food is strictly ok and a dish costs 600 bucks which is pricey.

Today, we went to Drift for a Sunday brunch- its something we have wanted to do for a very long time. Drift is a restaurant at Epicentre which is the cultural center of Gurgaon. Plays, musical shows, workshops etc are conducted here. It is equivalent to Indian Habitat Center in Delhi. We had dinner there few months back and loved the food. The brunch is from 11 am- 3 pm and covers b'fast as well as lunch. It was an exhaustive selection- juices (Tropicana), cold cuts of meat, breads, cheese, bakery items, idlis, eggs, waffles/pan cakes, sausages, grilled pork, noodles, rice, chicken gravy, mutton gravy, honey potatoes, sandwiches, parathas (all kinds), fish, noodles, pastries, fruits etc. Everything was there. I don't think I could have asked for more. I just wish they had fresh juices instead of packaged ones. We ate so much- we were full all day. No kidding. I thought I am going to burst. Amazing. Must try.

B'day celebrations

This post has been in draft for 3 days now... finally, found the time to post it.

It was KC's b'day on 7th June'12. I have always tried to make each b'day special since we have started dating. I still remember in 2008, he was in Gurgaon around the b'day. His company had sent him for training here. Only problem was that he had to go to Baddi or some place like that on 7th June. I pleaded with him to return on 7th which he did despite all the traffic but at midnight. Technically, on 8th midnight. I had placed candles in the balcony, made lemon iced tea and arranged for a cake. It felt nice to do that.
But the best one was in 2009. I was in Gujarat and flying down to Mumbai. KC was in Mumbai itself. We were married but I used to stay in the company guesthouse when I came down twice in a month to Mumbai. Getting to work was more convenient and all my stuff was there. Also, I was not planning to move in with his parents so it made no sense to stay over. I had contacted his friends, his mom and arranged for cake. Everyone was going to surprise him at midnight. Once I landed at night, KC asked me to meet him for dinner. This was tricky. I had never refused to meet him and turning him down would have made him suspicious. If I did meet him, he would not go home before midnight and the plan would be screwed. It was tough call but I turned him down... told him I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. We were going to meet the next day anyway. At 10.30 pm, I bid him goodnight and pretended to be asleep. At 11 pm, I left for his house at Vashi and was met outside his house by his friends before midnight. We surprised him with the cake and he was pleasantly surprised. That was also the first time I spent the night at his house.
Last year, we didn't do much since his b'day was on a weekday and we had decided to celebrate over the weekend. Our b'days are only 4 days apart so there is always the option of celebrating them together. This year, I decided to do the cliche... bake him a cake. I searched online and came across recipes of delicious chocolate cakes. It broke my heart that I could not make any of them 'coz he is not very fond of chocolate. He likes fruit cakes like pineapple or mango or dry fruits. Blueberries oe strawberries were out. I came across the red velvet cake on Maria Gorreti's blog. It also had cream cheese icing. Perfect. I have been meaning to try out cream cheese icing for months. The unsalted butter and cream cheese have been waiting in the fridge for 3 months now. It was decided then. The plan was to bake the cake on 5th late evening/night before he came home. I was thinking of cooling it and leaving it overnight at a friend's place to keep the surprise. I was supposed to frost it on 6th evening/night before he came home from work and leave it at the friend's place and pick it up around midnight.
The plan got screwed...
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large Eggs 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

METHOD..

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl sift the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups cold heavy whipping cream (double cream)

METHOD...

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese andmascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

http://mariagorettiz.blogspot.in/search/label/Cake-Dessrt

Mistake I made:

• Put the batter in one pan instead of two 'coz it could fit into one pan. 
• Followed the gm measurements instead of using cups. I have a glass which can be used as a weight for different ingredients- water, maida, sugar etc. Has always worked for me. Not this time though. 

The cake was cooked on the outside and bubbling under the surface. I threw it away and started on another one with a different but similar recipe. This cake turned out to be perfect. I used 2 tins- heart shaped and round shape. I don't have 2 of the same kind. In between, while pre heating my microwave for the 2nd time it conked off. No kidding. It has happened before but works fine once it cools. I waited for an hour for it to cool and then put the cakes in with fingers and toes crossed. By then it was 11 pm. Thankfully, the cakes turned out well but KC was home and well aware about the goings on. It is very difficult to surprise someone you live with. 
If the 2nd cakes would have been a disaster I would have been up baking next day at 6 am to avoid excess work in the evening. 

Cake: 
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups of sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa powder 
1 1/2 tbsp liquid red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour 2 or 3 round 9" cake pans.

Sift flour and salt together, set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar.  Mix until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time.  Mix well after each addition.  Add the flour mixture to the bowl alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Blend in vanilla.In a small bowl, mix the 1 1/2 tbsp red food coloring and 1 tbsp cocoa powder until a paste forms.  Add to the sugar and butter mixture.  Mix well.  In a small bowl or condiment cup, stir together the baking soda and cider vinegar.  This will foam and should be put into the batter immediately after well mixed.  After adding the foam mixture, blend on medium-high speed until batter is consistent.

Spoon batter evenly into pans - batter will be very thick!  Level  top of batter with an offset spatula.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.


http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2011/02/heritage-red-velvet-cake.html

I used cups for measurement and used 2 pans this time. It worked. Below is the cake- nice and red.

The cream cheese frosting was perfect for it since the cake was sweet and the cheesy, not so sweet frosting balanced that. A regular frosting would be a bad idea with this. And here is the final cake:

I used red readymade icing (or is it marzipan) in a tube for the decorations. Too tacky, I know. I do not like marzipan and will avoid it in the future.

Lessons learned:

• It is impossible to surprise someone you live with
• Baking is about rules and not about being creative. Follow the recipe 100%. If it says- pee before baking; then pee. Don't ask questions. Just follow directions. 
• 
  

Mac and Me

I have had a relationship with Mac for almost 2 years now. I still remember my first purchase. Once or twice in a month I would visit Inorbit Mall, Malad for work. I had to visit Spencers which is located close to Mac and Shoppers Stop. The varied colored eye shadows looked so attractive. Once or twice I did enter but hearing the astronomical prices, left. Finally, I decided to buy something... anything. (Ever get that feeling??? I just have to buy something... anything). I had assumed that Mac is known for its eye shadows and picked a bright blue one. I did not want to spend 900 bucks on something safe and usual. If I had to spend, it had to be on something fun, funky and risky. I put it on a few times but due to the powdery texture it lasted a few hours only. I didn't think much about it then since I was new to make up. Now, I don't use the eye shadow and have not purchased another one from Mac. I think there are better and cheaper brands like L'Oreal, Max Factor, Inglot, Oriflame etc out there when it comes to eye shadows.
Over time (specially in the last one year), I have realized MAC does have the best products even if expensive. Their foundation is the best I have used. I do not like foundations which give a foundationy look... like when I can see that it has been applied. I like foundations that blend into the skin and seem like part of the skin. The MAC foundation does just that. Since my skin is not flawless I have a face primer which keeps oiliness at bay, hides pores, keeps foundation intact all day and gives a base for make up. I have the eye primer which helps eye shadows last longer and look better on my oily eye lids. It does not work on the blue eye shadow. I have a lip prep and prime which makes the lipstick last longer and brings out its color. I bought their compact powder but did not like the heavy coverage. Also, hated the fact that it broke with one fall. (booh... booh). I recently tried their kohl pencil and am a fan. It is one of the few pencils that does not smudge... at all. Others are Maybelline kajal and L'Oreal contour kohl. I am skeptical when its comes to pencils since all of them tend to smudge (e.g Chambor) and avoid buying them. I have numerous gel liners from MAC- black, brown, blue, purple and green. Unfortunately, they don't come with a brush which costs another 1k. The gel eyeliners are ok... I prefer the ones from Inglot and L'Oreal which are cheaper also. Then there are 6 shades of lipstick... some great, some ok and others just bad. I have tried their blushes... matte, shimmer, creme... like most of them but blushes just do not last all day on my face and am looking for a better brand. I have just one lip gloss which is great but somehow do not like the other shades in their store. Also, there are a few limited edition products.
Recently, I realized the importance of a good make up brush. I have been trying my hand at blush but kept messing it up with the current assortment of brushes- one set gifted by sis from USA, another one from Vega, another one from Oriflame. I have kept away from spending money on brushes since they cost atleast 2k in MAC and 1500 bucks in Inglot. I decided to buy one and figure out what the big deal is about. I was zapped. They completely transformed by make up application. Things I was struggling with became fairly easy. (I will write one post on my make up brushes). I decided to buy a blush brush from Mac. I have visited all outlets in Delhi NCR except one (in Subhashnagar)- Saket, Vasant Kunj, Noida and Gurgaon. Gurgaon, being closest is my frequent haunt. Unfortunately, it has the worst SAs. Once I had spotted them applying make up on each other and clicking pics while customers tried to get their attention. Another time I went to buy a concealer and the SA wondered why I would need one when I already have a foundation. Its not a great outlet. Anyway, I was shown a brush kit which would cost me double the price of one brush and I would get 4 brushes (including the ones I came to buy). I decided to go for it. I came home and used them. They were great but when they were washed some black and blue color leaked out. I freaked out. After drying, I tried to use them and it left a black cast on my face. Eeks. For 2 weeks, I washed, dried and tried using them. Same result. The reviews online were not encouraging. Apparently, it is common problem with Mac brushes which come in a kit. The dye on the brushes was leaking out. I decided to return them. It would not be easy considering how "customer friendly" the Gurgaon outlet is. I showed it to the SA who tried to wash it. Of course, the dye leaked out but she said that it happens with all her brushes and is nothing to worry about. Strangely, she did not show it to me. I told her I wanted to return and would buy full size brushes instead. She said her manager is out of town for IIFA awards and I should come back after a week. Huh??? Crazy??? First, they sell me defective products and then expect me to wait around for their manager to return from her trip so she can give me a solution. I told her clearly that I was not going to leave without either a credit note or another purchase... her manager be damned. After 15 mins of haggling, they gave in. They didn't want to create a scene.
I was disappointed. Mac is a great brand with a mixed back of products (some good some bad... but mostly good) but the customer service sucks. They really need to work on that. Unfortunately, thats a problem with most brands in India.
Another problem is that Mac SAs will not admit to a bad product. Instead of admitting that some product has limitations and works in certain situations only, they deny everything. Thankfully, there are enough reviews online for each product.
In India, most bloggers are in awe of MAC and hardly ever write negative reviews. Its like being in love... they get blinded to the faults. 

Mard ko dard nahi hota

This post has nothing to do with men. Instead, they will be better off reading something else.
I do not like visiting the salon... I try to put off the visit as long as possible. It is either a painful or boring experience. My monthly visit involve- facial, manicure, pedicure, back wax, eyebrows/upper lip, bleach.... not all on the same day. If I did schedule it on the same day I would spend the entire day in a salon- 1.5 hours for facial, 1 hr manicure/pedicure, 15 mins eyebrows/upper lip, 1 hour- wax/bleach.
Last week I decided to give something else a try- bikini wax. I follow this blogger and she had said in one of her posts that every girl should try it out. It will make her feel free. It being summers and all, I thought why not.
But I need to digress. I do not like waxing, It has so many cons- you have to wait for your hair to grow out completely before getting it done which means you spend many days covered up. For someone who loves her skirts and sleeveless tops, its just not convenient. Also, I have sensitive skin and get red rashes/boils after waxing... no matter how hygienically it is done. I prefer my razor. 5 mins in the shower daily and I am done. Yes, it does remove hair from the roots. They do grow randomly in all directions and once a razor is used waxing is out of question. Tell a salon lady you have used a razor even once and need to get waxed. She will shake her head and rattle off the cons of using a razor.
Coming back, the salon lady was not happy with the usage of razor and gave me a lecture. Bikini waxing is the most painful experience I have had.
Thats when I realized... men don't have to go through all this. Sure, they do visit salons for treatments but none of it involves pain.
Its just women who have to go through it. As teenagers, we wait for the first time we can get a clean up or facial or wax or bleach etc without realizing it is beginning of a whirlpool which will suck us in and trap us for life.