Greek and Latin of my Coffee

When did coffee start sounding like Greek and Latin?  The question nagged me on my almost first date. The ambience and menu card made me feel a little insecure and curious. The coffee shop I knew had a big almost golden black boiler, glasses believed to be clean and “Cheta” showing off his coffee making skills. And the coffee I knew was made of milk, coffee powder, sugar and the most important ingredient, Mom's magic. The menu card gave exotic names to my coffee, at exuberant prices. Two sips and 30 minutes later, I had a lot of questions on both the Café shop and my friend*.    

Cappuccino
Capp –po-chinno , I said struggling to get the right pronunciation.  “Regular” asked my friend. I am too embarrassed if meant the coffee or relationship. I settled for regular. What impressed me was the latte art on the top of it more than the strength of the coffee bean, the thickness of the milk, the silkiness of the cream. Six differences was the thought which popped up. Uncle Google came to my rescue and gave a whole lot of information enough to do a doctorate and some search suggestions too. Like the search options, the drink was a complicated too. I realized that people was addicted more to the ambience than to the caffeine. Cappuccino is nice and I know a few addicts. But if you are not one of them. Don't think of taking your taste bud to a doctor. You are just being honest and loyal to her Indian cousin.

Expresso
This exotic drink has put many in a spot and has fewer followers. Sweet tooth may be the culprit. We like our c's to be sweet. Be it coffee, chocolate or care. It is not surprising that we are leading in type 2 diabetes. Expresso is a strongly brewed decoction served in an extremely cute cup with sugar and no milk. She is ideal to make you work throughout the night. But she might not capture you in the middle of a get-together.

The list goes on and on based on the milk consistency, coffee bean strength and the presence of exotic flavours. Be it Caffe mocha, Americano, Macchiato, Irish coffee or the cold caffeine versions.  There are more than 50 versions of our favorite energy drink. Next time you visit a coffee shop, be it barista, Costa coffee or cafe coffee day. Just sit back and enjoy the company with a sip of the new flavors. You might even like it even more than the company. No pun intended

And I realized that the best coffee moment is I ever had is sipping mom's magic brew jabbering my worries away.

Watch

Watch is an accessory to me , an object to match my clothes. The first watch was made of plastic and had pictures of my favourite cartoon. It was digital watch as I found it difficult to calculate time. Relatives have always gifted me watches. The brand never seemed to impress my brain. The colour did. I always wore the watch on my right hand and was questioned on the same. It was a matter of convenience  to me rather than fashion. My favourite watch was a pista green strap digital watch with a fairy on the lid. However, metro had different plans for me and watch gave a different timeline. I learned a different story about the watches and it changed my perspective.

Brands came into my life , so did knowledge. The chronometer is the acid test of all watches. The watches should undergo different level of tests to be certified the chronometer. We would sometimes see the word 'chrono inscribed in the watches. This means the watch is not chronometre certtified. There are also different types of watches based on their movement. An automatic watch is powered by the movement of the hand. The quartz is the most common type and is powered by a battery. The manual watch is powered by manual winding.

Every watch manufacturer comes up with vaious series and brands based on on their design and specifications

Watch out this space for more

'Shoes & Stilettos'

‘Clothes maketh a man’ goes an old saying. ‘Shoes beholds a women’ shouts the new world. I have never given a second thought about the footwear I wore till I stepped into the big city. The only shoe I knew was a black canvas with a buckle and socks with three blue stripes. Shoes must be polished till it shines and socks must be till a little below your knees was a chant in the daily assembly. How would a black shoe shine? I have grumbled many times. It shines only in TV commercials and on the first day of school. Still, we unhappily undertook the task of polishing the black shoe and making it shine. If I were the fairy godmother, I would ban all the black shoe to hell. How I wish I had not muttered it. How I wish we just had only the black shoe so I don't worry what shoe would go along with my new kurta and leggings.

How do you make the world see you as women? If the answer is by your deeds. Then it is the biggest lie of the century. The world sees, perceives and forms an impression by what they see. And unfortunately deeds is not seen, just felt. To make the world understand us, We must impress it. And the first look is the best impression. This is subject to change, But still, it opens minds and many gates.Shoes make a direct impact on every step we take. Both literally and metamorphically. Shoes and sandals make us walk faster. Wedges and Stileos make us walk with grace.

I always preferred  a shoe which covers up almost my entire feet from BATA. Durable and longevity were the two major checklists to consider. Style and design were the last ones on my list. I am not very happy with my feet and conveniently hid it behind the soft cloth shoes. The wake-up call came much later. I don't remember the occasion. I started having nightmares of having labelled as big foot. I was clueless and embarrassed to ask for help. Who would believe that a 24 year socially active girl did not know about shoes? Maybe they would have. Still, I did not want to risk it.

My search started from the ocean, Google. E-commerce websites flooded me with options with elegant models and unbelievable prices. Who knows a shoe cost in thousands. The costliest shoe I ever had was below 500 and it was a special occasion. Wikipedia gave me 43 different types and it made my head reel. I might need the next 45 days just to read and understand about them. The more information I got, the more insecure I felt. It was making a great dent in my confidence level. I made me look down on myself.

I then decided to or may be I was pushed into my last option. Try it or fall trying. The worst thing that can happen when you try the wrong pair is fall. I was ready to fall till I learn to walk straight. The first stumble came in the form of the budget. The utility is the motto of any middle-class family. Style and trends are words way out of our league. I knew I would earn the wrath of Gods if I invest thousands of my money in shoes. The another option was to find economic places to buy and try. Thankfully, Chennai is blessed with more than one of these places. We can buy the latest fashionable usable shoes below 500 rupees. And even cheaper if you have mastered the art of bargaining.

Flat Ballerinas

Cute is the first word which comes to your mind , when you see one. They are comfortable and suitable for daily wear.Being a shoe person, they gave me the comfort of a shoe and space to breathe. If you have a dry skin, you might want to apply a good moisturiser before and after use.

Kitten Heels

This is the safest bet if you are new to the heel world. They are small and stylish. They are the connecting bridge between flat shoes and sexy stilettos. They come in both closed and open models. A gold or black can work wonders with your dazzling salwars and sarees

Wedges

These stylish beauties are a must try. The are available in different heel sizes. They come in different colours and designs. They give you a sense of balance and confidence to flaunt them. The high heeled ones are really tempting. But try them on and make sure your comfortable walking in them before buying it. They go great with your latest Anarkali.

Stilettos

This is every girl's dream. We all have dreamed of walking in these pointed heels and sexy clothes. But this beauty is not meant for the Indian Roads. For the ramp, yes and maybe to a few parties. But watch out and it is advisable to practice walking in it before stepping out to dazzle the world with its beauty.

The list of options is never ending. Flip flops for casual wear. Sandals for comfort wear, etc. I am not a shoe expert and the above information is subject to change based on person and moods. We lose nothing by trying something on. Go for your favourite model and walk ahead with pride. Insecurity is a battle which is never won. But that does not mean you have stop fitting, sorry fighting

Why this blog

I always begin my blogs with this note. This note is partly for my readers and mainly for me to remind me why I started this blog. I grew up in a small town and Internet was a stranger then. Our world was huge and there was so little to know. We felt we knew everything till we stepped into the big bad world. I personally was mesmerized and scared. There was so much to learn and unlearn. Everything had a tag and a price to it. Simple things had a complex history. Nothing seemed enough. Even coffee had a new name and varieties. A curious person by birth. I was a little lost. My questions mounted and the answers were never to be found. Sometimes I even chose to ignore the answers. Because of its complexity or because it might lose its charm.

This blog would talk about various aspects of the Metro Life right from Coffee to chocolate and cars.