Regarding waitresses, cooks, palmistry and other matters

There is a fine line between insanity and genius and quite often the four of us find ourselves on the other side of the line- er..no, not on the genius side.. Sometimes you will find us talking about very serious things that are meant to be rather clever, but which unfortunately would sound a little over the edge, making us doubt each other's sanity...

Yea, so here is something we have been talking about:

Espresso: What else can we do?

KK: Why? What?

Espresso: You know, what all job options do we have other than being copywriters?

Latte: Aha, I know! The four of us can start a business together! We will sell craft items! We will have this shop where all the foreigners can buy elephants and stuff!

Cappuccino: Elephants????

Latte: I meant elephants in wood!

Cappuccino: Ok, since it was your big idea, I thought it would be real elephants...

[Latte smiles sheepishly]

Espresso: Er...Maybe not...

KK: Oh! How about palmistry? I am sure it has a lot of scope nowadays...People would want to know when they will lose their jobs and whether they will catch swine flu...

Latte: Ooo Swine flu... don’t talk to me about that!

Cappuccino [Ignoring Latte’s apparent distress]: Hmm..Not a bad idea..But what will be our roles? We don’t know anything about palmistry..I think the best idea will be to start a drama troop! How about that?? We are all so good at animated conversations, aren’t we? That should help...

[KK and Latte exchange looks with the thought “My idea is obviously the best!”]

Espresso: Not bad at all...But how about starting a restaurant?? We can make it a really cool place where all these cool people can hang out... And we can all be waitresses...

Latte: Oooo good good!! Great idea! And we can make Suze our chief cook...

KK: And I will give palmistry reports to our dear customers...And maybe I should wear a gypsy skirt, tie a bandana around my head..and also get hold of a crystal ball..you know, for an effect...
[Everybody imagines KK in the said attire...]

Latte: And I will sell craft items in another corner...

Cappuccino: And we can perform a drama...?

[Everyone rolls eyes]

Cappuccino: Ok, we will sing then! That should keep our customers entertained!

[It was indeed another matter and way beyond the scope of the discussion whether those unlucky customers will run away on hearing us sing. So everybody felt satisfied and content and had their cuppa tea with no worries at all...]

P.S. Suze is another soul who roams our office and who is likely to make her appearance in our narratives often...So take note!

Latte

The Devil's Workshop

I'm starting up a workshop. Coz I've got nothing better to do. Yeah...I'm going by that good old idiom...An idle mind is a devil's workshop.

Well, what's my workshop going to be about. Hmmm...A workshop on how to idle away time. How about that? Bad, eh? Lemme think again. Ok, got it. Something constructive for a change. Let this workshop be a platform to exchange interesting information, snippets, something new you or I have learnt, so on and so forth. Want to join up my workshop? You're welcome.

My sessions begin...

Lesson No.1:

No English words rhyme fully with orange, silver, or month (however, there are some pararhymes for these words, such as salver for silver and lozenge for orange).

Lesson No.2:

The longest words that can be typed on a standard QWERTY keyboard using only the left hand are twelve letters long. There are six such words: aftereffects, desegregated, desegregates, reverberated, reverberates, and stewardesses.

Lesson No.3:

"Dreamt" is the only English word ending in "mt".

- Espresso

Ladies n gentlemen, here I am, lil miss cappuccino! ;)

Lesson No.4:

Malayalam is the only language which is also a palindrome!

Lesson No. 5

"Marry" in Shakesperean English meant "By Mary"

KK

Lesson No. 6

Oh this is just..well...[the most functional word in the English language]

Read it: http://www.funfacts.com.au/the-most-functional-word-in-the-english-language/

Latte

When writing is special

Each day at office, we come across some real good snips ( read bad) of writing. Here we share them with you.
About an ayurvedic resort ( 27-07-09):
The resorts gives you the rare facility to stay as an honoured guest of a local resident and enjoy all the nuisances of what the rustic village life of Kerala and its rich tradition has to offer.

About a Company (05-08-09)
At XYZ Projects Drilling & Blasting, we drill rock. We blast rock. We've even carved in it ... our founding principles we've brought to every job for over 40 years. Hard work. Honesty. Quality of Service. So, if you've got rock, call us for safe, reliable service you can count on. We're the with values in your neighbourhood that match your own.

A Real Tall Story

Yes, this is going to be a really tall story..

Here we are going to start a story which, I am sure, will break all walls and fences and what nots of imagination..
And the best thing is that YOU TOO CAN CONTRIBUTE to this epic ! Let loose your creativity and take the story forward by telling us what you think should happen next (you can post it as a comment). Whether this story will turn out to be a tragedy, a comedy, a thriller or something which does not make any sense whatsoever- it is all upto you!! Make use of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..Ahem...
Let this cock-and-bull story, I mean, this delightful piece of literature commence....

Chapter 1
KK: Not even leaf moved. The atmosphere was omniously still and quiet. Perfect silence ruled. But it was to be. The siesta was soon to be disturbed. She was reading a run of the mill magazine, the sorts that publishes all kinds of crap.

Cappuccino: She heard a bloodcurdling yell and the book fell out of her hand...

Latte: 'What could it be?? Could it be a ghost? Technically, they appear only during nights, don't they??..But what if they were making an exception today??Oh God! help me!' She felt herself unable to move, unable to speak, unable to think; such was her courage..And her heart beat even faster, as she watched a shadow slowly approaching the doorway...

Espresso: Ding-dong. The calling bell. Her heart raced faster. Her blood ran cold. And she was sweating profusely...

KK: She opens it slowly. There is a frantic looking young man with blood splattered on shirt. "It is an accident. Will someone drop us at the hospital?"

Cappuccino: The girl nods a 'yes' and rushes with him to the spot of the accident. She looks at the car the guy had been driving and is shocked to see what she saw inside....

Espresso: All she could see was something bundled up in a strange sort of a way. And something green and gooey oozing out of it. She screamed, but no sound escaped her throat. She wanted to run, but...

Latte: ...the man grabbed her and forced her into the car. Ann saw that he was smiling, and it was an ugly and wicked smile...The gooey thing that was at the back seat was silent and she was too scared even to take a look. As she sat there shivering, praying and hoping that it was just a very creepy nightmare, something incredible happened....

Cappuccino: The gooey green thing shrugged out of the bundle it was in and Ann stared at it. This had to be a dream, she thought and pinched herself. 'Ow' she yelped as her pinch got too strong...she stared with disgust at the strange creature which was all slimy...but she could't take her eyes off its lovely brandy brown eyes....

KK: It holds out a hair colour bottle and says," will you apply this on me. I hate this slimy green I have."
Cappuccino: Ann looks at the bottle which is as slimy as the creature itself...she takes the bottle from him and and pours out the disgusting liquid into her palm....

KK: "Poof". Lo and behold! It was none other than St. Peter sitting beside her. And Immediately the driver also changed to an angel.
Ann thought 'This is some roller coaster ride'
Ahem, says St. Peter. Actually God sent me down to canvas some good spirits. Nowadays , back in Heaven, we are facing a slump , a recession of sorts. Not many good souls come by. So I have been sent down to do some marketing. We got you as a courageous good soul to guide us around the world.
Ann was trying to think
Cappuccino: Ann looked at the driver who had changed into an angel...His shiny black hair, those dimpled cheeks, the perfect set of teeth, the high cheekbones...he was...not just handsome...he was beautiful...simply beautiful....may be it was not such a bad idea to be their guide....'yes' she said...'I will take you around the world'..and smiled enigmatically at the driver-angel......

Latte: But then, her mind was not at ease. If they were really angels, why had they not told her about their purpose of visit directly? What was the need of all the drama and scaring the hell out of her?? She was troubled, but when she once again looked at the angel sitting beside her, she pushed away all her doubts to a corner of her mind...

Cappuccino: So Ann set out on the tour with St Peter and the handsome angel. She took them to China and showed them the great wall; St Peter wandered away all by himself leaving Ann and the angel alone... Ann turned around to look at the angel who was staring at her....

KK: And she asked, "Whipi dupu stapare?
The angel looked at her blankly
Again she said, "Sepe supumthiping".

Espresso: The jaws dropped wide open. So wide, the great wall of China could go down in one gulp! The angel stuttered for a while. I'm....sorry....(he blinked his eyes) I don't think I understand, he managed to say. Ann laughed out loud. It's the 'p' language hapandsupum hupunk. Why were you staring at me like that? Once upon a time, he started.... when I was a mortal being, about 20-something, I fell in love with a girl just like you...

Latte: And then I..."He stopped abruptly as he saw St. Peter running towards them.

"Come fast guys, I think I found another one!!" St. Peter shouted from a distance.

"Maybe now is not the best time to relate the story..Some other time.." Ann felt really disappointed but followed the two angels with a curious mind, a puzzled brain and starry eyes....

KK: It was almost dusk. The great wall had few lingering tourists. In his excitement, St. Peter was almost dragging the poor angel. Ann could not keep pace. And there it was. Someone had forgotten a skate board there. ..

Cappuccino: And beside the skate board stood a lovely girl who wore a pink flowy dress with floral prints. So was she what St Peter had found? Ann shot a glance at the lovely girl and turned to look at the handsome angel who would have told her his love story if only St Peter had not come running like hell! Ann looked at the angel...he was staring at the girl...and staring would only be an understatement! Though she was wearing white Ann felt all green......

Latte: “Why is this angel staring at all the girls?? Hasn’t he seen any during his lifetime?? And this girl isn’t that beautiful... She looks just OK..” As the green monster worked furiously inside her, she failed to notice the skateboard and stepped on it and slipped…What followed was a loud THUD, a sudden roar of laughter and lots of stars and birds circling her…

Roll it over

And now let's have a lollipop,Espresso said handing out nice little lollipops. The lunch over, this was unexpected dessert. But it wasn't easy. Twist, turn, tug. Do what we can, the wrapper wouldn't budge. And the effort was taking its toll. the lollipop inside was melting. Our efforts did not go unnoticed. Amused glances from our colleagues did not put us off the job at hand.

Hurrah! Off comes Cappucino's wrapper ( I mean, her lollipop's). Others join band. Everyone tries to beat the other in putting it in first.

Then it was expressions galore. Navarasas appeared on each face one by one. Disbelief, astonishment, the urge to spit, I'm fooled, How can You, were the varying kinds of moods. It was tangy, very unlike a lollilop in looks and taste.

Latte chickened out from the expressions we displayed. She did not eat it. But everyone had a good laugh looking at others as they painfully rolled the lollipop over.
Thankfully, Sue had brought in some real goodies. We gave our poor tongues a better fare and settled down.

Hats Off to Espresso lil girl who likes these lollipos.
KK

Oops, again!

Ding Dong

The chicken was on stove. The boys were fighting. The phone was ringing. Too many things happening at the same time. My poor brain was overloaded with apt reactions for each. And now the door bell.

Ding Dong

A man in dishelveled hair and clothes reaches into a crumpled polythene bag.
"No. No alms here."
Again he gropes inside the bag.
"I don't want to read any plea."
He is silent but holds out a cover with my husband's name on it.

It dawns. the poor fellow is a courier deliverer.
I feel bad.
"Sorry", I blurt out.
But the deed is done.
He gives the receipt slip to sign. I scrawl something. I feel peeved by the stature of the man.
Someone save me.

Ooops, again!
KK

The power of cuppa sessions...

Cuppa sessions are really something, I tell you! The things that we discuss remain in my head for quite sometime. As in, say, till bed time? I guess even beyond.

Like the other day, we were discussing about pets and dear lil’ Latte spoke about some chicks she had at home who jumped off the edge. Literally and otherwise. Otherwise, because they must have been crazy to do so and literally because they really jumped off the terrace into a pit outside Latte’s residence. And after all the drama got over all that Latte saw was a few feathers rising up from the pit… just like we see in cartoons…dust getting kicked up in clouds when Tom cat falls off a steep ravine…

I was so inspired about these stories about hens that that night I dreamt about it. Ultimate Drama queen that I am, how couldn’t I add some spice to it? I dreamt that Espresso, the head of our team lives in a palatial house. It is fully done in marble; there are white satin curtains and exquisite furniture. Antiquities such as marble cherubs are placed around tables.

Soon I discover that she runs an academy there. And I am her new student. I have no clue what the academy is about. But I find out soon. I see espresso catching hens and putting them into cages. So I was in a hen academy!!!

Espresso asks rather commands me to do the same. I tell her that I cant do it. Immediately she walks up to the calendar hung on the wall, picks up a green highlighter and puts a tick across that days date. “What?” I ask her looking baffled.

“I will do this every time you don’t catch a hen. Last month Latte also had a few ticks across her chart.” She tells me serenely.

I stare at her for a moment, blink and then…I guess I woke up.

And when I narrated this dream to my cuppa mates, all of them went into fits of uncontrollable laughter. All but one. Our dear Katten, who felt left out because I hadn’t included her in my dream. Too scared to disappoint her, I vowed that she would be present in my next dream/nightmare whatever…

And my wild thoughts are kind to me. I had a dream with all four us, that very night. I, Latte and Katten are going in a lift. Espresso is the lift operator. The three of us look like zombies. Espresso is quite cool doing her job. But I don’t think she is doing it right. The lift stops at all the wrong places. Anyway, we soon make it to the right floor. All four of us enter a room. There, I see my sister mopping the floor; her limbs moving mechanically, and a blank expression on her face. And this time, all four of us look like zombies…

And boy! Didn’t this make Katten glad? She was jumping up in joy for being included in this bizarre dream.

And guess what, my dreams seem to entertain my teammates so much, that right now, they deliberately talk of weird things hoping to trigger my imagination so that I have amusing dreams. And more often than not, they don’t have to try very hard. The crazy and the whacky come quite naturally to all of us. Yeah, seriously!

Cheers!

Cappucccino