How does one tell something offensive without offending the person?

People become bosom friends with someone not just because they both think exactly the same way. Most often, they become friends because they complement each other. It is always possible to tell your best friend what you dislike about him or her, by putting in a light and humorous way. That usually works, because it gives the friend to use the same way to tell you how you ruffle his or her feathers. If both can laugh about it, no damage is done, and one can get along, without having to ‘walk on eggshells’ where the offending behaviour is concerned. My friend and I tease each other about these points of difference. I can say that we try to out do each other in trying to be funny about it. The differences, rather than being irritating, become something to laugh about. That is the best thing about being truly good friends with someone.

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• When We Are Offended (trinityspeaks.wordpress.com)

Peer pressure, a common excuse to do what you do not really mind doing.

Peer pressure is talked about a great deal these days because people feel they must conform to the opinions, likes and dislikes of other people. This desire is always there in every one of us because no one wants to stick our like a sore thumb. But where the problem arises is when such conformity means that one is pressured into doing something that may not be for the common good. Fortunately, I have never been subject to any great peer pressure, perhaps because I am such a laid back person. The one occasion when I was pushed in to doing something that I knew was wrong was when I was in my teens. We had this chemistry lab report to write but most of us in the class did not get the experiment tight. The professor was a holy terror to most of us, and so the class decided to write up the report, based on made up results, as if the experiment went off perfectly,! Well we were caught and punished. I can never forget the shame of it even to this day, though looking back I can laugh at our foolishness. What could I have done differently, you ask. Well, the right thing to do was to write up a report on how exactly the experiment went, wrong results and all.  I am not sure if I would have done any differently if I went back in time. I do not think so, for the simple reason I would not have the maturity of mind that I have, or hope I have, now.

Chocolates, chocolates and more chocolates!

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Well, I do love chocolates but then not only chocolates. I love mangoes too, with equal fervor. And ‘murukku’, a special snack that kids call ‘fried worms’! It sounds awful when named that way but believe me, they are delicious. Murukku is made mainly of rice flour but it needs a special touch to make it melt in your mouth. So there you have it, chocolates, mangoes and murukku – the best combination to make a balanced diet on which I can live off for the rest of my life! And believe you me, you will never get tired of it. I suppose I can have water and coffee to go with this delectable menu.

A thing of beauty is joy for ever!

One can see beauty in all sorts of things. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. How very true. My mother always raised chicken at home and very often had broody hens sitting over a batch of eggs. As kids we would mark off on a calendar the days we have to pass before we could see the chicks emerge. Every one will be agog and excited on that special day, and we crowd around the hen, to see the first chick poke its little beak through the egg shell, much to annoyance of the mother hen. There will be a lot of shoving and pushing to get a good glimpse of this awesome event. Then the chick will emerge…yuck…all wet and tottering on its tiny feet. But soon, the feathers fluff up, the legs are steadier, and the little eyes twinkle like stars!. Every one will want to pick up a chick and coddle it, but my mother will watch very carefully, and not let any chick be handled roughly or held for too long. What can be more beautiful than the arrival of a new life on this earth?