Anti-brevity

Easter puppies

2011-12-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

This one was written when our first set of grandpuppies was born in April this year. I just couldn't gather the enthusiasm to put this up so far. Anyhoo...

Easter Sunday brought the best gifts I have ever received. I had called Phoebe into our bed in the early hours of the morning. She was panting heavily and I thought being with us would soothe her. I knew she would deliver soon, and was lazing in bed thinking of taking her for a round of pee so that she would be free to give birth. We woke to a wet spot on the bed, realizing that the first pup was on its way. By the time we could gather our wits, the boy was out and Phoebe had freed him of the cord. I barked instructions at the hubs to gather the supplies I should have kept ready in the first place. The mat and a bedsheet were placed on our bed just in time for the second one's arrival. It was a girl followed by another one. I called my animal-loving-soul-sister Apu to let her know that the most awaited event of this month was happening in my bed :P

Before the next one came, we moved Phoebe and the first-borns to her whelping area.
The fourth pup was a boy after which there was a gap in which Phoebe could rest a bit. Then came two girls in quick succession. Sadly, the sixth one was a stillborn. Phoebe licked it a lot trying to revive it, but it was clear that the pup probably never matured enough to be born alive. It was ghostly pale, as opposed to the others who were a very healthy shade of pink. We left the girl on a piece of paper on a table nearby. It took a while for the seventh one, a girl, to arrive, and Phoebe gladly had some water in the meantime. I had a hunch that the litter wasn't complete yet, so we stayed put in the whelping area. Soon enough, the last one arrived, another girl.

While the litter was making its way into this world, I kept helping Phoebe every chance I could... tearing off a couple of pups' protective sacs and helping them breathe. It just felt so... right. My girl did her job beautifully--tore off the sacs, cut the cord at just the right length, licked the pups clean and kept an eye out for intruders. Her instincts continue to amaze us. Mojo was pretty confused and kept popping in to quench his curiosity, but always remained at a cautious distance. The darling never troubled Phoebe in any manner. Maybe he dared not ;-)

When sufficient time had elapsed, I took Phoebe out for a walk, which was more like a mad dash to the road and back. She kept barking loudly at me, as if to tell me that we have to hurry. Maybe that's how they protect their young ones... by creating enough ruckus to ward off predators. She peed and pooped right in the middle of the street--quite unlike her--and ran back up the stairs at lightening speed.

I could have sat there all the time, but Apu called to say she was coming right over from Mumbai before she could even get home. Thanks to her, I gathered my wits, cleaned up a bit (thanks a bunch to the hubs for being so quick when it mattered, muuuuahh!) and even managed to have a bath in time. Apu and her husband could adore the pups only after Phoebe stopped barking in their face and settled down realizing that they meant no harm. Mojo had his fill of jumping around and running batshit crazy when they entered the door. This was the only time he got any attention that day. Except for the occasional appreciative nod and touch when hubs and I cooed over how non-nuisancy he was today.

I took Phoebe for a couple more poop-n-pee sprints, and then she had a few morsels of food at night, right beside the pups. Not being in that room was unbearable for her. Because the work week would begin the next day, I did not let hubs sleep in Phoebe's room. And rightly so. The little critters kept me up all night with their squealing. Although I did enjoy that too.

Setting off the sabbatical

2011-12-14T00:16:00.000-08:00

I wrote this post in April when I quit my job, but I haven't had the inclination to upload it yet. So here goes...

The perfect beginning that didn't last

I doubt that many will understand this, but I was thrilled to wake up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning! It was just way I wanted my sabbatical to begin. I was so excited to be up at the time that the temptation to snuggle in did not even form completely in my mind. I thought of getting dressed and going for a walk, but my feet were hurting like they do on most mornings since several months now. So, I sauntered into the other bedroom and did some stretches in my night dress with the ceiling fan on full blast. I don't like getting sweaty right after I'm out of bed, but that's the big downside of exercise. Just one of my excuses for not getting into a healthy morning routine.

I was tempted to doze off again after the stretching and so I lay down on the floor, relaxing. Instantaneously, my dogs woke up and came barging from the bedroom sniffing and jumping over me. I took the cue, changed, and took them for a walk. We left the neighborhood and walk alongside the main rood today, and they were unexpectedly well-behaved. They didn't pull constantly, and I could control them with my voice and a few tugs at their leashes. We even saw a pack of puppies on the way, and one of them walked up to us ready to play but then chickened out suddenly. It was nice to see 'em all and their mum looking over her shoulder protectively. After we got home, though, we went to wake up dada, but snuggled in instead, like we always do, falling prey to his powers of sedation.

At this point, I succumbed to weariness and stopped writing. Didn't catch on for more than a week after. Through the first week at home, several things kept me busy, including lazing around and watching TV.

Come Sunday, the enthusiasm of waking up early and attempting to start and continue an exercise regime went right outta the window. I spent the morning gathering our apartment-related documents so that I could hand them over to the next office bearer. We had an annual general meeting planned for the evening. It went surprisingly well, and lasted only a little over two hours. I was the Secretary of the apartment association, but happily gave up the position in the hope that other members would take up the responsibility. The guy who was President gave up his position too, which surprised people. At least they said so.

Throughout the working week, hubs ran off to work as early as he could and came back as late as he could. Bugger's been taking advantage of me being at home to work longer hours. Not that I mind. I think he can use this opportunity to do some good work and get noticed. He's had to put in a fixed number of hours over the past two years so that I could work flexi-time and longer hours, and make multiple trips to the office if required. It worked for us, because my commute was almost half of his and I had to maneuver through only half the traffic. Also, the car was always at my disposal and I have been taking undue advantage of it. Sigh!

On Tuesday, I took Phoebe to the vet for an ultrasound, and we came to know that she had at least 6 pups in there. I've been waiting for their arrival all through the week. The same evening, hubs and I went to see a new pooch in the neighborhood. A girl who used to have a Dalmatian but gave him away because she couldn't manage to take care of him, has now brought home a month-old Rottweiler. Apparently her husband got cured of his dog aversion and wanted one that belonged to a big strong breed. It was a fun half an hour, where we let Bullet (yep, that's his name, but just "Bull" would suffice if you ask me... he's strong!) scamper around between our feet and over our heads, lick our faces, and chew our fingers and ears.

During the rest of the week, I did some cleaning up around the house, organized some documents, went grocery shopping, cleared the spare bedroom and created a whelping area for Phoebe. Took the dogs out on several short sprints, off the leash. I was too lazy to walk them around the usual track, and besides, they enjoy the freedom.

Good Friday morning was spent at me mum-n-dad's, where I clubbed a few things in one trip: I had to carry some warm clothes and tiffins for mom to carry during her upcoming old-ladies-gang trip to Kashmir. She had prepared my favorite food item. My dear friend Meg was in town for the weekend and we wanted to catch up. I had to drop mom off to granny's on our way back. Pawan was ok to be dragged around town and dumped at mama's place while I met Meg ;-)

Saturday was spent at home, zombie-watching TV. Except when I went to the bank and tried to check email. My internet connection played hooky through the week. Phoebe had began panting in the afternoon and continued through the night.

The obvious consequence of the uh-oh moment

2011-11-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

... was confirmed today.

It's been 35 days and it seemed like the perfect time to take Phoebe for an ultrasound. We were hoping that there'd be fewer cuddly balls of spotted fun to grandparent this time, but that isn't to be. We saw 6 of 'em floating around in my girl's tummy. Hoping there are no more.

The hubs all but panicked, while I was secretly thrilled that I would be able to hold a few more of those delightful young'uns so soon. This time, though, I'll manage things better. Cherish my moments with 'em instead of turning into a shrieking banshee like I did a few months ago.

When I broke the news to the good lady who runs the pet products shop that we frequent, she couldn't wrap her head around the idea! It tickled her funny and we were both giggling at the prospect like tweens :)

In related news, a family solicited Mojo's puppy-making skills for their 2.5-year-old Dal named Lucky. She was a pampered brat, but I didn't mind Mojo passing on some of his baby-paste (Thank you, writers of 18 to Life!) to her because she was so fine-looking. She had perfectly spotted ears! Their progeny would be quite sought after. And, we get to keep one of our choice!

So all 1.7 of you people who happen to pass by this space every few days, pull up your sleeves, get the megaphones out and get prepared to yell at every passerby and demand that they take away my puppies by the end of January 2012. Go on, be good now.

11.11.2011

2011-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I hate shortening it to make it look cool. Just wanted to note that mom enters her 60s today. She's locked herself up in her house in a pseudo-maun-vrat because she doesn't believe in birthday celebrations. Is it a surprise then, that I like mine to be small, private events, and I consider it to be a time of introspection and making resolutions instead of doing them on every new year's eve? This year I hadn't planned on any celebration, but had a surprisingly fun day.

Anyhoo... mom's obsessing over how she can take better care of her mom who's now in her mid-80s. That, when she doesn't even love her and does it out of a deep-seated sense of duty. Thankfully, I love mine. That doesn't stop me from having serious doubts about how I would be able to manage her old age. Three decades on this planet and I still refuse to grow up. Tch, tch!

Blessings and curses

2011-10-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest blessings I have in life is the absolute freedom to make my own decisions about who and when I meet, and the absolute independence to go where and how I feel. This is in total contrast of the horror stories that we are made aware of via platforms like VAW and VU.

I couldn't help but feel grateful as I was returning tonight from an impromptu meeting with my ex-colleagues and now dear gal pals. It was midnight by the time I got home after dropping two of the other girls to their dwellings. I feel safe thanks to the 4 wheels under my bum and the metallic enclosure around me. I feel infinitely thankful to have a loving family (in-laws included) without having to ask for them. Not many people are as lucky.

I take a moment to think about the less fortunate ones and pray that they might all one day feel secure in their own homes and loved by those close to them. I am fortunate enough to not know many people in my surroundings who are in abusive relationships. For those that I know of, I pray for the ability to help them open up to me, and the courage to help them rise above their circumstances, in whatever way I can.

It's not okay to know that such things happen and let them be.

The uh-oh moment

2011-10-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

... happened today.

People who are squeamish about animals or sex or a combination of both should stop reading at this point. You have been warned.

Phoebe (and thereby) Mojo have been in heat since the past two weeks. Prior to this, we used to put one of them in the crate on a rotating schedule so as to avoid accidents. Actually, that's quite unnecessary, because Phoebe is quite invincible... if I ever have a daughter, I want her to be strong and capable of defending herself like my bitch here ;-) In fact, we had to (you know, er...) help them conceive just a few months back.

These past couple of weeks, however, we have managed to keep them apart by just yelling at Mojo and threatening him. Also, it helped that Phoebe bared her teeth at him and also bit him at times. Yeah, we're twisted like that... we find that better compared to having to put them in the crate and get them out every hour or so.

Anyhoo. We're grateful that they sleep through the night without us having to sleep with them in separate rooms like we did before. This morning, as has been the routine for the past 3-4 days, we woke up to the cacophony that ensues when Mojo tries to screw Phoebe. (Squeamish folks, I told you so!) By the time I could go grab Mojo and push him out of the room or onto his bean bag, he'd mounted (I can't believe I'm using that word... the last time I used it, it was as a Linux / UNIX command) Phoebe. We thought of pulling him off but couldn't risk separating him from his (er...) little Mojo. Talk about making split second decisions!

So it happened that for the next 20 minutes or so, we sat in bed contemplating the consequences of the recent events, while they gradually moved all over the room stuck at the base. Literally. Thankfully, after the first few seconds, there aren't any pelvic thrusts involved in this graphic sequence. (Any prudes reading so far? You've shown exceptional courage. Now go away.) At some point, Phoebe got tired of standing and decided that she wanted to sit in the bean bag. So she did. Mojo realized that he had no option but to accommodate her if he wanted to continue having his way with her. He was done a few minutes later, and I hurried to wash the bean bag clean. Talk about parenting.

The rest of the morning passed by peacefully, with Mojo banished to the crate, and without us bringing up the topic that we ruminated over individually. After the hubs went to work, I called up the vet, gave him the details of the events that transpired, and asked whether there was a chance that Phoebe would conceive. He said that it's rare that it happens this late in the heat cycle, but it's possible. The only way to know would be to take check the Progesterone levels in her blood. That would give us a 90% accurate reading. He asked whether we wanted them to have puppies or not. I said no. (I actually meant "Oh God, no!") He said that there were contraceptive pills available but they didn't really work. He'd seen a few cases where the dogs still conceived. He suggested that we either operate her now to remove her ovaries or go in for an abortion a month later. The former is not an option now (the hubs wasn't keen on it when I asked soon after the puppies were born) and the latter is never an option. It saddens me to even write about it.

So now, we begin the anxious 4-to-6-week long wait to know whether we're gonna be grandparents again before the year is out. We're not keen on it, but if it does happen, we'll make arrangements for the pups to be cared for and taken away sooner. Wish us luck, folks, and pray that we don't need it!

PS: I've written things in this post that I never thought would escape my (er...) fingers.

PPS: Whatever happens, we still love our Mojo and Phoebe to death. They're the best. And they make the cutest couple. Folks at the pet resort attest to that in writing :P

For 'em pearlies

2011-10-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Warning: Explicit oral content. Read at your own risk.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try this mouthwash thing. I have very bad brushing habits, and thought of this as an easier way to keep 'em pearlies intact for a few more decades. I completely forgot about them while all our stuff was collected in a room and wrapped in sheets until the house painting job was over. Found them while arranging stuff back into the cupboards, and tried one of the three flavors (which was actually non-flavored, the others being CoolMint and FreshBurst).

A few days later, after habitually taunting the husband about his bad brushing habits, I suggested that he try the mouthwash I bought. Here's how it went...

Me: Didn't you just say you were going to brush your teeth?
Him: Done!
Me: Already?! But you were barely gone 30 seconds!
Him: How long does it take anyway?!
Me: Hmpf, no wonder you have all that plaque lining your teeth on the inner sides of your gums.
Him: Dude, that's the color of my teeth.
Me: What, brown?
Him: Huh?!
Me: You brush your teeth like you'd brush a baby's bottom. With soft bristles to boot! I think you should try out Listerine. I got it a few weeks back.
Him: What's that?
Me: 30 seconds of Hell in your mouth.
Him: :-| (a la Sheldon Cooper)

I decided not to elaborate. The ensuing scene that played out in my mind...
Me: You've got to rinse your mouth with it for 30 seconds. You can't swallow it. It stings. You can't drink water for a while after it's stung you.
Him: :-| (meaning "Now why would I ever do that my mouth?")
Me: At the rate we're going, largely thanks to our brushing routine or the lack thereof, we're gonna run out of teeth by the time we hit the 4-Ohs.
Him: I could live with that.
Me: Dude, missing teeth and hair! How are we ever going to rock our 40s?
Him (to himself): Drama queen!
Me: But dude, does it sting!
Him: :-| (translates to "And you're even bothering to recommend it to me. Are you out of your mind?!")
Me (to self): Why did I even bother?

Drenched!

2011-09-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

There wasn't a better way to say goodbye to the season of nourishment and get ready for a fresh start. Since childhood, I've always loved getting drenched in the rains. One of my oldest memories is of jumping about in my undies at my father's hometown, splashing water, and playing with my other kiddie cousins. As a teenager, I fell in love with the first rains of the season and would always be there on the rooftop terrace to welcome the monsoons.

After my mid-20s, however, I began distancing myself from the rains. I'd always find reasons to not go enjoy those first showers myself, and I'd be glad that the season was over. The months in between were just something to be put up with, and I made all kinds of excuses to avoid outdoor work. Since I started driving a car, I've hardly ever used my bike in the monsoons. Earlier, I would love to go for a ride when it was drizzling.

I've been longing to get back to that self who loved the rains, but I'd always find an excuse to not get soaked--something I completely enjoyed earlier. Finally, after 7 years, something snapped in me. It's the end of September and my neighborhood hadn't seen any rains in more than a week. Today, however, dark clouds gathered quite suddenly and it started pouring. A strong was flowing at the same time, and it cooled down the slightly warm air in the house. Before my brain could intervene with its usual nonsense, I scampered to the rooftop terrace and walked into the last showers of the season.

It was raining so heavily, I could barely see anything a few feet away. I walked around for half an hour or so, without shying away from the prickling cold, which paradoxically made me feel quite warm inside. I used to love this... being washed from head to toe by a shower from the sky, watching my palms and feet grow pale in reaction to the cold water, watching the goosebumps form on my skin and then subside, feeling a sense of calm descending on me as the water quietens the thoughts buzzing through my head... it's a happiness inducing experience! I had to control my grinning to avoid getting my insides washed with rain water :D

As the rain subsided, the thick clouds parted and the sky got ready to shimmer in its beautiful evening colors. The neighboring buildings were soaked and so were the neighboring hills. Water gushed into the rivulet that flows close by and large birds perched atop trees until they could fly again. It seemed like nature's way of reassuring us that everything's alright.

Suits me fine

2011-09-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

The first time I solved a puzzle within the average time :)

Fastest 1:26
Your Time 8:00
Average 10:00

...another time :D

Fastest 1:17
Your Time 7:54
Average 8:49

...and yet another time!

Fastest 1:43
Your Time 6:49
Average 7:28

Hooray!

Fastest 1:54
Your Time 8:25
Average 11:15

So close!

Fastest 1:18
Average 7:39
Your Time 7:45

Puzzles with crazy cuts

2011-08-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

Tried with 108 piece swirls...
Fastest 3:38
Average 16:23
Your Time 31:29

Cut 44-piece Tri-dove
Fastest 1:11
Average 6:09
My Time 7:18

Fastest 0:41
Average 5:09
My Time 5:10
Cut 48-piece Classic, but yay!! :D

Galdly Puzzled

2011-08-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

Time

Time

Time

Time

Time

Time

Time

Time

Fastest 1:59
Average 7:52
My Time

Fastest 1:07
Average 6:23
My Time 8:08 :)

Fastest 1:16
Average 5:09
My Time 6:19 :)

Fastest 0:53
Average 8:15
My Time 11:55

Fastest 2:15
Average 16:53
My Time 29:53

Destructive entertainment: a good training technique

2011-06-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our grandpups have been dirtying the living room every night, so that I have to mop it thrice every morning--once to scoop the pee and poop off, again with water to get the sticky paw marks off, and yet again with Savlon to kill the odor and germs off. They've been doing their business in the balcony/terrace area during the day, except when they are engrossed in playing and don't have the patience to go all the way outside.

Until recently, I didn't keep the door to the balcony open during the night for fear that the mosquito militia might take over. The last couple of months, however, have taken a toll on my patience. Two days back, I took the risk, and the results have been dramatic. The first night, they dirtied the place 50% lesser. The second night, that figure went down to 90%!!

So this morning, I gladly began sweeping the floor, because it wasn't quite possible due to the sticky floor until now. I found a lot of thin sticks, and wondered what they were, because we didn't really have any stick-ey object lying around. (Before we retire every night, we diligently hide everything that the critters can destroy. They've targeted and succeeded with the TV remote's rubber hand grip, the remote itself, a few wires, cloth, bottles... pretty much anything that is unable to protect itself.)

I found this lying on the rug that I put down for the puppies to snuggle in if they need it.

And then it all came back to me. I remember looking at this small table mat lying on the center table last night, and thinking, oh what the hell... they might not even look at it. What I didn't think was... this is the only useful object in the room... do you think they're gonna stick to their toys? Which kid ever did that?

But then I figured, this was a small price to pay for a clean room. (Only one pee! And that too, not splashed or spread around with their paws!)

So here we go. Another lesson learned. Leave one object in the room for them to focus their energy on.

Some thoroughly enjoyable destruction inside
Keeps the pee and poop outside

The Grandpups

2011-05-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

Just so I get something up in May.... here's what kept me busy since April... inspite of being jobless.

The Easter bunnies who looked like rats but were actually dogs.

In 5 weeks, they grew up to be spotted and spunky little critters of destruction. Or, as the hubs calls them, The Cuteness Guns... they've got killer looks!

The slightly-confused-but-happy-to-find-new-playmates-pop and the pissed-with-the-progeny-that-howls-at-night-pop-pop... my cousin unknowingly managed to capture the best picture yet of these two together.

The brilliantly instinctive mamma who got all 8 of them out and cleaned in 4 hours flat and the rather proud and goofily happy nanna holding up the firstborn to tie a colored thread around his neck for identification... they were both glued to the pups the first couple of days.

It's been a thrilling, tiring, breath-taking, back-breaking, exhilarating, and exhausting ride. Sadly, we can't afford to keep any of them... neither have the money nor the time. I hope the li'l ones find takers who really care for them and love them like we do ours. Or better. Till then I'm just a wobbly pot of mush.

When I'm not yelling at them to STOP-TEARING-THE-PAPER-THAT-YOU'RE-SUPPOSED-TO-PEE-ON! Or wiping pee and scooping poop. Or preparing their feeds. Or feeding them. Or washing pee-drenched cloth. Or feeding / walking their parents. Sigh!

Pune supports India against corruption

2011-04-08T03:39:00.000-07:00

http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/index.php
Apparently, the website is down at the moment... I guess it is the number of hits it must be receiving.

Folks worldwide can sign the online petition:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_anna_hazare/?cl=1007806945&v=8808

Punekars can participate in a couple of related events:

Support for the nationwide event on Friday, April 8, 2011 (TODAY) – A march from Baalgandharva Theatre (J. M. Road) to Shaniwaar Waada; gather at 6:00 pm, bring your own candles.
Pune-specific event on Saturday, April 9, 2011 (TOMORROW) – A march from PMC Office to Shaniwaar Waada; gather at 6:00 pm, bring your own candles.

Contact: Dr. Gitesh Devhane (gitesh.devhane@gmail.com) (+91 9028 485 261)

More info: http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/aboutus.php
Further contacts: http://indiaagainstcorruption.org/citycontacts.php

For a change, let's do our bit without making excuses.

The first few pictures

2011-03-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

... are here!

There's this coconut tree on the rear side of my apartment, and this colorful branch caught my eye when I was ambling in the balcony making sure that my pets drank water.

So I zoomed in and immediately made a desktop wallpaper out of it :D

A spring blossom I picked up on the way while walking my dogs. I placed it on my red leather wallet for a contrast-ish effect.

My Phoebe! How could I not capture the apple of my eye? The queen of our home? My only love at first first, ever? (Take that, hubby! The only thing I felt when I laid my eyes on you for the first time was... wow... that's so much light entering the room! You were practically reflecting light with every square inch of your visible skin!)

That's Mojo in his playful pose, who mistook the camera for a toy and was ready to jump at me and wrestle it away.

The second memory capturer

2011-03-29T02:58:00.001-07:00

... is here!

From Nikon's Life series of digital cameras, it's L120! It has 21x optical zoom. Megapixels be damned!

Isn't that red irresistible?

Specs as per Nikon

Review by Steve's Digicams

Offer from Flipkart

I can't stop giggling. Or at least grinning. It's either that or my evil laugh.

And I must add. Flipkart rocks! An impressive interview by Unmana made be give them a try. Am totally sold.

Also a vote of thanks to TG (bows! and bow-wows!) for the advice. And MG (you should begin write again!) for appreciating the pics I took earlier.

Got off my ass and did something

2011-03-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

... the second time around. This Saturday, folks from Ramnagar Colony, where I reside, had organized a walk to raise awareness and protest against the encroachment upon Ramnadi (mostly by construction companies). The plan was to walk alongside the river bed around 7:00 in the morning. The Ramnagar Colony Mandal had contacted the press and some municipal authorities. Considering their availability, the timing was changed to 11:00 am. Most of the participants were aged 50 or above. Considering the summer heat, we decided to use cars instead.

We drove to the adjoining highway and then went down the fork to the left where Anshul developers are constructing a residential complex right on top of the river itself. Their project description reads "Conveniently located at the junction of RamNadi and Mumbai-Bangalore Bypass." Located at the junction... my ass.

The next stop was the bridge beside DSK Ranwaara straddled by Rainbow Housing and the Goel Ganga group on each side. Their projects are not only endangering the ecosystem, but their future customers lives as well. Isn't it a simple fact that soil under or adjoining a river is unstable? How can the foundations of these constructions be strong enough for the buildings to survive even the next 5 / 10/ 20 years, especially with flash floods like we experienced last year? What are they thinking? Is this a forest where tribals can shit in the river and hope that their waste will be carried far away and wouldn't bother them? Rainbow Housing does not even mention the water body in their project description. Guess they assume that there won't be able left when they're done with the place.

The last stop was the rear side of Sai Kamal complex, which is separated from Praj Industries by Ramnadi. This a company that offers "water and wastewater treatment systems for customers, worldwide." By shitting in their own backyard. A few weeks ago, they were caught dumping debris in Ramnadi, which runs through their own backyard. As of now, it seems like they are cooperating and have expressed willingness to clean their act.

We did not do much other than walk around and chant slogans... something I'm not really a fan of, but we can't do much else until we gather the support of enough folks to move the responsible people in civic administration to do their jobs. Some experts explained the situation to folks who were new and mentioned other similar ongoing struggles in other parts of India. The press was invited to cover the event. The corporator, who was invited and reminded about the event over the phone, did not turn up. He missed the last even too, when these folks protested against praj Industries. The next action item is to get more people to involve and speak up. We're hoping to build the numbers and the momentum of this struggle so that the authorities take requisite action before this monsoon. This is a tad overtly ambitious, but we can hope, can't we?

Some folks have written about this elsewhere and the news articles should come out soon. Will update this post when I have the links and pictures.

2011-03-07T03:03:00.001-08:00

Which Star Wars Character Are You?
	You are Darth Vader. Secrets are kept within your soul for ages, and you only reveal them when the perfect opportunity presents itself. You are not purely evil, but let's just say you need to chill out a little bit! You are a leader- and because of that have a great responsibility to make sure you lead people down the right path. You will seize control of situations by any means necessary- and you do so with no regrets (and you probably throw in an evil laugh too!)
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Whoever's looking for

2011-03-07T02:52:00.000-08:00

... armpit hair picture of nude girl, did you find what were looking for on my blog? If you did, could you point me to that location? Must be some corner or my mind where I keep thinking about the Redneck Mommy. She's the one who teases people about posting such pictures. Not me. Although I could post such pictures if you ask me nicely. I've got a girl at home who runs around naked all day and has hair all over. Not just in her armpits. And she'll lick you all over even if you don't ask her nicely. I promise.

Taggin' the bracelet along

2011-02-15T03:57:00.001-08:00

I don't normally do this, but I'm not in a mood for work today, so taking up what N passed on here.

A few questions about bracelets, triggered by The Bracelet. I haven't been a regular reader of Ritu's blog, but I like what I read, and I guess I might like what her son wrote too.

1. What does the name suggest? Could be anything you know, even “Oops its my wife/girl friend’s birthday, what do I get her” Just put it down.

- The word always brings to my mind a silvery object with trinkets or little bells hanging off it.

2. If your loved one presented you a bracelet, what would you want it to be made of? Alternatively if you had to present a bracelet to your sweetheart, what would you pick?

a.) Gold

b) Gold and rubies

c) Diamonds babe, just diamonds

d) Whateva, its gotta be expensive and look it!

e) Simple iron kada, or a silver one. Not showy

- Option e, I think. As evident in my answer to the previous question. Of course, I wouldn't wear it everyday for the fear that it would disturb others at work.

3. Suppose your bracelet (or kada) had magical qualities (Like Aladin’s lamp) what magical qualities would you want it to have? Let your imagination run riot … anything, money, power, world domination, elixir of youth …. Just pen it down – or punch them keys

- Summon my loved ones or somehow establish contact with them wherever I am.

4. Do snakes scare you or do you get strangely fascinated by them?

- I am strangely fascinated by snakes. Except maybe a hungry anaconda. Then I'd want to get the hell out of that place.

5. Harry Potter could speak Parseltogue. Do you wish you could?

- Yeah, that would be neat. Although I'd prefer speaking canine so I'd know exactly what my dogs are trying to say.

6. What do you dream about? No this is not about day dreaming, it’s not about wishful thinking, its about being in dreamland.

- I generally dream of adventure, or sometimes about being in a crisis situation and trying to get myself out of a spot or trying to protect someone.

7. Do you remember your dreams?

- Rarely.

8. Ever had your dreams interpreted?

- Nope. Don't know whether and how much I'd trust another's interpretation.

9. Do you keep a dream diary?

- Nope. Seems like a nice idea, though.

10. Your favorite wrist jewellery?

a) Bangles

b) Bracelet

c) Expensive Watch

d) Friendship band

e) Taveez or sacred thread (mouli)

- Bracelet it is!

Professional hazards - IV

2010-12-13T21:44:00.000-08:00

Drama alert!

Us technical writers are like beggars, always asking for information. Snooty developers and snootier product managers oblige us when they're in a generous mood. But mostly we're found knocking on their posh car windows looking for a scrap of information that they'd want to throw at us, if only to throw us off their trail for a while. We gladly lap up every bit we receive only to realize that it wasn't what we needed. Once in while some benevolent soul comes along and throws a few better-looking scraps, along with a look that says: use it well.

When they cross us a few days later, we show them what we've made of it. That's when they decide that it wasn't what they wanted to give us in the first place. Then they throw another large scrap at us and ask us to clean up the nice little trinket that we made out of the earlier scrap.

Oh, and did I mention the QA folk? They look at our trinket as if it's a waste of their time and that they need to get it off their hands before they're possessed by whatever's in it. If they are in a generous mood, they might even throw some bugs at us, praising our trinket for what it lacks. That, when they can barely string a few words together to make a sentence. Even if their life depends on it.

Disclaimer: I know I've made sweeping generalizations and accusations in this post, but would you prefer if I did a whiny, plaintive post with great detail of who said what to whom? I get my funny out instead.

Another day at work

2010-12-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

... when you look at the clock and realize that this:
9
... has rolled around and turned to this:
6

:(

...oh, and as it turned out, I was working again from home until I looked up again and saw that it had rolled around again to this:
9

Evenings in the neighborhood

2010-12-08T21:00:00.001-08:00

I am fan of silver, not gold, but if nature splashes it across the horizon like that, I tend to change loyalties. It's breathtaking, the scene from my little neighborhood park. I wish I could sit there every evening, soaking in the beauty.

To the house elf

2010-12-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

... who's been visiting us the past few days. While I'm not paying attention, he snoops around, does the dishes and stuff. Today he even swept the house! Thank you, magical elf!

I hope you have a great time at your first office party that doesn't involve me. I'll miss watching the cuteness that is you. Although, I can imagine you being hooked on to your cellphone while people discuss boring stuff around you. Or taking pictures if you feel like it.

Go on, elf. Hope you find some good friends among the folk you work with, someone as smart or smarter, who you enjoy collaborating with. I know you'd love that.

Professional hazards - III

2010-12-08T05:47:00.000-08:00

Life can come to a standstill when you begin your day early. I got home after a meeting until 11:00 pm the previous night, changed, and got into bed. I slept badly--had dreams about everything that could go wrong with the project or my teammates. Woke up at 6:15 am, changed, and went straight to work to prepare for the meeting at 7:00 am. I planned to come home early for a break and return if necessary. It turned out that I couldn't leave until 11.5 hours later when my work was almost done. And I still have two hour-long meetings to go.

I've tried many times to start early so that I can stop for the day at a decent hour, but that never seems to work out. My planning is lousy and execution is worse. Feels like I fit right into the project team I work with.

And yet, I can't make up my mind about quitting. The temptation of learning and earning the lifestyle we currently lead is too great. I hope to some day be pissed off enough to quit without looking back. And then to make good use of the time not spent earning money.

Yo-yo continued

2010-12-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

It is surprising how two consecutive days can be so different.

I woke up yesterday feeling like shit. I cried and got my eyes swollen, my throat phlegm-filled, and my head throbbing. The husband sulked and went about his chores through most of the morning. (It's also surprising how chores only get done when we're pissed with the spouse--maybe that's how we burn up the angry energy. :P) I made breakfast without a word while his did the dishes from the previous day. There was a chance that he would not eat, but then he couldn't continue with a straight face for long. His favorite blanket that I got out the previous night and spread on him while he was asleep had something to do with it, I guess. We sort of made up over breakfast and then he did some more chores before bathing and leaving for work. I was still feeling like shit (although less shittier than when I awoke), so I decided to stay back and relax a bit before I left for work. Nothing improved my mood through the day, except when I got back home and there was Hairspray playing on HBO. I was not in the mood to eat, so I asked hubby to arrange for himself. He got home with a packet of bread and I was instantly tempted, because it only meant one thing--he was planning to eat anda bhurji. From then on, it felt much better. We cooked together--he warmed the bread, I whipped up the bhurji. We ate while watching a silly talk show, and then I happily walked the dogs again while he continued with Chop Shop.

I woke this morning and didn't even realize that the headache was gone. I simply changed, walked the dogs, and got breakfast ready while the hubby had his bath. He wanted to leave early today and had planned to skip breakfast, but I knew better. I tempted him with a dish he mentioned last night, and because it was almost ready when he was, he couldn't resist. We were both glad because he reached the office for his meeting in record time--14 kilometers (dining table to workstation) in 30 minutes flat--you'd understand if you knew this city's traffic hours. I did some more chores and then got to work. It's been pleasant so far. Yesterday's urge to quit has quietened. Some of it, thanks to people asking me questions and me giving them suggestions / directions. I guess I get some kick out of it. Maybe I should start working as a consultant / troubleshooter. Although, I really doubt my expertise at anything. I'm willing to research--maybe that's enough.

Enough blubbering for the day. I better get back to work (bring in the moolah) and chores (the thankless stuff). I wish everyone in the world a happy day.

Yo-yo

2010-12-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

Last night was miserable. And it bled into Monday morning. I've had a throbbing in my head all day. Hubby would like to say that there was something in there for a change. Worked only half a day.

Received news of the demise of a colleague / good friend's father. It happened on Friday, and as expected, I was informed from other sources. I did speak to the friend later, and am amazed at how calmly his Libran personality is taking him through. The guy was so torn and frustrated over the past few months! I hope things improve for him henceforth.

The pangs to quit the job are back. I've begun to detest my work on some days and push myself through it on the others. There's scope for much learning in the recent future, which I am looking forward to. But I don't know whether it's worth it. The best thing for me right now would be to stick around and switch to part time, but I don't know whether the management will be able to accept such a request. Also, companies these days do not enter into contracts with individuals, but employ them through contracting agencies, which sucks! I've seen a few examples, and it's a pain to manage money and any related issues with those agent-companies.

I do have a 3-week vacation planned. If only I could clear what's on my plate by then! The current release seems to be extending forever and they are making new additions to the product even as we're nearing RTM. It's just been such a good example of bad planning, worse communication, and the worst execution! I've never been so disgruntled with my work environment before. On one hand, my managers are willing to help me achieve work-life balance. On the other, a product manager tells me: if you want work-life balance, this product team in not the place to be.

During the upcoming vacation, I'm hoping to come to a conclusion about whether I want to continue or not. The original plan was to take a 3-month break, but the learning opportunity I mentioned is right at the beginning of those months, and so I had to settle for something else. And I'm not liking it.

Dreamscapes

2010-12-04T06:20:00.000-08:00

I was reading Harry Potter this morning for a couple of hours. Then, I decided to take a nap. When I woke over an hour later, it was due to some external noise, and not because I was rested enough. In fact, even though the state of my mind changed, my body felt like I was stupefied. I was dreaming, and the dream was an adventure, obviously triggered by the story I was reading earlier. It was a tad scary, I was tensed in the dream and trying to stay alive, which is why my body was tensed. Even then, it did not feel good to be awakened. I wanted to continue being in the dream.

The first thing that crosses my mind when I awake in the morning after an adventurous dream or after such a nap is: Oh no, not back to the boring old life again! All I think of when I wake up is how much I have left to do. My brain goes into auto-pilot and starts planning how to complete my tasks. The worst part is that all the planning does not translate into action. So, the effort of all that brain activity also goes down the drain.

Sometimes I wonder if it would really be possible to live a lucid dream, like they did in Vanilla Sky. If that technology ever comes into existence, will I really sign up for it? Assuming I am filthy rich of course! Or would I by that time have enough sense / ideas to make my real life more exciting? Would having enough energy or enthusiasm be enough to turn my boring existence around? I guess they'd have to set up a nuclear power plant inside of me for that.

Until then, I'll always look forward to my dreams to escape the daily drudgery.

My dog's going alpha

2010-12-03T03:13:00.000-08:00

... and I'm not happy.

When my pooches were pups, they would happily wag their tails and approach all other dogs playfully. Mojo was always a bit skeptical but would want to jump on other dogs to test their willingness to play. Phoebe has never known fear (apart from the fear of mine or her dada's wrath). She's delighted to see any dog irrespective of size, shape, color, and smell, and wants to play with whoever it is. She approaches other dogs from below, showing that she intends to play and not harm. She's known to lie on the ground and sniff a pug's face. She looks downright silly--a 2.5-foot dog sucking up to a 0.5-foot one. Lately, however, Mojo has taken to approaching every other dog like a hunter. The moment he sees one in the distance, he slows his pace, changes his stance, and gets into his best crouching position, ready to be launched like a torpedo. I coolly watch him do all of this (it's mighty amusing!) and usually distract him at the right moment, enough to save my arm from being yanked off along with the leash.

I digress. Now to the main story.

I was walking ze canines last night, and we happened to cross another pair of familiar dogs--Max (playful and alert) and Bruno (shy, doesn't like himself or his partner touched). Mojo was ready for a go at any of them, and Phoebe was too, each with their own different intentions. I held Mojo back and loosened Phoebe's leash so that she could go ahead and play. Max was happy to sniff and let sniff. Bruno was cautious as always.

Hubby happened to cross us on his way home right then and as I got distracted for a second, Mojo slipped and went straight for Max. Max being the hunky Doberman, I was scared for Mojo initially, but within the few seconds that they were at each other, I began fearing for Max! My husband intervened and took Phoebe away while trying to hit Mojo so as to control him. In the next few seconds I somehow got hold of Mojo's mouth--he'd caught Max's ear firmly and wouldn't let go. I pried his jaws open, yelled at him, and pulled at his ear to control him.

While hubby held our goons, I apologized to the other pet owner and checked Max's ears for cuts. There were nothing except a bit of Mojo's saliva on his skin. Thankfully, his ears had been trimmed a few months ago (although I'm not in favor of that kind of vanity). I was so embarrassed, I wanted to disown Mojo right then. If Max had longer ears, Mojo would have yanked one off. I was pleasantly surprised and extremely angry at the same time.

Because they've been so protected, I always fear that Mojo wouldn't last a minute if he were out on the streets by himself. Phoebe would last for about 5 minutes at least, given how she protects herself against Mojo's attacks and advances. (Yep, we get to watch a lot of canine drama.) Street dogs are much more aggressive and vicious, which is necessary for their own survival. After this incident, I have a feeling that Mojo is much more vicious than he appears to be. He could, after all, learn to survive--with a lot of battle scars to show for it.

However, all of these thoughts came to me much later when we were all home and about to sleep. My first reaction was anger. Mojo has be been brought up playing with Phoebe and quite a few neighborhood dogs. None of them ever tried to attack Mojo. Where did he get that instinct from? Why does he take that offensive stance when he sees other dogs, especially males? I've noticed this change in him since he reached adulthood--his second heat earlier this year. It's a hormone-induced personality change, I think. He's even been jumping at Simba in offense. Simba is the dangerous-looking-but-the-sweetest-and-most-unharmful dog I've ever seen. My pooches have grown up with Simba--he's their favorite! And yet Mojo crouches when he sees Simba from afar. Although, he backs off in a couple of seconds once he realizes that Simba isn't attacking back. Then they both play a game of who marks the most number of shrubs or who marks the best. But I still hate it that Mojo isn't playful any more. He's going alpha.

It's not that Phoebe is an angel with other dogs. She barks back when another barks menacingly at her. But that's defense. She still tugs at the leash at the risk of cutting her throat, and rolls happily on the ground at the sight of another dog. She won't eat for days, but the moment she knows we have some free time, she plonks her toy at our feet and demands a game of fetch.

Mojo on the other hand uses attention-grabbing techniques like peeing on the floor without asking to be taken out--he used to do that earlier! He scratches walls, eats the paint off them, and begs for food even when he has just had his meal. I was so angry with him after the incident with Max, that I hit him all the way home. I didn't feed him and threatened to make him sleep alone his cage all night. I knew I'd cool down and bring him into the bedroom with us in the middle of the night, but right then I was ashamed of him for being mean to another dog. My softie husband melted and tempted me to relieve him from the cage sooner than I had planned.

I'm not proud of punishing him, but I doubt whether loving words or other actions would have stopped him from attacking the other dog. Given some time and space to play and know each other, I'm sure he'd even befriend Max, but I'm mighty pissed at the attack-for-no-reason. And now, I don't think Max's owner would trust me enough to attempt to get them to play.

I sometimes wonder whether Mojo feels like the less favorite one, and needs more love to prove otherwise. I hope I can find out and make him my gentle, sweet puppy again. Maybe the hormones will do that trick as he grows older and stabilizes. Fingers crossed.

Men, mothers, marriage, mo(u)rnings

2010-12-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

A large part of lunch-and-tea-time conversations at work revolve around the contributions that our spouses make towards housework and life in general. Or the extreme lack thereof. Some things that crossed my mind, and that I saved for posts like these are...

There's a मराठी idiom that goes like this: स्त्री ही क्षणाची पत्नी अणि जन्माची माता असते। (Those who know better, feel free to correct me.)
It loosely translates to: A woman is a wife for moments and a mother for a lifetime.
Here's what I think: Most men deserve their mothers and nothing more.

A popular complaint is that men sleep late into the mornings while their wives do all the housework, get the kids ready for school, and get themselves to work in time. They resent the husbands for their shameful boot-up time. The ones like me abhor this trait and resort to yelling curses to get our point across. Trust me, we've tried gentle and more socially-acceptable-but-never-to-be-spoken-in-public ways of making our fellas rise n' shine. It seems like some of us are doomed to an eternity of foul-mood-mornings cuz we have to think of and do EVERY FUCKING THING ourselves. Or spend our lives giving reminders, without the respect that a fucking cellphone / planner gets.

Hence, the popular quote: Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
...should be changed to: Early to bed and early to rise makes your wife happy, zippy, and nice.
...cuz the quote only talks about 'men' anyway.

Disclaimer#1: I'm not proud of myself for gossiping or ranting, but this had to be put down.

Disclaimer#2: Cuz the hubs doesn't seem to have read this yet, and cuz the responses surprised me. It isn't as bad as I made it sound in the post. My problem is with our society and our mothers who bring up boys differently than girls. There are exceptions, but they aren't as many as we need for our society to become one where spouses are equal contributors.

Tricking my mind

2010-12-01T03:22:00.000-08:00

Another realization dawned upon me today as I was helping a relatively new team mate at work. I had this defect in my queue, which I thought I wouldn't be able to resolve within the planned milestone. I asked my lead to pass it on to someone else who could work on it. I estimated that it would take about 2-4 hours for a new person to resolve. The colleague who it was assigned to asked me for help, and I ended up resolving the whole thing. While the defect was in my queue, I kinda resented it because it was just one of those things-I-couldn't-get-to-because-I-have-other-priorities. When someone else asked me to help, I gladly hand-held them through the problem.

So here's a tip for my leads / managers if they ever come across my blog. Never assign me a task. Ask me to help others. That way I always end up exceeding expectations. ~~There aren't any to meet, dummy!~~. If only 'helping others' wouldn't turn into a target for meeting expectations.

Anyone else dealing with this application called Success Factors? It's the monster under my workstation.

Rekha Bharadwaj

2010-09-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

...is pure magic! Try putting on a headphone and listening to (Badi Deehre Jali on a high volume... not blasting your eardrums, but just enough to block out other sounds. Ibn Batuta and Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Jee have nothing on it.

Also other favorites of mine listed on wikipedia... didn't know they were hers until recently... haven't heard the others, but I'm sure I would have loved them too!

Ab Mujhe Koyi (Ishqiya)
Raat Ke Dhai Bhaje (Kameenay)
Genda Phool (Delhi 6)
Nikla (Hu Tu Tu)
Bhej Kahaar (Maachis--a movie I am YET to watch--I'm ashamed to say)

Does anyone know/remember the last two? I loved them and never knew why. Now I do.

[Confession: Yes, this is a pathetic attempt at doing at least one post before the month is over.]

Who is Unmana?

2010-08-06T04:14:00.000-07:00

The author of this blog-book: The Voices in My Head
(Yes, the title's a rip-off of Salt. What to do, I haven't watched it, but can't miss the posters and trailers that I see everywhere?!)

I know that there are about three people or fewer who read this blog, and most of those are familiar with Unmana's words. If someone new stumbles upon this blog, I'd urge you to go read her. She's spinning some a stories over there. But I'll always remain a fan of her non-fiction work :)

Hyperactively excited

2010-08-06T03:53:00.000-07:00

...is what I become when I unexpectedly come across a person I know and adore. I was out for a team lunch at Not Just Jazz by the Bay, when Gouri Dange walked past.

I could not just keep my ass stuck to the chair and wave a decent hello. I almost ran over to her and hugged her out of joy. Even though she lives in the neighborhood and I can visit her often, I don't/ get to. It was such a thrill to see her there! She mentioned that she had just watched (the world's worst film--in her words) Aisha and I was like, but why?! Why put yourself through that? She explained that she had accompanied a friend who was critiquing that movie. I told her I'd rather watch Predators.

Which I truly will. Booked tickets for the weekend already. Husband made the mistake of asking what the story of that one was. As if I care. I'm just going for all the guns and lasers and mini-nuclear weapons/beasts and spooky scenes. Although a lot of thought and work might have gone into making that one, for me it's a no-brainer. Which is what I need right now.

Also reading Confessions Of A Listmaniac by eM. Trying to not work longer than 8 hours a day.

Professional hazards - II continued

2010-07-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

Remember I said I was in mourning? Scratch that. I was in denial. I thought it would be difficult for me to get over, but that G would be there even after V was gone, and that would be enough.

This morning, G pinged and asked whether I could speak for a few minutes. I gladly agreed, assuming that it was about some urgent tasks for the upcoming product release. I never suspected what I'd be hit with. And then she said the words. She's about to move on too.

Although, I'm very, very glad for her, because it's a wonderful opportunity--she's getting the exact job she wanted, without taking a pay cut. She can continue working from her home office twice a week, and the rest of the days have fixed work timings. It sounds like a really wonderful opportunity for her.

G is so sweet and considerate, I could die of all the sweetness! She informed our manager about this on Friday, and could have dropped the rest of us an email, or spoken to us on the same day. She waited until Monday morning when I reached office to break the news, because she knew it would have ruined my weekend, had she done otherwise. I'm really thankful to her for that, because I had an unexpectedly nice weekend. Bless her soul!

And now, I'm at a loss for words and feelings. G was my last reason to have any emotional attachment to my project teammates. I'll forever feel the void when working with this team now. I thought I'd be crying my eyes out when this happened, but I'm not. I think I shielded my heart after L left, so even V's news didn't hurt enough. I'm not letting the pain reach within. Right now, we have to focus on the impending release, and make sure all the necessary tasks are done. There's no time for mourning too.

Also, even though our managers would appreciate us taking over V's and G's responsibilities in such a short time, it just wouldn't feel right to me. I think I jinxed the team through and through. Now I have a very silly hope that our managers would be able to contact the folks we lost or let go earlier, and convince them to come back. Like I said: silly hope. I'm in denial and I don't want to get out of it.

Professional hazards - II

2010-07-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

This one isn't funny. Not one bit. Remember how I mentioned that I work with the best team in the world? Well, all my blabbering took its toll. I jinxed it.

When I joined my current company 3 years ago, I wasn't sure of what I was getting into. I'd moved on from a very fun work environment. Not that all was rosy, a lot of people complained, but their issues were alien to me. I didn't think about how my new team would be, I just switched jobs because I had to move cities and it was the easiest thing to do. When they hired me here, they had two positions open and weren't sure which team to put me on. It was my terrific luck that I landed where I am. I had a very professional and gentlemanly manager, and it was inspiring to see him at work.

He moved on within less that a year of my joining. Fortunately, I wasn't working with anyone else locally, my team stayed intact. Then came the horrible month of December 2008 when a LOT of employees were laid off globally. We lost the most senior and knowledgeable member of the team and also a contractor who part-timed with us. In 2009, our lead decided to move to another project. We couldn't complain, because she was on the same project for a decade and needed change! Later that year we also came to know that our manager was battling with a dreadful disease. Even though she wasn't around a lot, we heard from her via emails, and assumed that she'd be with us for a few more years. We lost her earlier this year.

Soon after, there was another round of lay-offs, and the next most senior member (am I seeing a pattern here?) was let go. It was a shock and I was sad and angry for quite a few days. What sort of business strategy aims for success by laying off people with over 20 years of experience and replacing them with freshers or folks with 3-5 years of experience in a country where they don't even have the relevant curriculum?! (It's another matter that we learn and adapt well.) Now, there were only2 of the 6 members that I started off with. I decided that I'd stick around as long as there was at least one of them. Today morning, we received an email that one of those two is leaving.

This awesome woman has resigned, and she'll be gone in 2 weeks! I hate change and I'm officially in mourning.

What's the hazard here? Well, in my profession, you need excellent communication skills. That is one thing, which if used correctly and with good intent, can make life easier for everyone around you. However, people can also use it to manipulate and twist things only for their personal advantage. It's a subtle power that can disrupt the harmony of a near-perfect community. The wonderful people that I have been with will always be my benchmark for future teams. And I'm not sure I'll be third-time lucky.

PS: G, with V gone, it'll be just you and me, that too in different continents. I hope you don't decide to leave too. I'll have no motivation to stay put. I'll hate coming to work. Baaawwwwwwllllll!

Professional hazards - I

2010-06-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I received a friend's email via Yahoo groups. The subject was: What To Do When You Are Trapped in A lift? I didn't see any content or attachment in that email, so I ignored it.

This morning a friend from that group responded to that thread with this: So what do you do, press the "untrap" button?

Instead of 'getting' the joke, the first thought that crossed my mind was: Shouldn't that be "click" the untrap button?

Then I realized, the lift might not be one of those cools ones with a touch-screen input panel. Where do they have any of those anyway, except in sci-fi movies? Also, in that case, shouldn't we call it "touching" the untrap button? Then again, that would be wrong because we're actually touching the screen and not the button as such.

By then the joke died a silent death. Dang the profession!

PS: Initially, I wrote content / attachment, but scratched that to include "or." Like we say in Indie English... I'm a gone case. Mera kuchh nahi ho sakta.

A certain Ms. Noor

2010-06-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

...whose name truly befits her. Noor-Ul-Ayn, meaning aankhon ki roshni. She's such a loving soul, I'm sure she personifies that concept for her loved ones.

We met at Wadeshwar on F.C. Road this weekend, and because it was too crowded, we moved to Horn OK Please. I'm glad we did, because it had a decent (I meant in numbers) crowd and no music (if it was on, I don't remember), so we could chatter to our hearts' content. (Actually not, 'cuz we hung out for only a couple of hours.)

The woman truly is non-stop, but I think I did cut her off a few times! Been a long time since a conversation with someone was so fluid. Even though she has twins approaching the terrible twos, she didn't seem stressed at all! Sure she must be tired with working through the week and staying up nights for the li'l ones, but she hid it very well. If it was me, I'd be all harried and not even bother to go halfway across town to meet a bloggie pal. Noor, you have awesome stamina and patience.

I had parked my car about half a kilometer away because I thought walking would take me from KNP to Wadeshwar faster. Even though she spent more time chattering with me than planned, she dropped me off on Bhandarkar Road and then headed home. And, here's some news: she doesn't drive as slowly as she says she does (I tried to look up that post, but got lost in a heap of those on her blog). I imagined her to follow her own words to the tee, but she's good! :D (You can beat me up for this, N!)

~~I wanted to post some flowers for you, N, but can't transfer them online right now. Stay tuned.~~ Also, we'll try and meet up with G. She must be back soon. Hopping on to her space to check.

So here are your flowers, N. It's you, RS, and SS :)

I miss

2010-05-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

... having someone who 'gets' me.

Well, it's not so bad. It's better than having someone who pretends to do that. Or maybe there's no pretense, but then they just go on a flat out refuse to do that.

It's like I'm my own and only best friend. The problem is, I suck at being friends!

They didn't soar for me

2010-05-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I missed the first 15 minutes or so of the movie, but I never felt like I missed any important part of the storyline.

I was skeptical yet hopeful for Kites. The skeptic in me won. Anyone like me or Noor, who didn't like 3 Idiots, should steer clear of this movie too. Or watch it on a hugantic (word learned from D) HDTV with mute ON--the leading actors are drooooolicious, all the talking they do takes the charm away. No, the plots or the actors in the two movies aren't comparable, but they had a common denominator--eye-piercing flaws:

There was nothing even remotely related to kites in the film--not even kites shown flying in any frame. (See disclaimer above.) And if there were, they were so well hidden somewhere in the background, that the events in the foreground obfuscated (I love that word!) my mind. Well, you can say that the protagonists were metaphorical kites--their lives were controlled by the strings of their circumstances (and the villains--said in a Mallu accent), yet they soared high in the sky through/because of their love. Bleh!
When Hritik and Barbara enter her room after their rain-dancing/flying stint, the door closes behind them, and you see the string attached to the doorknob pulling it. Or maybe it was just my eyesight. Or imagination. Either way, the image stuck. Because their kiss wasn't convincing. It was too slow and too awkward to seem real. Not to mention the focus only on the lips--as if it were being made for a audience who found this taboo--and not on the people who were feeling the emotions leading to it.
The silly car chase sequences where the cars were blown apart by using bombs: so not cool. No car that goes on top of another will explode from the inside/passenger seating area. There's nothing there to trigger the explosion from. Cars might explode when they bang head-on into something else. There's where the combustion engine is, remember? Also, why are the police always stupider than the hero? They're always the ones whose cars end up in a pile. Where does a hero without much money learn to drive cars like a dirt-track racing pro (or some other kinda pro who specializes in a chase like that)? And wasn't he supposed to be a dancer in the first place?
We get to see a little too much of the villain. Every time the hero and heroine heave a sigh of relief (or just heave, you know ;-) ), Tony--said in a bad Vegas accent--appears on the screen in slow motion with the you-took-my-toy-away-I'm-gonna-tell-your-mama-face. Argh. My eyes almost bled.
I didn't care to remember more than these.

More of my personal opinions, listed just for the heck of it. You may skip or you may read and say I'm judgmental. Heck, it's my blog and I call the shots here (pun fully intended):

Again, Hritik Roshan looks incredibly good/hot. I entered the movie hall as Hritik and Kangana were doing their dance routine, and that set my expectations higher. Hritik dances like a dream, and some day I'd love to see him perform on So You Think You Can Dance, but I know that that will only remain a dream. If only Hritik could do those awesome jumps and flips. I think you need to train for that since childhood.
Anyway, Kangana looks really nice (and sometimes beautiful) in all of her 5 minutes of screen time. I actually thought that the woman who played Kangana's mom looked quite like her. But that sort of contradicts my previous statement.
Barbara smile-a-lot looks great and acts decently. However, I think she flashed her teeth a lot. Unnecessarily. And, boy, does she work her pout!? I'm sure that must have sent the guys in a tizzy. I'm also sure there are a thousand more better looking Spanish women out there. My favorite being Paz Vega, who acts well too. I'm talking about Spanglish and not the other B-grade movies she acted in. Some say she's a Penelope Cruz lookalike. I say she's better.

The only one thing I loved about the movie was the scene where Hritik entertains Barbara with some shadow play thingummy, after she's abused by her fiancé. You know, where you make shapes with your fingers against a light and their shadows enact a scene on the wall? Obviously, I didn't care to look up what it's called.

I love Hritik's looks in general. I can ogle at him for a long time in a poster. For some reason, however, his acting doesn't convince me much about the intensity/passion of his character. The only time I really liked his I'm-baring-my-soul-to-you expressions was in Kaho Na Paar Hai, but back then I was young and stupid and the only movies I could compare with were other sappier Bollywood movies. I think he's got a big bad boy lurking inside, waiting to be unleashed from his 'good boy' persona. And not in the Dhoom:2 way. That acting wasn't convincing either. I want to see him do a Lallan Singh a la Abhishek in Yuva. I know he can. I'm waiting for him to be unleashed. Am I being stupidly hopeful?

If you've read through till here, you must have noticed how distracted I was when writing this post. Well, that's how 'gripping' the movie was. Folks could simply do with getting Hritik and Barbara's stunning posters home and ogling at them. It'll be a better investment than watching the movie.

To the two girls

2010-05-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

...who zoomed past me--who was stationary for a reason--and almost cut through a red light. Yes, you two, who braked abruptly upon seeing the policewoman watching you attempt to jump the signal. You who looked nonchalantly around and appeared to act cool, then tried to moved backwards because you suddenly noticed that you were almost in the middle of the square, then turned around and asked, "Auntie, Model Colony?"

Firstly, that's not how you phrase a question. But then, you're the SMS generation--I'm surprised you didn't try to abbreviate that and expect me to understand.

Secondly, respect the pedestrian crossing! Did you notice you were on it and about to go beyond? Do you even know that it is there for a purpose? Or did you cheat on your written exam for the driver's license?

Thirdly, I may be an auntie to several little babies, some teenagers, and even a few adults who happen to be related to me by blood or by law, but I'm surely not yours. When you look at the mirror, do you sometimes notice the arms you've been gifted with? They look like bottle gourds grown especially for consumption by hippos. And from whatever I could see, so are other parts of your body. I have fat arms too, but they pale in comparison to your nubile, young cellulite bombs. (Kill me for this, but I just had to say it.)

And lastly, Model Colony stretches for at least a couple of square kilometers beyond the signal you were attempting to jump. Try being specific when you want to get directions from random strangers whom you auntize. Especially when you're inviting death-stares from them by halting right on top of the pedestrian crossing.

I hope you didn't find your destination and were fined thrice in the same day for breaking traffic rules.

Gems in the mailbox

2010-05-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

I came across these as part of an email chain today...

"Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days you're the statue."
I found this hilarious. Loved it. Although most of the times I feel like I'm the one who's just standing there and watching the fun.

"If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague."
Hmm, if I decided to take that seriously, I could one day have a PhD in decency.

Phase

2010-05-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

I opened the Messiah's Handbook this evening without any purpose in mind. It said, "To learn anything, you must put aside the safety of your ignorance."

The question that popped up was, "What do I want to learn?"

The reply was quick, "Nothing--at the moment."

That surprised me a little. Normally, I attach a lot of importance to learning--at times even more than peace of mind. It's a bit like losing your purpose--what else would you live for?!

But then, I curb the panic by thinking that it's just a phase. If you don't reach this stage once in a while, all your efforts and learning might seem unworthy.

The hunger will soon be back. This is definitely not the end.

PS: I need to do something about the urge to share this with someone who I know will get it--to make the 'thought' feel complete. Or is that what makes me human?

Birds of a feather...

2010-04-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here's another excerpt from an email exchange with a team mate.

Her: I wonder whether we should use [full product name] instead of [abbreviated product name]? I dislike the “ARS” abbreviation because it sounds like “arse.” Am I the only person who would notice that?

Me: Heh, it actually never occurred to me! (And my mind is usually in the gutter, when compared to other prissy girls around me.)

Her: Well, I’m glad I have good company in the gutter! ; )

I'm thrilled when I meet a 50-year-old woman who looks gorgeous, does her work smartly and with painstaking attention to detail, and thinks like me sometimes. I thank thee oh heavens above, for this serendipitous association with my lovely team.

Memories at work

2010-03-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

I happened to come across some old emails at work today, and some memories came rushing back. It felt nice, so I thought I'd share.

This woman, who was shooting emails at 4 in the morning (her time), whom I asked she what was doing at that hour:
"Trying to trap a feral cat that I’ve been feeding for three years. But she’s not cooperating. Then again, who are you to speak of early/late hours?! You seem to work around the clock!"
What she doesn't know is that I suck at time management. I while away my time surfing and then have to make up for lost hours. But then, when it's required, I don't mind working round the clock. It's the closest we IT folks can come to doing "hard work."

A colleague who was visiting India for the first time; I'm pasting quite a bit of the email because I think it's cute and funny:
"I’m planning on doing some sightseeing and shopping this Saturday and Sunday. If you’d like to accompany me, feel free to do so. However, don’t feel obligated to “baby sit” me. With the help of rickshaws, I’ve navigated the city rather well and am very comfortable exploring Pune by myself. (Remember, I’m an American and I’m not just saying that to be polite.)
Shopping: I’d like to return to Laxmi road and do a little shopping for friends and family. On this leg of my adventure, I would like some company (i.e., protection from the vendors). I don’t mind paying 1 or 2 times the cost (i.e., the Westerner’s tax/surcharge). I just don’t want to pay 20 or 30 times the cost. Plus, then I’d have to get a second job upon my return to [his hometown]

A colleague on his last day in the current organization:
"Time flies on the wings of light and now I am here to say adieu to all of you. It was a short association of xx months. Somehow I can’t align myself with what [company name] offers so I had to take this decision."
I liked the way he stated the reason--genuine and formal.

A colleague appreciating a work-related email I sent to someone we needed to keep in-the-loop and happy:
"Your response is perfect; thank you very much. :>"
My response to her (who I look up to and adore):
"Did I say I love you? Ok, there, you heard it. Now all I need is a hug. I’ve begun to have a headache juggling between blah-blah-blah."
She replies:
"Well, thank you! What a lovely way to start my day. :>
I’m sending you a virtual hug. Your day sounds like it was hectic; I hope you have a great weekend and get to relax!"
We frequently exchange such cross-continental energy hugs :) I'm truly blessed to know someone like her.

A senior manager who was about to move on from her current organization:
"I was hoping to have something wonderfully witty and wise to send to all of you, but, that has eluded me! Must have something to do with the aging process!"
Although I interacted with her for all of one hour, she came across as a very warm person. Also, she made time for nice activities besides work and regular life. Appreciated that.

From a US-based colleague who was visiting the local office:
"It’s movie time. I brought in all of the movies I have with me. If there is one in this list that you want to borrow, come see me."
Titled, "Get the popcorn," and she carried a good mix (La Vie En Rose, Capote, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Shrek The Third, The Illusionist, Sweeney Todd, The Man Who Cried, Prime Suspect 3, The Namesake) that she shared with anyone who wanted... even the ones whom she didn't know well. It was pretty sweet of her.

A manager, asking us to keep in touch with another manager who was not keeping well:
"If you haven’t sent an email or note to Robin recently, she would really enjoy hearing from you. Just a note to say hi and that you’re thinking of her and miss her would be great."
This was very thoughtful and nice of her. And I'm really a jerk for not acting immediately on this reminder. I could have talked to "her" one last time! :(

And the last and most goose-bump-inducing, from Robin, when she was trying to diagnose what was ailing her:
"I expect our working relationship to remain the same and I continue to be here for what you need. I don’t expect you to require less of me."
That's how great she was!

On International Women's Day

2010-03-07T22:48:00.000-08:00

... I only wish that in a century or less we do not feel the need to celebrate such days. (Why a century? 'Cuz, ya'know, I'm am an optimist, but not completely insane. Yet.) I'll be thrashed for saying this, but it feels like mass hysteria to me. Like those Hallmark holidays.

Why has human civilization come to this point of polarization? Millions of years of evolution and men still cannot resist their animal instincts? If you folks could suppress that one trait of yours, the whole species would be achieving greater things. I'll not even get started about war. Suppressing the urge to thwack people's heads off to grab their possessions is a higher level of behavioral sophistication that would require you all another million years of refining. And I'm not talking about all men here. I know there are some really awesome apples in the basket, but they're few and far between the rotten ones. I guess we need to stop procreating like rats, and focus on producing quality offspring. Not focusing on physical attributes like the Spartans, but on bringing up "humane" humans.

We're supposed to evolve and not roll in the same muck over and over again. And then they say history repeats itself. We're the ones who write history. And while the men folk try not to harass women at whim, we women could do with toning down our nagging and making more time to do stuff we like. And cut down on the gossiping and bitching. It sounds hypocritical coming from me, but I'm trying, you know. Rant over.

Oh, well. I forgot about the whole issue of societal acceptance of LGBTs. If we can't tolerate innate, natural preferences that do not intrude upon others' lives in any way, how can we consider ourselves capable of "reason?" Could we please stop classifying people as men, women, or other poorly-defined genders, and focus on the human aspect? Celebrate individuals for their good qualities and attempt to curb the not-so-good ones? What happened to live and let live? Argh!

Rant forcibly closed.

I'll miss you, Robin

2010-03-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

My manager had been battling ALS since the past few months. She fought bravely and refused to quit working and supporting her team. It was inspiring to see her. One of my regrets in life will be not getting to speak to her before she passed away.

I'll miss you, Robin, your leadership, your courage, your quick decision-making ability, your insights, your appreciation, all that made you such a wonderful manager. I guess it stems from being such a good person inside. I'm glad to have been associated with you. May your soul be in peace.

I remember feeling down in the dumps on a morning this weekend. It was soon after the unfortunate event. I'd like to believe it's the cosmic connection. Adios, brave woman.

Multitasking gets to you at times

2010-03-05T00:31:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I'm grateful for being born as a member of the female species is the awesome multitasking feature that's programmed into our brains through a million years of evolution. I usually put it to great use, but sometimes, when the wrong process accesses the wrong memory location (couldn't help the computing jargon!), it has comical results. It kinda makes me feel absent-minded or stupid ...at least that's what it would appear like to an onlooker when I'm:

Picking leafy vegetables or peeling peas and I throw the roots or pods into the "clean" bowl instead of the "dispose" bowl
Closing multiple jars and match a tiny lid with an extra-large jar and the darned thing falls into the oil/ paste/ gooey stuff inside
Cooking and my mother calls and I answer but tell her to hold on because I was looking for my phone
Eating biscuits and feeding my dogs and the wrong biscuit ends up in my mouth
Getting dressed in multiple rooms--clothes here, moisturizer there, the comb in a third room--in a hurry to go to work, only to realize in the office lift I'm still in my somewhat-wet bathroom slippers
Opening the toilet door after I'm finished and use my ID card to 'swipe' out

It also doesn't help that the keyboards for the office workstation, my personal desktop, and my laptop all have DiFfErEnT layouts!

It's also not fun when you're busy with activities in the marital bed (like RNM puts it) and your brain's planning the breakfast menu for next morning and setting a mental reminder to boil the milk and walk the dogs before you leave for the movie the day after. At such times it's a downright curse.

Working for money

2010-03-04T04:28:00.000-08:00

...is like selling our free time to buy the freedom of buying things we won't have time to use!

And, oh, I do exactly that. Not that I have an option. :P

In response to Unmana's lost freedom.

Cleaning the sprouts

2010-03-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

In response to Noor's tooth update.

Firstly, don't those finger brushes look sinisterly like something that would have prevented the kids from 'being'? Just sayin'. Actually I think of getting them too, for my wolf-descendants.

Wouldn't these scare you?

(Drags her dirty mind out of the gutter.)

I know precisely what they mean by shark-teeth. The smaller and newer the teeth, the sharper they are. Also, mostly they'd open their mouths eagerly to try and gobble up the biggest of objects--like basketballs, for example--but YOU attempt to put something suspicious in their mouths, and they'll... well, calm up. No better word.

I have to pry 'em jaws open!

I'm glad I don't have to brush my monsters' everyday. Once a few weeks is enough. Surprisingly there's no dog breath unless you decide to wedge your nose between their open jaws and take a deep one.

Or, sometimes, as they sleep in all kinds of weird positions, their lip-flaps (what else do you call them?) sag in the wrong direction, and their canines are accidentally bared.

One would think the bugger is so smugly a-sleepin'.

One night last week

2010-02-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

Me to the husband: Wouldn't our dogs be quite disoriented right now? I've used a face cream, a foot cream, a perfume, the mosquito repellent is at work... so many different smells!
The husband retorts: Yeah, and Mojo's fart and Fibi's fart and your fart and mine. It's a wonder we haven't died of gas poisoning yet.
Me: Drat! Let's never light a matchstick in our bedroom, shall we? Our Final Destination might just be an explosion.

Thanks for the prodding, momofrs! ;-)

Scoot

2010-01-19T23:26:00.000-08:00

One more visit to a relative-in-law
...and I'm ready to fled the country.

One a different note, which genius keeps grapes and a coffee machine side-by-side in the same pantry? Talk about sending mixed signals to employees!

Glut: make a pig of one self

2010-01-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

...says WordWeb, and I agree.

Aside from the fact I have made no silly resolutions this year, I also seem to have subconsciously devised a plan for doing the opposite of what I hoped to do last year. Now, I can blame it all on the fact that my in-laws are staying with us for a month, and 90% of our conversations (and apparently our lives) revolve around food. It's paradoxical, really:

MIL keeps telling the hubs and me to lose weight.
She herself is about 10 kilos overweight.
I'd lose more weight laughing at her exercise routine than she does by performing it.
We have two maids who do the cooking--one for lunch and one for dinner, so that I don't have to enter the kitchen while MIL is here, and she gets some relief from 35 years of cooking and feeding the family and the endless list of extended family members and friends.
Despite the availability of maids, we still have more cooking related tasks to do.
Conversation on food is playing on a continuous loop, almost like the background score of a movie, or like the universal ether; it begins just before bed-time--about what's for breakfast the next morning.
If the plan isn't fixed, the question arises again; after some mumbling on my part and/or escaping to the bathroom, MIL prepares something which I may or may not eat (I'm always in a rush to leave home in the mornings).
I have come to dread weekends and holidays because then I also have to talk about and help with lunch.
Although dinner is almost ready everyday, there's still the important task of re-heating everything. Oh, and preparing a salad, and giving tadka to the daal.
Then there are days when either of the maids does the vanishing act and poor MIL has to cook 80% or more of the meal--I go on a guilt trip and chip in a little.
Every few days, we run out supplies, and then go grocery shopping.
Food is brought home and stuffed into the fridge; when that real estate runs out, the remaining is piled onto veggie baskets and fruit trays.
Non-perishable items are stuffed into containers; when that real estate runs out, the remaining is piled into one big can of extra-stock items.
Hubs and FIL make a special trip to the veggie market every Sunday to hoard a week's worth of subzis.
Also, most of the guests we ever have are during the time frame when the in-laws are around, so there's always more food/snacks to make/buy.
A social transaction is incomplete if only one family visits another and the favor is not returned, so we travel to however far and long it takes to... guess what???--meet them for breakfast / lunch / snacks / dinner!!!!!

As if that assault on the senses is not enough, the mind constantly nags and plays a tug-of-war with itself:

I shall not have a morsel of food for the next three days.
Warm water is all I should ingest--helps detox, ya'know?
I can lie to whichever other lady is in charge of nutrition at home (mother or MIL, in case they're visiting) by saying that I'm having all the meals at the office (too much work, you see?)
Well, maybe fruits will do no harm.
While you're having fruits, what's the harm in having milk--you need all the calcium you get, after all.
Also, don't forget the assorted raw veggies you can eat--carrots, beetroot, etc; if they're too much to shove down the throat, douse them with salt and chilli powder and lime and crushed groundnuts and...
Who the hell has time to arrange all that healthy stuff? I've gotta rush to that meeting now, let me grab a bag of chips and I'll deal with the diet plan later.
Aaargh! All this talk about food. I don't ever want to eat anything till I lose 5 kilos. (Munching on roasted peanuts in the background.)
(In the morning...) I'm not gonna go to the cafeteria with my colleagues. I end up eating that which shouldn't be eaten. I will rush home as soon as it is time to leave. I will stick to my desk and drink warm water till then.
(Few hours later... while a colleague is ordering snacks) Nope, I don't want to eat anything, I'll just take a bite off your sandwich to taste.
(Few minutes later...) I realize I'm downing a big cup of coffee / tea and eating chaat. How the hell did that happen?!
(As I'm drifting to sleep...) Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life... I will not eat a morsel of food until I am REALLY hungry. Warm water is my favorite food.

Now, the story that made me write this rant-filled post:
As ALWAYS, I woke up and was in a hurry to leave home, to go do my investments in time for the upcoming "taxable income declaration schedule" (I call it the universal law of karm-oney: what comes to you shall be partly snatched away before it reaches you, and you cough up the rest yourself). Coming back to the point. I did not finish those tasks in time for my weekend class. I admit, rather regretfully, that it wasn't possible for me to cross 15 kms of city traffic in 7 minutes. So I came to the office instead. All the while contemplating whether I was hungry enough to eat. I parked the car and just as I was about the take the stairs and go straight to my desk, my ~~own personal devil who's hell bent upon inflating me to the point of bursting~~ mind ordered my feet to turn around and go to the cozy little neighborhood café instead. I ordered a Garlic-Mushroom Tostato, a Yule Log, and a Frappe Royale. A Rs.330/- meal (after a 15% corporate discount) for one person.

Mother earth is now officially invited to open up and swallow me right now, while I'm all meaty n' chocolaty. If that doesn't happen, someone please shoot me in the head. Only make sure my dogs are properly taken care of for as long as they live. As for my husband, well, let's just let his mother feed him to death :P

This one's for me

2009-12-31T01:18:00.000-08:00

You seriously think you could do it? Ha ha ha! Next year, say less and do more.

As for 2009, let's catch a last glimpse from the window, and wave good-bye :)

CY 09 Q4 Analysis

2009-12-31T00:30:00.000-08:00

Could this be any easier?! I could copy and paste this one as is. But I'm saving myself the trouble by staying consistent with my habit of laziness. All in all, I was a total failure in my eyes this year. Lost some more gray cells and gained even more cellulite. As they say in मराठी, खायला काळ, भुईला भार. "Useless" doesn't cut it. It's one of those idioms that loses its crux in translation.

The only things that ~~saved our marriage and sanity~~ made this year worthwhile were our two little angels...

Mojo

Phoebe (spelled Fibi for the fear of it being distorted beyond recognition at the local vet's)

Love you, my darlings... how I wish I could get you a home with a BIG yard to run amok!

Worker's dilemma

2009-12-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

1. No matter how much you do, you'll never do enough.
2. What you don't do is always more important than what you do do.

The story of my life!

* The "do do" phrase always reminds me of Chandler.
** I think this applies not only to a worker but to any random responsible person.
*** Thanks, Peeves, for listing this one for me.

Has it been so long

2009-12-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

...that I need a cellphone reminder to tell me that it's our anniversary today? Well, I could blame it on the weekend full of chores and no time for ourselves that made us drop dead in the bed last night--no energy for even thinking about today.

I woke up this morning, let Fibi out, and snuggled in with you only to have Mojo jump around and sniff and settle on us, breathing heavily into our ears. So then I let Fibi join in and jump over us too. As I pulled myself out of the warm, comforting husband-and-dog-pile-on-the-mattress and headed for a bath, I noticed the phone blinking and wondered irritably what other task I was supposed to do today--only to be surprised by the anniversary reminder. After which I ran to you excitedly, passing on the reminder. Some hugs and kisses and rather childish lovey-dovey wishes later, we got back to chores. Which involved you feeding the dogs and me getting ready and playing with them until it was time to drag my sorry ass to work. All the while thinking about having one whole day at home, with you on the sofa, me lying in the bean bag, snuggling with the dogs, watching a silly sci-fi movie, and NOT DOING OR THINKING ABOUT DOING ANYTHING ELSE. Sigh!

We've spent all these years doing something or the other (work, watching movies, pigging out on food, long drives, household chores) and always postponing important things like attempting to have a healthier lifestyle and having more time off for 'ourselves'. Maybe it's time we start focussing on those things now. Otherwise we'll always be tired and whiny even after weekends. We'll have a happy anniv, hon, some day.

Till then, here's the pic of the year:
We're doing a good job of hiding those hideous tummies, but we still look a li'l horizontally stretched, don't we?

Chill, sweetheart, it's just a reminder of where we are and where we want to go back to, which is this...
I've merged the images, but the rest is all reality--only 3 years and a dozen kilos earlier. Just like our current reality is close to the Michelin Man.

Ok, stop throwing things at me. Focus, focus!!

My little baby

2009-11-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

...just turned into a young lady. At 7.5 months. Gone are the carefree days of puppy-hood. Heck, it's time to use Carefree ...err if she was human!

I now understand what MM keeps yapping about. Sort of.

Baaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwllllll!!!!!!

(Runs away in angst.)

How can you drag yourself

2009-11-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

...out of bed every morning, when you have one of these curling up beside you?

This one even tries to knock me off my pillow.

They're the bestest dogs in the night--they sleep on their own mattresses and never wake us unless the door is closed and they want to go pee. But, come morning and our bed beckons. They love to snuggle in with us and thereby toss away any plans we might have made to wake up early. And we want to wake up early to walk them. So they can pee and poop to their heart's content. Outside. But they've already done all of that in the balcony before snuggling in with us. You see the vicious circle here? Gah!

Thought of the day

2009-11-23T04:36:00.000-08:00

The flip side of good weekends is that they make Mondays seem unbearable.

~ Me (sigh!)

Commuting is ok

2009-11-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

... if you have such sights to distract you from incessantly cussing the morons ahead of you or their ugly car decors or bumper stickers.

It's also the reason I don't repent buying an overpriced apartment. It's all about the location and the beautiful views it offers almost every day.

Oh, did I boast about the neighborhood yet? Here goes:

NDA,
Bombay-Bangalore Highway (NH4)
HEMRL
Bharat Electronics
NIV
DRDO
Institute of Tropical Meteorology
NCL
CID Headquarters

... all within 3-5 kms from our house, and some enroute office.

All this, and no scientist or defence official in the family with whom I could gain entry for a peek inside these awesome organizations. Sigh!

My husband

2009-11-16T06:21:00.000-08:00

...is officially the best husband of the week. (Dude, you've got to do more than that to be the husband of the year / millenium / lifetime.)

I was on leave this Monday because I had to finish a lot of chores that I couldn't do over the weekend. Because I wasn't online all day, my dude sends me this link in an offline message. Knowing that I drool all over the guy. Smooches, hubby. You are the best.

For those who cannot access the link and just because I can't have enough of him, here's Gerard Butler.

[Nicked from 'ere: http://www.photos-room.com/812/filter/newest/author-158/2/]

Ooooh, and as if that wasn't sufficient, he also sent me Mattie the mutt

...who is promptly going to adorn my cellphone wallpaper.
[Some angel posted it here: http://www.ecosalon.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/mattie-the-mutt.jpg]

I guess one whole day of doing chores ~~and watching half a movie and the ending of another that we both wanted to see~~ was worth it to get such sweet gifts from you. Mmmuaah!

Escapism

2009-11-12T06:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, we bought a beautiful house in a beautiful locality. However, like all things that get old, we're now bored of it. The structure is one of the things we plan to change. A couple of walls in the house are unnecessary and make the space look small. So we want to bring them down.

But there's a problem. The house cost us a bomb, and we don't have money to do much else. So what did we do? We hired really cheap labor, who would do the job for us. No architects, no engineers, no masons required. All these guys need is food and a place to poo and pee. They're awfully slow, but steadily doing their job. And we all know that slow and steady wins the race, right? Right.

So here's what they've accomplished in the past couple of weeks. That's 400 mms long and about 60 mms wide. Impressive, huh?!

They believe in doing a thorough job, peeling down layer after layer of their target. So, of course, the color and putty comes off first. It does look like we're renovating, doesn't it?

All that back breaking work tires the crap out of them. They don't even have a decent bed, so they sleep in whatever little space they can find.

Oh, and while they were at it, they realized that the mattresses were no good. They were too fluffy and gave them backaches. So off came all the stuffing. If you don't provide us laborers with good living conditions, we'll make things comfortable for ourselves, thankyouverymuch.

Indescribable

2009-11-10T05:32:00.000-08:00

Apologies to my non-MaraaThi audience, but here's a heartfelt मराठी rant that I can't translate.

आज माझ्या desktop वर गाण्यांचे folders sort करताना काही मराठी गाण्यांचा dump सापडला. कोणाकडून ती copy केली, कधी केली, माहित नाही, पण त्यांत ही दोन गाणी एकाच folder मधे, एका पाठोपाठ होती:

ऐरणीच्या देवा तुला ठिणगी ठिणगी व्हाउदे
ढगाला लागली कळं

तुमची नस्ती का चीड्चीड् झाली?

Sociophobia

2009-11-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

This morning, I leave my cellphone for charging and then forget to carry it to work. A while later, the husband pings on GTalk, and asks me to try and remember where I left my phone--he thinks I'm clueless about the exact location of all my important stuff... it is true sometimes, but not always. So I call him to save time and the effort of typing. He doesn't realize his phone is ringing until I say so on chat. Then the bugger has excuses for low volume, yada, yada. [Snigger]

Then he offers to hand over my phone on his way to work, which is really a detour of about 1.5 kms. I tell him to ring up a colleague who lives nearby and pass it on with her instead. He totally avoids that situation by begging me to let him come and give me the phone. I try reasoning with him. The colleague not only takes the same route to the office and can pick the phone from home (hubs doesn't have to make any effort), but also sits in the adjacent cubicle and so meets me at least once a day (I don't have to make any effort)! That, however, is not good enough for him.

He just wants to hand it over himself so he can come and see me (do not judge, people, there is no romanticism here). The truth is, he always tries to avoid situations that involve interacting with people. I am not even remotely close to being a social butterfly, but I mostly do stuff that's necessary or if it helps (like in this situation). To conclude, driving extra in peak traffic conditions, burning fuel, waiting at the office gate, and risking being late for a meeting at work is all worth avoiding that painful 30-second call to an acquaintance. Now, if the acquaintance had a pet dog...

the phone would be promptly delivered to their residence, even if takes an extra couple of kilometers :P

PS: I too try to wriggle out of most social situations , but pointing fingers and making fun of the spouse is totally a "duty" in the marriage contract I wrote up in my head.

PPS: Dear hubs, if you read this before you leave home, please don't get mad. I love you. I still want ~~my phone~~ to see you before you go to work; I can't wait till you come back tonight.

Recognition

2009-11-06T01:45:00.000-08:00

Today, when I coordinated with some people and set out a plan for some necessary chores to be done, the husband said:
"My sweet little resourceful [insert mushy pet name]"
"You are awesome"
...without me asking for it. Or making him do it in return for a favor.
Much improvement, I say.

Maybe I need to do a post about all the things he does, without being asked. Actually, it's been on my mind since a long time now, but laziness and the resentment against him for things he never does unless asked hold me back. Will make an effort to get over that.

Random weekend plan VI

2009-11-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Update: what actually transpired

Saturday:

Hope to wake up early, prepare and eat breakfast
Woke up early, prepared tomato-onion-oregano-omlette-sandwiches and gobbled 'em up (hubs loved 'em, of course!).
Make a trip to the bank while hubby gives his bike for servicing
Did some of the banking chores while hubby gave his bike for servicing and then we scooted from that oft-overcrowded place.
Attend my Katthak class on time and not make silly mistakes
Attended my Katthak class (on time!) where we began a new song in the Bollywood section (Aaja Nach Le--title track).
Rest for a while and do some housekeeping
Goofed around for a while, felt hungry by 15:00 and so headed to Vaishali for some sinful lunch. On the way I got a Calligraphy pen and some ink, whipped it out at the restaurant and showed off like I was an artist, but all I really did was scratch the paper until it tore. (The shopkeeper did tell me to work the nibs until they gave in and started doing as they were told.) Later, went shopping for some doggy stuff--got those collar+leash things, nail clippers, and a few snacks.
Walk the dogs separately and then walk by ourselves or go for a longish drive
Goofed around some more, but didn't take the dogs for a walk--the heavy meal had slowed us down. The hubs began to cut the dogs' nails only to realize that the clipper wasn't very good.
Prepare dinner or order in and bathe the dogs while it is delivered
Made an excuse out of getting the clipper exchanged, bought some more snacks and a Train Your Dog CD instead, and rushed to the Baskin n' Robin's where we really intended to go :)
Sleep early without gawking at the telly like a zombie
Stuffed with ice-cream, we came back, brushed like good li'l kids (brushing aside the temptation of letting the nice, ice-creamy taste linger) and cleaned up a little before hitting the bed; also, no TV!!

Sunday:

No choice but to wake up early, cuz I've booked tickets for The Informant @ 09:00
Didn't I say we had no choice? Also, I cooked up my own recipe of corn-bhel, and needless to say, the hubs loved it. ~~The poor chap eats and appreciates anything I make on a whim~~ I am so cool at making junk food! The movie was good too, although it's the sort that you need to pay complete attention to. You'll find it boring, or won't understand it unless you hear every dialog. Matt Damon is among my favorites: the Ocean's trilogy, the Bourne series, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and now this--good range of characters.
Rush to the dance class
This was postponed to the evening because my teacher was out of town, but she eventually cancelled it after she got stuck in the train on her way back :(
Rush back home and freshen up
We did rush home, but to my gran's and then my mom's place, for lunch instead of dinner. Mom made rataalyacha khees (a preparation of sweet potato) for hubs and batatyache kaap (potato made with the same formula as these) for me. There's nothing as gastronomically satiating as gorging on a special dish that you think your mom makes best.
Rush to the FoC event to meet Unmana and to give my old techie books away ('donate' is too pompous a word)
I got late for this and eventually missed it. I started in my car and called up Unmana to locate the exact venue, but those FoC folks had wrapped up the event and left by that time :( The carton of books will now rest in the boot until it's given to people who can make use of it. Hmpf!
Rush to my mom's place while hubby gets his bike back from the garage
Yep, this was done, although in a different order. And I must mention that the hubs slept over at mom's for over an hour and a half, while I had to run home to let the maid in--who neither turned up, nor called!
Rush back home in the hope of finding some time to rest
I did rush back home, but there was unrest in the household after that. The dogs had scraped away huge chunks of two different walls inspite of being muzzled, for which they received a little trashing and a really long time-out. I know that doesn't work on dogs, but that was all I could do to not beat them to death. I swore I'd get crates that same evening and locked them up everyday. The hubs, however, did not think it was a great idea and avoided their dreadful fate by just being non-cooperative.
Prepare dinner and eat if I have enough energy to even care for food (a good idea would be to have it at mom's place!)
And guess what we did again? It was BnB, encore, tonight!

Pray I follow through and not toss the plan outta the window. Been doing that too often. This post is really my to-do list. Must take a printout in Arial Black, 72 pt.
Ooh, I really did take a printout, but then the only time I looked at it was when I tried out the Calligraphy pens and tore the same paper :P

Counting my blessings

2009-11-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

Thank you, God,
...for blessing me with a fresh supply of cool water in the office rest room yesterday. The winter that's just set in brought along some nasty boogers, and the sun that's still blazing (through late mornings and afternoons) made them dry up and encrust the inside of my nose. It felt like I'd just flown over from a Siberian desert. (Of course, I wouldn't know for sure unless you send me enough money to go there, would I?) If it wasn't for the water that not only melted the boogers, but helped flush 'em out, I'd have gone about all day feeling like a rhino with a newly sprouted horn (not that I'd know that for sure either).

Thank you, Dog,
...for spraying me with a fresh supply of your nasal fluid this morning. I've been praying to God to help me find some inspiration to wake up early and feel invigorated. You are the answer to my prayer. I couldn't ask for better.

After the birthday rant

2009-10-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

I could feel the effects of venting even as I was writing this post. Inspite of not wanting to work, I came to office around 08:30 so that I could put in half a day's work and then leave. That plan went for a toss and it was 16:00 by the time I actually left...

I had begun to write this post the day after the rant, but I got so bored writing it, I knew it would put any reader to sleep. So I cut out the boring "what happened" crap. As I said to a friend who sent a sweet email wishing my worries away, all those unhappy thoughts were drowned in cake and coffee and 4 hours of non-stop chit-chat with friends.

Then yesterday, another friend read that post and said, "I think we all need something to be sad about." Is it necessary to say she had a point? My problem is, why do I choose my birthdays to feel that way?! I guess, like my dad says about my mom, "she's happy to be unhappy." Sigh! Why do we have to grow up and turn into photocopies of our parents? Especially in those aspects that we so abhor?! Why can't we simply inherit or imbibe their good qualities? Shrug.

Birthday

2009-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

...and I feel like shit. I'm tired of myself. Of my lack of drive and determination. Of not knowing why I am here, what I am supposed to achieve. It's been about four years since I've been truly inspired to do something and had any motivation to pursue it.

Also, I've been feeling pointless since many years now. I could be dead any moment and nothing would change. My mom would probably lose all urge to live, but that's just because she is my mom. Dad would be shocked but he would move on, just like my husband would. Everything else would pretty much be the same. I think at some level I like it that way. To just pass on quietly, without causing anyone any hindrance. It's so frustrating to go on living not knowing what you want. How do people do that year after year?

I've been wallowing in the cesspool of such thoughts for so long now. I'm gonna die in it. Maybe I want to. Move on to a better place. But I know that there isn't any. I'm here this moment for a reason and it's right in front of me, but I am unable to see it. Or maybe I'm running away from it. I'm surprised at how weak I turned out to be. How lazy and how inept at doing what I should be doing.

----------------------------------------------------

I like to be left alone on my birthday. To introspect, to relax and just be myself (which, nowadays, is having my huge ass stuck to the couch and flipping through TV channels), and to sleep like there's nothing else to be done (which mostly only translates to a siesta). I hate to go visit people or have a party. Except for the couple of gatherings with friends back in college. Or a small treat at the wada-pav outlet. I'd rather sit at home all day, eat Maggi and read a book, and then indulge in some nice coffee before going off to sleep. Or maybe spend a whole day driving around in a car all by myself (which wasn't an option until recently).

One time an aunt threw me a surprise party and invited all my college friends over. It was nice, but we were all a bit awkward with the dancing. I, however, felt a bit betrayed that my friends would keep a secret from me. Especially 'cause the aunt was sort of fun to be around but not really close.

It seems like fun today, because I came to the office and forgot my phone at home. The coming to office part is not fun, though. I usually don't mind working on my birthday, but today I really wanted to stay at home. Which is why I was pissed off in the morning. When I slept last night, all was well. But I kept being woken up by my dogs in between (they kept trying to climb into our bed; it must've been cold) and then everything went downhill in my mind. I woke up with a really heartfelt frown and kept sulking. Every little annoying thing snowballs into a nasty mood if it's your birthday (well, that's true for me on any other day as well).

CY 09 Q3 Analysis

2009-10-08T01:34:00.000-07:00

This one's quite simple. All plans to turn any of my previously mentioned hopes into reality have gone out of the window. I started working on it with gusto, and tried to keep track once or twice, but by now all my energy has run out and I have given up.

I want to give it all up, actually. I want a whole different life, but I'm stuck with the choices I made. One choice in particular. I could shrug it all off and be free, but that would put a whole bunch of people in distress. And I can't afford anything more weighing on my conscience. So I'll try and stick it out, clinging to my leftover sanity.

I won't even bother with an analysis at the end of this CY, because it would require me to explain in great detail what a fool I am. That is common knowledge to people around me, and I think I'll spare the internet from this gyaan.

Isn't it true international integration

2009-10-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

... when dancers of African and north-east Asian origin
perform a Bollywood routine
choreographed by Californians of Indian origin
on an American TV show
produced and hosted by people of European origin (English, to be precise)
judged by English and American people
and cheered on by a bunch of Americans?

So You Think You Can Dance rocks! Thank you, Nigel.

(Yes, yes, I'm way behind the times... I'm watching season 4, which was aired way back in 2008, but which is being repeated on one of the channels only now. I can't even remember which cannel, 'coz hubby dearest has programmed it for recording, and we watch those at our convenience, skipping the adverts. BIG yay for Tata Sky+!!)

Also, in a way, the decked-up Katie reminds me of Effe.

On a side note: what do you do with a husband whom you've invited for a romp in the marital bed (like RNM says), but who prefers to watch a 2-hour session of the aforementioned program instead?

Patterns and numbers

2009-10-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that my number of blog posts
... in the first year
= p1 = 12
... in the second year
= p2 = p1 x 2 + 2 = 26
... in the third year
= p3 = p2 x 2 + 4 = 56

If the pattern continues
... in the fourth year
= p4 = p3 x 2 + 6 (or 8, I could twist it the way I want ;-))
... which means I could write 118 or 120 posts this year. Hmm. I hope they aren't all fake posts like this one.

Also, the pattern will surely not continue the next year onwards, 'coz there's no way I can write 256 posts in a year. Well, unless I decide to write about the number of boogers I pick in a day, or day to day reports about the quality of my dogs' poop, or the decibel levels achieved when squabbling with the hubby (did I beat my mother's score yet?).

There's no hope for me

2009-09-04T00:21:00.000-07:00

"It is by not always thinking of yourself, if you can manage it, that you might somehow be happy. Until you make room in your life for someone as important to you as yourself, you will always be searching and lost."

~ The Bridge Across Forever

~ Richard Bach

[Obviously, the emphasis is mine.]

Encore

2009-07-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

When we relocated to Pune two years back, I was overwhelmed, but it all eased out after that trip.

So, when the monsoon set in this year, we couldn't resist the temptation to do an encore. The last time, it was my uncle and I who introduced my hubs to this piece-of-heaven. This time, it was the hubs and I, passing on the experience to my friend gudiya. Oh, and to our pups. They mostly ran wild whenever their feet touched the ground, all those scents driving them crazy. We also managed to walk into a stream of sparkling water trickling from the hills. We sat on some stones there for a while, and then also took the pups in for a few minutes. They weren't particularly looking to run away, but were definitely not very comfortable in the chilly water.

This is where we made the first halt, just in case the pups wanted to do their business.

The view ahead was inviting.

Yes, I'm hiding behind the car. I don't want to traumatize you with a view of the rolls of fat.

Further ahead, we made a wrong turn, and went on to the road that joins Lonavala (where we had been a couple of times last year). Just as we were about to turn back, we noticed an open plain to the right of the road. We pulled over and prepared the pups to step out safely (put on their body-belts and harnesses).

That's gudiya entertaining them until we got the food ready.

From where we stood, this was towards the left

... a little further left

... straight ahead

... and to the right.

We went closer, and then I grabbed the camera from the hubs' hands.

He doesn't know how to take pictures with a better perspective, and he won't take any free advice. Did I have a choice? Look at that valley. Isn't that more interesting that the plateaus above? :P

There was a ridge right across, and many tiny waterfalls, or springs, if you may.

A gorge across the valley.

Gudiya was clicking away on her Sony camera-phone, while the hubs kept the pups from falling off the nearby cliff.

After feeding the pups (and making sure at least one of them peed and pooped) we turned back to our previous destination--Tamhini ghat. It was another 10 kilometers from the point where we took the wrong turn, but we were in no hurry to get back. We drove up to the point from where the road winds down the mountain into further towns and villages.

That's the sun-kissed landscape

... as seen from here :)

On the way back, we halted at a new shack for snacks. After being stuffed with kaanda-bhaji and chai, the hubs refused to drive. So it was me at the wheel for the entire 150-km trip that lasted 7 hours. But I ain't complainin', baby!

CY 09 Q2 Analysis

2009-06-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

And guess what?! I completely lost track after the last analysis. It's almost like I gave up on disciplining myself.

So the follow-up goals-analysis goes like this (Plan | Jan-Mar | Apr-June 2009):

Spend at least an hour a day for /with myself, doing one of my favorite activities: walking / reading / swimming / hiking / meditating (something I confess to not have done in the past 2 years due to sheer laziness)
Laziness continues to rule my days, but I do swim more often now (twice or thrice a week, without actually dragging myself to do it!), and have also joined a Katthak class (yay!) and I practice the bols more heartily than actual steps :)
The Katthak class continues, swimming has been abandoned. But for good reason. After a long search and a seemingly-longer wait, we got home two lovely Dalmatian pups. And since then we discovered that time flits past faster than the speed of light. Walking has resumed with the dogs' walk every evening, although I really want to do mornings with them. Hiking will begin only after they're 6 months old, when they (and hopefully I) can make those attempts at putting staminas to the test.
LOSE WEIGHT (I won't set unrealistic goals, but 5 kgs would be good start--see how I choose the smallest battle possible? heh!)
I did lose a kilo in February, but I didn't count how much I put on before I started losing. Also, I think I regained that kilo or more during March, so the next week or so will be spent huffing and puffing so that when I land on the weighing machine at the doctor's in about a week, I'll have lost another kilo.
This is totally off the chart by now. In fact, not only have I surely gained that one kilo back, I've put on even more. (If that's possible with me still fitting into the same clothes.) I'm totally disgusted with myself, but I wonder when I'll get to the point where I feel ashamed with every morsel I ingest and every lethargy-filled moment I spend on the couch watching TV.
Proactively and efficiently do more than just what I'm told to do at work--I make plans all the time, but never really see them through... this year, I'm gonna break the habit (not a hope, but a promise)
I'm a tad slow on this one until now, but should pick up because I'll be setting my goals for FY10 soon. And I installed ManicTime to keep a tab on where I while away my time (not that I didn't know, but seeing the numbers actually drives in some shame, so I try to keep away from distractions).
ManicTime is forgotten, but I continue to do better than before. Work is automatically keeping me on my toes. Or maybe it's the pets. I begin any time between 7:00-9:00 am and am almost done by 3:00 pm, which is when I have to rush back to the starving canines. Then a couple more hours in the late evenings, mostly because I have meetings then.
Be forthright with everyone without being rude (this is a hard one, especially when all people want of you after 2 years of marriage is to make babies... AAARGHH!)
Hmm, there haven't been many situations where I'd have to use this, but that would be because we mostly avoid most kinds of social situations. Also, this is difficult to do with elders, especially relatives and in-laws. People my age or younger would get a piece of my mind if they bother with this topic.
Also, people expect women to provide the family with all sorts of culinary delights after marriage. I hate cooking when I'm supposed to do it. So after getting my brain wrapped around the fact that no one can coax me into it, I've started cooking more frequently. The inspiration being a little more inclination towards savings and health.
After many calls with my MIL where she went on about how having our own kids is better than having pets, and me passing on the phone to the hubs to avoid the topic, I finally managed to say "I don't yet feel like having kids," that too when she asked the specific question. The best part was that one fine evening, the hubs got so pissed with her pestering that he yelled at her to not repeat the same dumb question each time we call. He's my angel at times. Muuaaah!
Make at least two long road trips (not just the lousy 100 / 200 kms to Lonavla / Panchgani)
Already started on this one. It's not too easy due to the lightening of pockets that comes along with it, but one a quarter is not bad, is it?
No further trips in this quarter, because we had to take the pets for their vaccination shots almost every weekend. We do plan to make longer trips after they're 6 months old. Which means another quarter gone. In the meanwhile, we do plan to go for the usual monsoon-induced long drives :D

Not bad, eh? Even if I say so myself. (I don't believe in torturing myself to achieve things.)
This update didn't exactly come out as I had thought. I had my undies in a knot, because I almost didn't achieve anything I set out to do. But writing it out made me realize that I haven't completely failed. I think a huge thanks is in order for the pups, because I can use them as an excuse for almost everything.

What puts me off reproduction - II

2009-06-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

The sheer ignorance and arrogance of "experts" who are supposed to assist in / be responsible for the ultimate moment--the miracle of life. Fucktards.
Reading it was enough. I don't have the strength to write it all out again. Go over and check Rashmi's story at The Mad Momma's. I pray that Rashmi wins the good fight. I bow in respect to the woman's calm strength and conviction.

Dear Richard Bach

2009-05-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

I've thought about writing to you countless times, but I never really could string my words together. As I woke up in the middle of the night, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I had a sudden urge to read Jonathan Livingston Seagull all over again. I frantically searched through my cupboard, and was disappointed to not find it there.

And then I saw the Messiah's Handbook. I'm always at a loss for good questions at such times. I think I asked "Do I still have any love left inside me?" I think I meant "Am I capable of being in love again?" This was my answer: "What if all these levels inside you are your friends, and they know a lot more than you know? What if your teachers are here, right now? Instead of always talking, what if for a change you listen?"--I want to! But at the moment I have so many thoughts buzzing inside my head that I need to get them out to feel calm again.

[Incidentally, I also found some verses I wrote a couple of months ago and this answer also addresses the same!]

Every time I wake up like this, thinking of you, or with an urge to read your words, I am a bit spooked. I wonder why this happens, and I imagine having a direct connection with you, and I worry, is everything OK with you? I have goosebumps every time I think that some day you will pass on from this world. Although we've never met/spoken, there's this strong bond I feel, which makes me sad at the thought of no longer having you around.

So, before the possibility of you reading this is forever lost, here's what I needed to say:
Thank you! Thanks for being what you are and sharing your thoughts with us. As innumerable people must have said before: your words have had a huge impact on my life. They've helped me through many rough times, and have given me profound joy and peace whenever I felt I was losing faith in my self.

[My mind went blank for a while here.]

I've been wanting to meet you, knowing fully well that there is nothing I could contribute to your life. I only wanted to express my gratitude, but I know I would have been at a loss of words in your presence. So here it is: thanks a million for existing during my time on earth :)

Love and regards,
Pallavi

PS: After I wrote it all out, I asked "Will this ever reach Richard?" To which, I got "Know that ever about you stands the reality of love, and each moment you have the power to transform the world by what you have learned." You did really hear my first question, didn't you?

The part of me that no one sees

2009-05-05T03:40:00.000-07:00

... is Troubled

You are compassionate, caring, and soothing.

You like other people to depend on you...

In fact, you don't feel right unless you are helping someone out.

Underneath it all, you feel the burden of everyone's problems.

Without your guidance, you fear that many people's worlds would fall apart.

You like to feel in charge, even if it brings you a lot of stress.

What's the Part of You That No One Sees?

Yes, hubby, I can hear you mumble "bossy bitch." This post just proves your point. Now go get that batter so I make appé and dosas to feed our ever-hungry stomachs :P

CY 09 Q1 Analysis

2009-04-02T04:37:00.000-07:00

Because I don't want get to my planned mid-year analysis and be shocked at what I haven't achieved :P

So the goals-analysis goes like this (Jan-Mar 2009):

Spend at least an hour a day for /with myself, doing one of my favorite activities: walking / reading / swimming / hiking / meditating (something I confess to not have done in the past 2 years due to sheer laziness)
Laziness continues to rule my days, but I do swim more often now (twice or thrice a week, without actually dragging myself to do it!), and have also joined a Kathak class (yay!) and I practice the bols more heartily than actual steps :)
LOSE WEIGHT (I won't set unrealistic goals, but 5 kgs would be good start--see how I choose the smallest battle possible? heh!)
I did lose a kilo in February, but I didn't count how much I put on before I started losing. Also, I think I regained that kilo or more during March, so the next week or so will be spent huffing and puffing so that when I land on the weighing machine at the doctor's in about a week, I'll have lost another kilo.
Proactively and efficiently do more than just what I'm told to do at work--I make plans all the time, but never really see them through... this year, I'm gonna break the habit (not a hope, but a promise)
I'm a tad slow on this one until now, but should pick up because I'll be setting my goals for FY10 soon. And I installed ManicTime to keep a tab on where I while away my time (not that I didn't know, but seeing the numbers actually drives in some shame, so I try to keep away from distractions).
Be forthright with everyone without being rude (this is a hard one, especially when all people want of you after 2 years of marriage is to make babies... AAARGHH!)
Hmm, there haven't been many situations where I'd have to use this, but that would be because we mostly avoid most kinds of social situations. Also, this is difficult to do with elders, especially relatives and in-laws. People my age or younger would get a piece of my mind if they bother with this topic.
Also, people expect women to provide the family with all sorts of culinary delights after marriage. I hate cooking when I'm supposed to do it. So after getting my brain wrapped around the fact that no one can coax me into it, I've started cooking more frequently. The inspiration being a little more inclination towards savings and health.
Make at least two long road trips (not just the lousy 100 / 200 kms to Lonavla / Panchgani)
Already started on this one. It's not too easy due to the lightening of pockets that comes along with it, but one a quarter is not bad, is it?

Not bad, eh? Even if I say so myself. (I don't believe in toturing myself to achieve things.)

Stealing a bloggie game / tag / meme / whatever-you-call-it

2009-03-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

... for the first time ever, from Double-Dolphin, my one and only commenter for the past few months. Thanks for this, dude! I sooooooooo wanted to do a fun post today. So here goes...

AGO S.I

Everything in the world may be endured
as much as you please

No matter how rich you become
you are disbelieved

A myth is a religion in which
you don't stop biting your fingernails

A verbal contract isn't worth
a good five-cent nickel

You can observe a lot
that would suffice

Here are the rules:

Go to wikipedia
Hit "random"or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Set the title of the first random wikipedia article that appears as the title of your poem
Go to "Random quotations"or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

Select the first three or five words of the very first quote on the page for the first line of your poem
Select the last three or five words of the next quote on the page for the second line of your poem
Select the first three or five words of the third quote on the page for the third line
...and then use alternate quotes until you’ve made it to the last quote

Go to flickr and click on "explore the last seven days" or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
The fifth picture, no matter what it is, should be your poem image; this is optional

Here's what I ~~did~~ could do:

Accessed to wikipedia
Clicked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Set the title of the first random wikipedia article that appeared as the title of my poem
Clicked http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

Used the first ~~three or five~~ few suitable words of the very first quote on the page for the first line of my poem
Used the last ~~three or five~~ few suitable words of the next quote on the page for the second line of my poem
Used the first ~~three or five~~ few suitable words of the third quote on the page for the third line of my poem
...and then used alternate quotes until I made it to the last quote

Flickr and Picasa are both banned in my office, and so are most of the picture / photo websites
... so I simply used a picture that I had just ~~stolen~~ download from my arty friend's blog this week, because I wanted a picture even though this was optional

Of course, the freaking title has nothing to do with the image or the text that follows. Drat!

But some of the quotes do make a meaningful / fun poem when mashed up together like this:
A verbal contract isn't worth a good five-cent nickel! Beat that!!
...and what can I say, I'm very mythical :) (Line 3, you dummies!)

Beautiful quote(s)

2009-03-20T07:19:00.001-07:00

... that I came across when I was hunting for Calligraphy courses online.

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value."

"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection."

~ Thomas Paine

I don't whether they were quoted in continuation, but they do seem to go together.

(Hubs, you got to think about the second one.)

Attempts to focus

2009-03-19T02:53:00.000-07:00

...at work are bound to fail when you have AR Rahman's music playing through your headphones. It wants to make you hum along, it makes you want to dance with abandon, you begin to grin like a fool (at the awesome sound effects), your fingers automatically leave the keyboard and start tapping other objects around you, and then you end up getting weird looks from coworkers or passers by.

What's more, all thoughts about crappy product defects and their even crappier descriptions simply seem untouchable and you feel silly about wanting to be at your desk in the first place. All motivating thoughts that you've brainwashed yourself with... the ones about how you like your job, how essential it is to be proactive, innovative, and that you should strive to work better than you worked yesterday... all go down the proverbial drain.

Sigh! Could someone please pay me to simply listen to the genius?

And for the record... I think the Jay Ho / Slumdog Milllionaire score is nothing when compared to Roja, Bombay, Taal, Lagaan, Saathiya, ... What about an Oscar for each of these?

Like TMM or someone else said on her blog (can't find the exact post), our medicore is their best??!

Personal quotes

2009-03-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

"It is very difficult to work with the imagination of things whose reality the brain has ascertained through the sense organs. We accept our imaginations very easily until we ascertain their existence in reality. It takes an effort to convince the brain that we can, or we already have, magnetized our imaginations."

This is something I wrote about 4 years back. When I found it in ~~one of the many lost treasures~~ a cupboard in my home, and read it again after so many years, I was like... huh?! What was that all about?! Now my poor brain has to go fetch its meaning from the many repressed memories. :(

A friend, a brother

2009-03-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

He's leaving for Seattle this evening. Vacation over, time to go back. My college-mate-good-enough-to-be-bro R, who was away for 4 years. Whom I met after 6 long years. Who hasn't changed a bit--physically. There's quite some change in his thought process / attitude, though--he acknowledges that.

So what's to write about? Well, I don't know... I'm missing him already. We only met for a few hours, but it was nice... just like we were back then... ourselves. As our short conversation on GTalk was ending, my eyes turned moist. He hasn't really been in touch all these years, except when I repeatedly bothered him over emails and rare phone calls. But I know there's a bond. I know he'll be there for me if and whenever I need him. He might judge me, criticize my behavior, even yell at me if I act real crazy, but he'll be around in my hour of need. We haven't spoken about these things at length, but it's just this connection I feel in my heart.

We're quite a contrast--I'm short, plump (ok, fat!), and giggling-away-to-glory; he's very tall, skeletal, and always pretends to be serious (actually he's the one I'm giggling at!); but I ~~believe~~ like to think we enjoy each other's company. During college, I would often be found goofing around with the guys in our group, while the other girls sincerely attended lectures. I don't smoke or drink, but I would always hang out with these guys who did. I don't think they were ever bothered, because I was cool with things they did, and didn't try to correct them all the time. There's nothing to be proud of here, but it's just the way I was. And certain people, I always felt an affinity to. It was never spoken / expressed, but we just knew. R ~~was~~ is one of them.

There's another thing common among this group of college mates. None of us got to marry the ones we were in love with, back then. We either broke off, or were made to break off (intolerant parents), or just gave up when the relationship went long-distance (moving to different locations for work and life ahead). R is the last of that set of people. The intention of his trip to India was to get married with his girlfriend of 6 years, but the same old story happened with him--parents not being ready to accept the relationship. One of them gave up and the relationship ended. It bothers me as much if not more than it bothers him. He underplays such significant events in life, and this time, I was torturing him with questions--hoping that he would open up and vent--no such luck, though. Anyway, hope he gets over it and has a better life ahead... I'm more concerned because he lives alone and has a social life, but not many "friends." I can't say it matters, because when it comes to really personal matters, I too don't share a lot with my friends, but it's always good to have them around. To know that they are in the same city and can spend time with you when you need it.

Ok, that's enough burbling. I'll be lucky if R reads this through the end. But it doesn't matter. I had to write. I had to do something to stop myself from brooding. And crying under the weight of all those memories. Love you, R. Hope to live closer to you some day. Because you're as weird as I am... a different kind of weird, but weird enough to be my bro.

Good news and bonding

2009-03-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

My ex-boyfriend's long-since-awaiting-the-ex-status-wife called yesterday. They finally reached a settlement after about a year-long wait. Her bloody asshole husband never turned up on all the days that the court had summoned him. Then finally things got settled in her favor. That was easy because she didn't ask for alimony or anything. In my opinion, the most important thing she lost was time... good time she could have had, had he not decided to screw it up. How can time be compensated for?

Anyway, she was relieved that it was all over. I was damn happy for her. We'll have a small party this weekend--by ourselves. Sometimes, we gain friends in the strangest possible ways. I'm glad I know a beautiful and strong girl like her. Cheers, P!!

Update: Hubby and I met her one Saturday--a lunch and movie gig--and it was so much fun to be with her. The blasted arse of a guy through whom we know each other... he said nasty things about her to me, and even nastier things about me to her... thankfully we had more sense than to believe the fucker. We disregarded any of his statements and met secretly; I'm glad she accepted my invitation.

Belated wishes for a long-lost friend

2009-02-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

Almost a week ago, on Feb 21st, me and hubby happened to go out and have chhole-bhature. While waiting for the food to arrive, I narrated to him the story of my school lunch times.

I had a friend named Jasmine, who used to bring the world's most amazing puri-bhaaji in her tiffin. She used to like the pohe mom sent along in my tiffin. So, when this combination occurred, we used to simply switch tiffins and gobble up the goodies.

Although we were part of a 20-strong gang of girls from our division, Jasmine and I always had lunch by ourselves--for all the 3 years that we shared our school life. I think we gravitated towards each other because we had both transferred to Mt. Carmel from other schools. During the last year though, her ex-schoolmate Gita (now Carmeltie) used to join us. I was sometimes jealous because of their comfort level with each other ;-)

Anyway, the point is, I thought about Jasmine after a long time on Feb 21st, which was her birthday. I realized this coincidence only a few days later. Somehow I do remember her birthday, and although I haven't met her in years, every time I pass by the area where she lived, I feel tempted to go check whether I can trace her back.

Dear Jassi, wherever you are, I wish you a very happy birthday and a fun-filled life. Lotsa love.

I overdid it

2009-02-20T00:13:00.000-08:00

I have a habit of underplaying issues--mostly at work, I'd like to think. The past two weeks have been crazy: I'm supposed to document changes made to a product in its first patch, and I have to collect information from a lot of people. The trap? Nobody seems to be quite sure of what they're doing or saying! I have been chasing people, literally (shuttling between 3 floors of the office building) and virtually (over emails), but there isn't much coming out of it. It's a sorry situation and in some cases totally unacceptable--developers and QA not verifying the material I have written, and giving me a sign-off. I keep wondering what is wrong with people? Why can't they want to do the right thing? How can they agree to deliver half-hearted, shoddy work? Why can't people put more time and efforts into planning, and set aside a buffer for things that go wrong?
Anyway, I think about these issues, put them aside and try to do the best I can with what I have. I've been pushing so many things to the back of my mind that it all comes out in the wrong ways. Last night I cried myself to sleep. I hit the bed but was just not able to transport myself to slumberland. There was a little quarrel I had with hubby in the evening too. So he wasn't trying to cuddle me into sleeping. When he finally held my hand I just couldn't bear it and shed all those tears and snot. I think I slept dreamlessly, but still did not feel rested in the morning.

Fart-(maceut)-ical babble

2009-02-16T01:58:00.000-08:00

Last night, I slew a cockroach with a broom. Battered the most disgusting creature on earth to death. A big, ripe, fat roach.

This morning, as I woke up, I noticed another smaller-sized but adult cockroach lying dead on the floor near my side of the bed.

Me: Look! Here's another dead roach!
The hubs: Yes. All your farting must've killed it last night.
Me: Wow! I didn't know my fart was so effective!
The hubs: Of course it is! We should fill it up in aerosol cans and use it as a pesticide.
Me (thinking to myself): Imagine how many millions of dollars the pharmaceutical companies will pay for my fart! I should patent this killer production mechanism. What a great way to kill your enemy... with your own fart! Ha-ha! Plus, it's eco-friendly, like kangaroos, I guess!

A little googling also told me that it's good for my blood pressure.

PS: You've been warned.

The way we're bloody brought up

2009-02-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

What the wife does:
- Wakes up early in the morning and cleans up the mess she and anyone else has left behind
- Prepares breakfast (6 months into the marriage and she's still trying)
- Lovingly wakes up the husband instead of jolting him from his sweet slumber
- Feeds him the breakfast while gobbling it up herself because she's a slow eater anyway
- Drives him to the bus stop 2 kilometers away because he won't wake up early enough to catch the bus that passes nearby
- Comes back home and finishes the necessary chores before leaving for office

What the husband does:
- Wakes up just a few minutes before it's time for him to leave for / begin work (consistent habit irrespective of marital status)
- Doesn't even bother to fold and put back his bedsheets
- Finds and issue with the work at hand and starts becoming irritable

What the wife does (in the meanwhile):
- Wakes up and gets ready (two years into the marriage and she's already given up on the breakfast and most other things)
- Tries to hug and kiss him from behind his comfy chair and gets a "don't disturb me" thrown at her... when all she wanted was a goodbye before she left for work

What the husband does:
- Comes around to pacify the disappointed wife, but she says something about leaving her alone and him going back to his favorite task
- Actually goes back to his favorite task after throwing a "fuck off" at her
- Then he is seen sulking on the bed because of some problem caused by some third party which affected them both because of his attitude

What the wife does:
- Bangs the door and leaves in her car
- Stops a few paces from home and simply listens to the radio wondering what went wrong and how many times this scene will be repeated
- Since there's not much she can do alone to improve the situation, she sighs and heads to work hoping that she'll forget all about it and continue with her bloody secure life

Lucky 'levens

2009-02-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

February 11 seems to be a day of significance for me or people I like(d).

This day, 14 years ago, I met my first boyfriend (whom I totally disliked then, btw, just like I do now).

Today, I helped ("pushed," to put it in his words) my lovely hubby earn 11 grand before 11 am on the National Stock Exchange :D (and I'm still gloating about it)!

This is also the day when The Redneck Mommy is going to meet her new son for the very first time. I'm soooooooooo happy for her and Boo, Fric, and Frac. Congratulations, you beautiful people!

Pssst! And guess what? This is my 111th post :D I'll be grinning for the rest of the day. She'll understand why.

The witness

2009-02-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

A fun conversation from How Long Till My Soul Gets It Right by Robert M. Alter and Jane Alter (Yes, that's my current dig. Apart from Through Time Into Healing by Dr. Brian L. Weiss.)...

"I had so many thoughts, feelings, and scenarios playing through my mind during meditation that I couldn't meditate at all."
"How do you know you had all those thoughts, feelings, and scenarios playing through your mind?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who knows, and is able to report to me, that you had all those thoughts, feelings, and scenarios playing through your mind?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Are you confused right now?"
"Yes."
"How do you know you're confused? Who knows that you're confused?"
"I do."
"You know that you're confused?"
"Yes."
"And who's reporting it to me?"
"I am."
"And what are you reporting that you know?"
"That I'm confused."
"Who's 'I'?"
"I am."
"And you're confused?"
"Yes."
"I thought you just said you're the one who knows that you're confused."
"I do."
"Well, which is it? Are you the one who's confused or are you the one who knows he's confused?"
"I am confused, but I also know that I'm confused."
"Then you're two beings. You're what you are, which right now is confused, and you're also something inside that seems to know what you are, and that knower is not confused."

Of course, the response was: "Now I'm really confused." But the point is the previous statement. So perfectly put!

Also, as I was typing this, the conversation somehow reminded me of the twisted yet amazingly simple style of Joseph Heller in Catch 22. Not that the books are comparable. Just the way he presents his scenes from every character's perspective. I couldn't complete that book in one go. I guess I picked it at the wrong time--when I was busy preparing for my wedding, and during all the train travel involved. But, another try shall be made some day.

My heroes - II

2009-02-09T22:20:00.001-08:00

Aren't they yummy? I'm yet to see mischief better depicted in a person's eyes ;-) They're sooooooooooo perfect for Fred and George! I really wish I had known people like these characters in real life. Nicked the pic from here. Try your luck here; the site isn't working for me at the moment.

My heroes - I

2009-02-09T21:38:00.000-08:00

This is why I love Calvin: "Actually, I've got the same questions about God."

And my hubby is EXACTLY LIKE HOBBES in the rightmost block on the center strip: "See? See why you are on the 'bad' list? Insults!."
Bloody ass. He does the same... only quietly, during one of this many talking-to-himself phases. Hmph!

Phone abuse and gender bias

2009-02-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

I saw a couple of missed calls from an unknown number on my cellphone last evening. When I tried calling back, the number was busy, so I didn't try again.

This morning, the person calls me again and I realize it only after I see two missed calls. So I call back and he picks up at the second attempt.

Here's how it went...
Me: Hello?
Caller: Kaun baat kar raha hai? (Who's speaking?)
Me: Aapne phone kiya, aapko pata hona chahiye. (You've called, you should know.)
Caller: Maine missed call dekha. (I saw a missed call from this number.)
Me: Aapka call aya tha, jo maine return kiya. (You had called earlier and I tried to return the call.)
Caller: Accha, kaun bol rahe hain? (So, who's speaking?)
Me: Aren't you supposed to know that when you are calling a person?
Caller: Theek se sunai nahi de raha hai. (I can't hear you clearly.)
...and he cuts the call.

In a couple more minutes, he calls again...
Me: Hello?
Caller: Kaun baat kar raha hai? (Who's speaking? [Again!])
Me: Arey, aapne phone kiya to aapko pata hona chahiye na ki kisse baat karni hai?! (Dude, you called, you should know whom you wish to speak to.)
Caller: Accha, aap kahan se baat kar rahe hain? (So, where are you speaking from?)
Me: (Too exasperated to continue in Hindi) How does it matter where I am? You've called, you should state your identity and purpose before you say anything.
Caller: Teri choot marunga. (I'll fuck you. [Or something to that effect, or worse, I didn't care to imagine.])
Me: (Previously half-asleep, now too dazed to continue) Bloody asshole! Fuck off!!
...and this time I cut the call.

What I should have said occurred to me a few minutes later: "Kyu, teri maa ki khaali nahi hai kya? Jahan se aaye ho, wahin waapas chale jao to accha rahega! (Why? Isn't your mother's [vagina] available? It'll be better if you go back to where you came from!)"

What pisses me off is the first abuse that comes to mind is that of a woman's genitals. Which should ideally be held sacred by one and all because they are the very gates through which such bastards enter this world. And why aren't men's genitals ever abuse like this? Because we women don't stoop to such levels. (Most) men are nutjobs!

I had checked last evening itself and am pretty sure I had not dialed his number even by mistake. My phone keypad is usually locked to prevent such things. This conversation should have ended with an apology on his behalf and an "it's alright" on mine, if he accepted that it was a genuine mistake. Or, a simple "bewakoof" from his side, which would have resulted in me calling him an idiot, and that would be the last exchange between us.

What he did simply proved his worthlessness as a human being.

Serendipity

2009-02-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

...was aired this evening
...four years after first hearing about the film, yearning to watch it, and not being able to
...this very evening!!

This is either the best example of mixed signals that the universe throws at us, or probably the most clear signal I've ever received.

'Nuff said!

Amusing relationships

2009-02-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

Letter from an over-possessive, micro-brained girlfriend-soon-to-be-wife (character 1) of a boy (character 2)
...to his virtual-ex-girlfriend (character 3) who mistakenly thought they were soulmates (they probably were, during an earlier lifetime, but not for this one):

Hi [name of character 3 in small-case],
how are u ?
anyways It's a pleasure to share with you all that I am tying the nuptial knot on [date of character 2's doomsday].with [name of character 2 in all-CAPS]
i m not inviting you just informing you.
n we both don't wanna see you again in our life so plzzzzzz....................
n i think u will understand wat i want to say
thanks n good bye
[name of character 1 in all-CAPS]

...verbatim, excluding real names for obvious reasons.

Okay, if you could tear your eyes off the glaring mistakes (or shall I say ignorance) in punctuation and grammar for a minute, did anyone of you notice the mention of doomsday? I hope that said moron (I'm wondering whether it's character 1, or character 2, or both) realizes what (s)he is getting into, but can never really get out of it. Also, do you think women's liberation is finally here? (Not that I give a rat's arse either way.) I mean, the babe writing on behalf of the guy that they "both don't wanna see" character 3 again in their life! Congratulations to them both. For a sloppily ever after ;-)

Lesson of the day - I

2009-02-02T01:26:00.000-08:00

This morning, as I switched on my workstation, I failed to notice that the keyboard was kept on the table as opposed to the keyboard trolley where it is normally placed. I went to the pantry to fetch some water, and when I got back, I noticed the logon screen. As I pulled out the trolley to type in my credentials, I noticed that the keyboard was not in there, but above it, where it should have caught my eye. My immediate thoughts were: "Who the hell left it up here? Must have been the cleaning guys. Nutjobs. Can't even remember to put things back in place."

Then, as I typed in the credentials and the default startup applications were busy loading, it occurred to me that the keyboard was there for a reason--to remind me that I need to login before heading out to fill my water bottle, so that by the time I come back, the computer is ready to take my commands. Drat! There goes my chance of being a private detective. I could not even detect a bloody misplaced keyboard.

Is there any such thing as "too many vacations"?

2009-01-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

A colleague at snacks yesterday: How many vacations do you take in a year?! Every few days you send a mail that goes "Pictures from..."
Me: Huh?! Really? I usually take only a day's holiday in addition to a long weekend and that's enough for a nice short trip for me. I do the same during the holiday season, and it just seems like I have too much fun!
Later, thinking to myself: Really? Do I travel too much? No, yaar! I always feel like there's so much to do and no time at all!

Even later, this morning, a friend asked over chat about my recent Goa trip. A few minutes after discussing with her, I found myself looking at Google maps to judge whether Pune - Bangalore was a good distance to cover in the car, before my parents shifted back to Pune. I'd like a little visit with them before they do that! Then I thought of checking which cities NH 4 really runs through, and my eyes darted upwards. I soon realized that I was checking whether Pune - Daman & Diu (coastal Gujarat) - Vadodara (where hubby's sister and her family lives) was a possible option for the vacation I am planning in September (again, around the time when there are a lot of holidays anyway).

And then I was like... my colleague really noticed something I didn't... I do think of vacations / traveling all the time! I had to tear my eyes off Google maps and make my brain shut up about "what I'd like to do" and so on. So here I am, about to listen to "Khuda Jaane" in loud-mode with my earphones on for one last time, before I cleanse my mind of all thoughts of entertainment, and get to actually earning my salary. Wish me some peace at work, peoples!

Kaanda-Bataata-Pohé

2009-01-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

As usual, a recipe (-) instructions (+) tips to let you know what I think is the best way to do it.

Ingredients:

Pohé (rice flakes, 1 or 2 handfuls per serving)
Onions (1/6th the amount of pohé)
Potatoes (same as the onions or a little more)
Green chillies (1 inch per serving)
Ginger (1/2 or 1 inch block)
Curry leaves (4 - 8 leaves)
Turmeric powder (1 or 2 pinches)
Mohri / Rai (mustard seeds, 1 or 2 pinches)
Oil (I use groundnut oil, enough to fry the onions and potatoes)

Tip: Check the type of pohé you have. There are at least 3 kinds: thin, medium, and thick. This recipe requires the medium variety. However, the medium ones might be thinner than actually required, and if so, you'll need to soak them for only 1 or 2 minutes. If they are thick enough, you can soak them first, chop the onions, potatoes, and chillies, and then begin heating the oil.

Tip: Throw the chillies and curry leaves in first, add the onions, and then the turmeric powder so that it doesn't get burnt.

Tip: Sauté the onions for a minute, and then add the potatoes and stir until the turmeric is evenly spread.

Tip: Cover the mixture for a few minutes (while stirring in between) until the potatoes are soft enough.

Tip: Separate the pohé if they're chunked after soaking, and add them to the mixture. Stir until the turmeric powder is evenly mixed.

Tip: Cover for 1 or 2 minutes, stir once more, then cover again, and keep it on a low flame for another 30 secs - 1 min.

Serving tip: Enjoy them with a cup of hot Indian chai / cool chocolate milk / cold coffee. Good for those who simply can't gulp down dry morsels.

Garnishing: You can add shev (pronounced "shave" or sev ["save"] in Hindi).

Serving tip for the health conscious: Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and / or wet coconut meat.

Good for a morning or evening snack. We usually brunch on this.