Thank God - It's Monday!

For the first time in the past three years I waited impatiently for a Monday. No, no, it’s not the salary day. It just happened that I was jailed in my tiny hostel room for a complete weekend. I had rented out my IPOD to its actual owner, My Lappy charger blew off and I can’t switch it on now, there is no TV in my room, and the book I was reading was one of its kind. I would be the first to pass such a nasty comment for the winner of the Booker of booker but really Saleem bhai, you forced it out of me. I don’t think that the author could have stretched the book to one more page. You can safely skip a chapter or two and you won’t notice the break in the storyline at all. If you say that is the beauty of the book, well maybe I should look down and search for my kind of books – Big font, fast moving, easy writing and present age ones. Ok I’m not here to write a book review. I just wanna pen down my feelings on a Happy Monday – Yes Monday’s can be good!

Saturday morning I got up with a blocked nose. One need not switch on the TV or turn the newspaper pages these days to know the variations in Bangalore climate. So I took two DVD’s from the video library and started one after the other. Alas, it was only past 12 and I had no clue on what to be done for the rest of the day. I called up my dentist for a date. My earlier post would have given a hint as to how much I look forward for a visit to a dental clinic L. Well, that was in any way better than slogging in my room. After that I walked all around koramangala, did some shopping, and came back by 6. I got tired of walking and took my sleeping pill – Yes, the book. The next day I went out for breakfast, came back, saw another movie – Videsh, Heaven on Earth. That was enough to spoil the day and to compensate for that I watched another movie (after having lunch also from out) - Calcutta news -must say – I liked it! Evening, I took a long stroll and again ate local snacks from all the street vendors.

Finally after all the adventure and out of experience, I’m with a list of things which you can do on an ideal weekend.

1. Try out all the forgotten yoga postures one after the other taking breaks in between
2. Think of all occasions in the near future and splurge money on gifts
3. Discover all the eating outlets in your neighborhood and in each of that, the best item.
4. Did you think that pedicure is boring – Try it out patiently, believe me you’ll enjoy it
5. Who said you can take bath only once in a day? Try twice – it’s refreshing you know!
6. Play scrabble alone, win-win situation!
7. Clean up your room.

I’ll keep adding to this….

This is angry me writing this post ...

Ya I know, I know – this is not the place to write about official etiquette. But recently I’m getting so pissed when I come across some mails without a salutation.
When you send an official mail, be it an answer to a question or a simple comment, it should have a “Hi so-nd-so” inevitably in the beginning. At least that’s what I feel. Come on, putting someone’s name is not a time consuming activity!

Anzac Oatmeal Cookies

The ordeal of staying in office when there is no big work on your head in itself is really a tough job you see. And to escape the boredom, I have started eating ... really a lot. When the weighing machine showed a figure > 60, I easily blamed it on the machine. Come on ! that's really a scary number !

So with utmost dedication and vigour, I'm attending my aerobics classes regularly. But I just can't help munching. And yes, my aerobics tutor told me that it's always better to keep eating in small quantity frequently. Being a really good student, I'm following her advice strictly. And this long trial and error approach for the best snack led me to this superb thing - Anzac's Oatmeal Cookies.

When Sree told me that Asha's 1 year old kid Kunjan eats this (and only this) as his breakfast, lunch and dinner, I thought of giving it a try - just to check what's so special about it.
But should tell you - its simply too good. I never liked Oats but this one is too good. Try it with tea and you'll love it.

First is FIRST

Be it sweet or bitter, the first experience is something we hold close to our heart. First job, first trip abroad, first love, first kiss, first drink etc; the list is endless.

So when I am sitting here in my office cubicle very tactfully stealing some time from my supposed to be working hours just below the nose of my manager, a volley of sweet memories are rushing to my mind. This is the same place where I “worked” for the first time I landed in my job and I can feel heaviness in my heart and couldn’t help myself jotting it down.

My first few days in Wipro: Those were days of fun, everything was new. We were just like few kids out of college and office looked more or less like an outing except for the serious grave figures who were spotted occasionally passing the corridor moving around in their own world unaware of the surroundings and talking to themselves.

I remembered Sreeja passing a comment “Why is that none here are smiling?”

The canteens and lawns were the hot spots. I kept hearing words like bench and free pool lest did I understand what they actually meant. The cafeteria discussion was confined to choosing the most affordable prepaid card dealer – the affordable here meant hundreds of free messages. Once back from home town, the first thing to do was to book train tickets for the next trip and a trip actually meant 5 days of restless wait and reparation. Suddenly all the new faces whom I had met for the first time in my lives and shared a month of training became my world in this fancy land. I felt strange and wondered how people ate, dressed, talked on phone. It was like so much money pushed to my hands and very less to do in office. One weekend here meant a trip to Commercial Street, lunch from MAS and games in PG. I was happy to live in the new world and everyone around were happy.

Silly stupid things looks more funny now like the whole gang of some 50 rushing to use the proximity card for the first time on a door access card reader, mistaking it to be the one that marked your attendance and each one returning happily watching the green light glow with a beep!

Today am sitting here, back in the same tower and floor. When I see young people moving around here, feel like warning them -”Watch out guys… We are the veterans here”

The Small saplings which were planted then have become big to be called trees. Smoking corner is no more there and there is a small juice junction. The COE lab which was once our kingdom looks very deserted now. The chairs are arranged neatly and nothings scribbled on the white board. No songs put aloud and no demo fumes over anyone’s heads. The conference room next to the lab is titled “WAR ROOM” - I wonder whether someone really went there. There is undue silence here and people looked really busy. Being a wing that handles round the clock support projects, there a very few people at a time in the wing – that meant less noise and mess.

It’s a great feel. Wipro has given me some good friends, a comfortable and smooth work experience and a bunch of sweet memories.

Everything is the same. We still have all the fun that we used to have. We still laugh our hearts out over silly jokes.

Only the gang is missing!

Kichu Stories - Part 1

Being the youngest one in the family, Krishna or kichu as we call her is the most pampered one. I’m talking about my 10 year old first cousin. Her funny stories are worth enough to be compiled into a book.

This incident dates back to some 2 years.

After a movie, we went to a restaurant to have our lunch. The ambience and the menu in itself was not really welcoming. But since my mom is very skeptical about girls roaming around and eating out alone, we settled to a not so good OK kinda restaurant very close to the theatre.

Menu was of no use since nothing in that was ready there or will be ready if we wait. To add to the horror, the waiter seemed all the more confused and he ended up serving Chicken Manchurian in the place of Chicken Lollypop and Ghee rice in the place of Fried rice.
When we came out we were so frustrated that we didn’t actually feel like offering any tip. Still for the namesake we carefully placed a 2 rupee coin inside the booklet that he gave us and hurried to the exit.

Kichu was the last one to get out and she noticed that we have left a brand new 2 rupee coin there !!!

She took it and yelled out aloud “Raichi, you forgot to take the balance!”

All we could think of at that time was – ESCAPE

Zoozooz - Aren't they Cute????

For those who keep teasing me for waiting for these commercials which comes in between IPL and watching them more carefully than the match itself - JFYI there are more than 50,000 fans registered for Zoozoo's in facebook.

(As for IPL, sometimes... err ... most of the times I will be unaware of even the teams involved... All I'll notice is ... Yes... Shah Rukh is in a denim blue shirt, Shilpa has come with her sis to watch the match, and Cheer leaders are more energetic and ... you know .... than yesterday !!!)

So friends, a big round of applause for Prakash Varma(Nirvana Films) and the gang of Girls from Mumbai for bringing Zoozoo's to life.... clap clap clap !!!

Well, I understand that I am not delivering a vote of thanks but cant help it you see !!!

Amchi Mumbai on the receiving end of a great chunk of good publicity - Thanks to Danny Boyle and Vodafone.

How can you just afford to just skip these ads.... they are so Chweet...as you might say !!

Now to the facts - Blame it on the recession, but Vodafone's pockets were also wiped out. Indeed necessity is the mother of invention and here came Zoozoo - the genie.

ZooZoo says :

• It took only 3 weeks for my creation
• I have foam stuck in my costume
• I'm big ( a human head will reach only up to my mouth )
• I was shot in Cape Town
• And I let only ladies and children drive me ;-)

Vodafone rocks - Not in good service, also not in value for money service but their ambassadors are (and were) the best.

Way to go ...

Are you in your Quarter?

Do you experience any/some/all of the below symptoms?

• Feel insecure
• Feel that all the people around you are selfish
• dissatisfied with job
• judge yourself with others actions
• scared/feel alone/confused
• Your past has become very dear to you and you feel like its drifting away from you faster
• Settling down is your top priority
• think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack
• talk with your friends about the same topics

Dont Panic... Nothing's wrong with you... All in their twenties feel the same and sceintifically, it is termed - Quarter-life Crisis