deepocean

http://www.squidoo.com/100-things-thankful

2012-02-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

Borrowed from:

http://www.squidoo.com/100-things-thankful

He’s a winner!

2012-01-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

My facebook status announced him a winner a day before the finals of Australian open 2012. It was a tensed moment to see my super hero of tennis fighting out in semifinals with the favorite of the season – Roger Federer. That’s who Nadal is. The one thing that differentiates him among the rest is, his strong mental ability to just not give up. Nadal did beat Roger Federer and made it to finals with Djokovic.

I don’t remember when I started following Nadal's game. It must be one of those matches in which he lost to Federer. In 2005 it was Federer the winner and there was nobody to challenge him. From somewhere Nadal appears and gives him a tough fight which was soothing eyes. True sports should always be about fighting or the clash of titans than one sided match. Nadal started giving those moments to Federer but they did it with class. Then the era of Nadal started for me. He started dominating in clay while Federer in grass. It used to be a treat to watch them in particular because Nadal was so strong both physically and mentally.

The time was set right for the final match of Australian open. By the time I started watching, Nadal had won the first set in a tie breaker. I often fail to understand, why he should take the set to such a tensed moment. Nadal performs best when under pressure is well known but why should it be so, always. The 2nd and 3rd set was conquered by Djokovic. Djokovic was doing what Nadal did to Federer. It looked all right for a common person like me that both were playing technically correct and right match. It was as if one minor mistake of each other was the only way they could score a point. Djokovic winning 2nd and 3rd set wasn’t a treat for my eyes. Nadal, being Nadal bounced back in the 4th set both mentally and physically. By then, they had clocked close to 2.5 hours and the 4th set was a treat to watch. Each and every point Nadal scored spoke about his determination, confidence and persistence to just prove himself he is made to be there.

Not sure how Nadal must have felt beating Federer in semifinals to reach finals with Djokovic but that proves to say he is a fighter. Tennis is a lot more a mental game than a physical game when it is Nadal. The 4th set did go to tie breaker and Nadal proved himself right by winning that set under a lot of pressure. That’s when I thought Djokovic was giving up. In between it started raining and both the players got few moments of rest – the most needed. They both bounced back to fight it out. Nadal almost took the match to his side in the 5th set. Each and every point counted. A wrong serve meant a lot to Nadal. For the first time Nadal’s first serve did not support him as much. Undeterred by who was playing the other side, Nadal kept his cool and played his best. All through, he was playing just for that one goal, his one vision and another win just there. That dream eluded him as the 5th set progressed. I did not see it coming either. Knowing Nadal, it was now about some magic and Nadal lifting the cup. The destiny had different plans. After an epic 5 hours 53 minutes that spanned 2 days (Sunday night and Monday morning), Nadal lost to Djokovic leaving many disappointed but stood tall for the tough fight he gave the other player. I can’t stop thinking what a warrior he is to fight it out even till the nth second. He is a winner, in a different sense.

Believe the belief and doubt the doubt

2011-11-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

There is magic in the power of belief. Even more magical if one starts believing in oneself. I had read about how Honda Company had started and the founder Soichiro Honda had seen failures in many forms. The power of believing that he was destined to build an empire which revolutionized automobile industry remains history.

Belief reminds me of the song “I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky” by R Kelly. It is weird how I fell in love with this song. Back then in 2004 or 2005, Standard Chartered Bank had this song while customers were put on hold. The first time I heard, the song did take me to a different world. The next time, it mesmerized me. The next, I called Standard Chartered just to listen to this song. It had got into me.

Belief also reminds me of this poem I learnt while in school. There is this train whose task is to climb uphill. It seemed very hard our little train. The train is really not sure if it can make it but is not left with any choice but to chug its way to the top. So it says “I think I can, I think I can”. It keeps saying this and makes it to the top. When on top it is all happy and beaming with pride. On its way down it says “I thought I could, I could”.

What an excellent power the belief has. Like Henry Ford says, “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.” It’s time to believe in the power of belief in self and chase the fear of doubt which others want you to believe.

Airtel Vs me

2011-04-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

I'm a loyal customer of Airtel from 2003. From then till now I have changed 3 companies but did not change the number nor the service provider despite so many odds. They continue to test my patience and sadly they win despite not faring well on the service part.

The latest debacle goes as following. I don't know what happened to them, one fine day they go ahead and change their logo. Later I was told because of their 3G tag. As far as my little knowledge of 3G goes, it is supposed to increase speed but I was caught by surprise. I promptly go online to check them out and the website is not working. Yeah, happens right when you are migrating from one platform to other. So, I generously forgave them and logged in after 2 weeks. Still the same. Anyway, it did not matter to me if their website is up or down. All that I wanted is to pay my mobile bill. That is all. With a lot of struggle I happened to land on their payments page and I enter all the details. The web page goes time out and due to payment gateway, my payment is not accepted. I first discovered mcheck on airtel and was wowed by their service when they were old fashioned. Anyway, I could not pay the mobile bill for 3 months. Airtel too promptly disconnected my outgoing calls. How convenient for me. Oh yeah...They did send me a gentle reminder before doing so and I too promptly went online to pay the bill and the payment site is not working. When the phone stopped working so does my other services on the phone like emails, browsing and sms too stopped functioning.

Airtel refuses to go tech and want me to follow their traditional mode of payments which is going to their customer care office (physically) and make the payment. Well, no choice right. Went ahead and dragged my self to do that (despite the hectic schedule :) ) and made the payment. Within 30 minutes my phone started working sans the emails and browsing.

Again I had to call their customer care number and after 3-4 minutes I get to talk to their Customer (don't) Care Executive. After listening to my story, he gave me another number to call to fix the problem. I promptly call that number and that number is not working. My patience is still patiently with me. I go ahead and call the Customer (don't) Care Executive 2 and this time he game me another number. By now, I had become a little smarter and I told the Executive no. 2 to stay online and call the number 2. No surprises. That number too is not working. I go back to Customer (don't) care executive no. 2 and tell him the same. He then puts me on hold and he personally calls that number and comes back to me affirming the fact that it is not working. Anyway, I gave a brilliant idea to them. Because their numbers are not working, I asked them to call me. My Customer (don't) Care Executive tells me they don't have an outgoing facility. I reminded them that they are working for "airtel" and how is that possible. I was slapped with that ready made reply that it is their process. *%&%&%&$#%&#&%# I hung up the phone. Emails not working. Airtel is happy and I am unhappy.

how external influence can influence one internally!!

2010-03-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

It is not easy to change jobs and shift house. Doing both at the same time is like you digging your own grave and jumping into it.
I was so wrong. Getting interviewed, researching about company and making that tough decision of whether to join a new place or not was easy. The things that followed were really difficult. Let me explain:
(My tone may be a little frustrated one..but I’m going through something beyond that)
Bank Account: When I joined Oracle, I got HDFC account. By then I was very comfortable with ICICI and was forced to move to HDFC (life does not give too many choices is so true in my case). I’m ok with HDFC except the fact, their customer care really don’t care. For anything like change of address, I am supposed to be going to their bank and giving a letter in person. While they enroll me, they come to my office. While I want some service after that I have to go to their office. Don’t they even understand/realize how busy we are and they should come up with simple process for something as simple as change of address. However, when I joined my new company they asked me if I want to keep my old account and I curse myself for saying that.
As long as my money was coming to my account and I was able to withdraw it, I or the bank did not have any problems. One fine day, I ran out of cheque leaves. Till I was in Oracle, I had a personal banker who would call me occasionally and ask how their bank is treating me etc. Now that I stepped out, he is not there in the vicinity. Couple of my calls had only promises but did not get fulfilled. However, the bank is very clear that I need them and not the other way round because it is my salary that gets credited in their bank. I am at their mercy. I plan to go to bank tomorrow and resolve this issue before other issues around these crops up. I really can’t handle this.

More to come….
PS: I’m tired by reliving the memory 

I want to live like an animal....

2010-02-21T04:57:00.000-08:00

I first saw this video some 15 years ago and instantly fell in love with all - the music, the singer, the actors, the junior artists etc. There is magic in music. The magic to make me feel nice when I'm not feeling so nice about everything, the magic to bring smile when its so difficult to do so, the magic to pep me up when all that is on my mind is to run away. :) This surely sounds like a confession because I don't easily admit I give up. Anyway, the song that I'm referring to is from Savage Garden - the Australian band that has my most favourite Darren Hayes in it. Like I said, I love everything about this song and this is one among the 100 favourite song list that I'm planning to compile. Let me save this for eternity. I dont want to forget that I loved this song at one point in time in my life.

Back then, I wanted to run to the jungle and live like an animal. But not now. I'm not missing much ;) They are all here around me. :)

I want to...

2010-02-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

I dont know about others, but I want to do so many things. Sometime back my status was "1001 things on my plate all screaming I'm priority 1". I like it that way.

As of now, there are two things on my mind:

1. Work, work and more work around recruiting/sourcing/make some hires.
2. Play little TT, walk for an hour with some music around me (that's a wish), read something that will make me say "wow" :)
Actually there is a 3rd one too on my mind. Let me do the two and address them later. :)

BTW, I'll be going to TM and NHRD.

Discovering myself through my blog?

2009-12-16T03:42:00.000-08:00

I happened to bump into this link through some other blog. :) Life is like that. If everybody likes reading something nice about themselves I'm not an exception here. I'm not sure if all that's mentioned here is true about me except one - "tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders". Now I know why my left shoulder is hurting. I can talk about it later though.

And here's my analysis. (I liked the illustration)
ISFP - The Artists
The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.

They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living.

Here's the link to know more about you through your blog.
http://www.typealyzer.com

I'm wondering how on earth somebody comes up with an idea like this and even materialises it. I'm awed!!!

all in the race

2009-11-25T22:20:00.000-08:00

After really long time, I was behind the steering wheel. I was stuck in the traffic and I couldnt resist the temptation to get irritated because I was driving. But I tried not to. Like all, I too was racing for time. Despite starting well in advance, given my track history of keeping on time, I was behind the schedule. Near the traffic signal, in the nick of time where a lot of things happen. That too in split of a second. I've been told, taught and also its law to stop the moment red light is on. The amber light gives us a hint red is on its way. Still, some people ignore it and try to squeeze themselves and feel so good about it. While some promptly stop and wait for the green light to turn on.

I had this big question running on my mind for quite sometime. Which is, while some people live a life of values, truth and morals and others dont, in the end (according to me is the death) the one who has lived the life of truthfulness will score more and he is the winner in the race. As I grew up, when I saw people who despite not living a life in the right way (again right way is entirely how I perceived it as right) not having any problems did not fall in the 1st logic that evild gets punished. Yesterday, I was relating everybody else's commute itself to the journey of life, . While some stick to rules others dont. They may win momentarily but in the end, when they look back at their journey the person who has jumped signals know it, his journey was not the right one while the one who stopped at all and followed rules is the real winner. In the end, it just matters to the self and one is answerable to self alone. I got my answer.

My new teacher!!

2009-08-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had been to Bannerghatta National park. This is the result of two weeks meticulous planning, which also involved 2 other families. I really don’t know how people go on vacation in groups that involve multiple families. Finally, we 3 were determined to go and another single friend joined us. (Really sweet of her – She is a joy to be with). This visit to National Park’s sole motive was to entertain our 2.5 years old Nemo who is familiarised with what’s there in the zoo with the help of books.

One whole week, I kept telling her we are going to National Park on Sunday and prepared her for the upcoming big event. Finally the Sunday arrived and we were excited too. All of us got into the car and were welcomed by the huge traffic on Bannerghatta Road which drove my better half crazy. Nevertheless, Nemo’s spirits and mine were not dampened. As we reached the park, we were welcomed again by the long queues for ticketing followed by jungle safari queue.

While we were standing in the line, Nemo enjoyed the crowd, the other kids and the monkeys that were jumping from one tree to the other. As we got into the matador and were taken into the jungle the first thing that we spotted was some animal, which was not there in Nemo’s book. She dint care. Next was the Bear. Nemo knew the Bear. She dint care this time too. Instead she was happy to be sitting between her mom and dad. Next we saw Tiger. After much persuasion from us, she looked as if she is interested.

All of us got some hint then and there that our madam is not too excited about watching these animals. After our safari we entered the Zoo. The zoo has a little park that has a swing, sliding stone and a merry go round. The moment Nemo saw that it was as if she found her treasure. She ran to the swing and kept playing there. She dint want to leave that place for anything else. While we were trying to explain her why we have come to the Zoo and how she may like the other things in the Zoo, she was not the one to listen. She just wanted to swing in the swing. Though we let her play a thought immediately crossed my mind.

What I thought she might like is not what she likes. This tiny doll – all of 2.5 years has a mind of her own and wants to exercise her wish. It doesn’t matter to her what other things are around her. Her focus is what she is familiar with and what gives her joy. She knew that she was firm in her decision. I only assumed she likes something and presented to her but couldn’t impose it on her.

Nemo is my teacher these days. Instead of imposing things on her, she wants us to collaboratively help her grow and bloom the way she wants. I’ll have to learn to abide by this.

Dream lived!!!

2009-08-01T04:41:00.000-07:00

Oracle had intrigued me even before I joined this massive organisation. Way back in 2000 and 2001 I had couple of very good friends who were in Oracle. I used to pay frequent visits to OTP office and had more reasons to be impressed. The Oraclites with the red tag around their neck did stand out in the crowd. Be it their professional approach right from the secuity check to the reception, they had it in them. And my dear good friends who were all the toppers in their respective college were the brand ambassadors for me.

May be it was then the seed of desire was planted in me and I too started to nourish it. Sometime in 2002, I got to know there was an opportunity to be part of Oracle in HR – Operations. My experience then was HR and administration. I thought I’m the perfect fit and plunged to take up the interview. I arrived at Oracle office, this time as an interviewee. Filled up the form at the entrance and I had to meet up with the Recruitment Manager.

I was escorted to his office. We had a talk that went on for 30 minutes and he parted with a note that somebody from his office will revert to me. I got home with all dreams and anticipation that I’ll soon have that red tag around my neck and how that will make me beam with pride. All that I wanted was to be part of Oracle. I thought I was watering the sapling of desire, which needed some additional nourishment.

One day passed, 2 days, 3 days followed by 1 week. I did not get any call. I was first disappointed. Secondly, devastated. Thirdly determined. Determined to convert this failure into success. It’s very true that failure teaches a lot more than success does. I got the message, which was unsaid, I was not scaling up to what Oracle wanted. I wanted to know what does it take for me to be there. Surely there must be something and I should get there was the only thought.

Having friends already in Oracle did help me. I talked to my friend Nalini, who told me most of the HR’s in Oracle are MBA’s. That striked me, I don’t have one.

I went ahead and enrolled into MBA course with a specialisation in HR and Operations. Worked in the day and studied in the night. Did my assignments diligently. Semester after semester I ensured I got good grades. Simultaneously, I started preparing myself for the job role.

There were times when I used to take my bike and wander near the office and visualise myself working there, my gaining a free entry into the ofice premises, dangling the red tag around my neck and my email id would be my first name.last name @ oracle.com. I dreamed hard. I kept affirming I’d be there soon.

It was in 2006 Feb, my other friend Nanditha who was going places in Oracle Recruitment team told me about an opportunity that exists in Oracle in their team to work with Guna – the recruitment manager. The discussions followed.

My first round a telephonic interview was scheduled. I prepared for this, as I knew I can’t take chances and this is in a way taking me to my goal closer. The call landed on my mobile phone and the interview went on for close to 45 minutes. Then I was invited for a face 2 face or the personal round.

That interview was scheduled on a Saturday in Café Coffee Day close to my home. I reached the venue and was eager to meet Guna of whom I had heard a lot from my other friends working with him.

A casually dressed gentleman arrived and shook hands with me and I knew that it was Guna. It’s his demeanor to put people at ease – I realised that in my first meeting itself. We started the discussion. Before meeting, on the cal we had an understanding that the meeting is for 30 minutes. Our discussion went on for 2 hours - understanding the various BU’s of Oracle, my role, a glance at his role, my career plan and all. Guna came across as a very gentle, understanding and friendly manager. Again, we parted after a long discussion with a note I will get a cal from his office.

1 day passed, 2 days passed followed by 3 days. 4th day, when I cross checked with my friend Nanditha and was awaiting her response; Guna called me and asks me “havent you received the offer letter?”

The rest as they call it is all history. Its 3.5 years now and my bond with Oracle is growing strong.

Snigda - The Inspirer

2009-07-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

As it is I was late. (as usual) As I entered the room, she gave me an understanding smile but with a question on her face like a professional and looked at the co-ordinator if I can be allowed to get into the class or not. Mathew (a friend – we are all in the same team) nodded his head approvingly with a smile. I pulled a chair quietly and sat with that sheepish grin - like always. By then the other team members had introduced themselves. And she, I was making my own assessments of her. I told myself, that she would win 10/10 in toastmasters club. She had good presentation skills, has good command over her language and most importantly she does not look a day older than 30. That’s all and I started concentrating on what was going on in the class.

In a little while I got to know the Trainer’s name is Snigda and she is a trained RJ. With a raised eyebrow I told myself no wonder she is modulating her voice so well. In the lunch break, we all got talking. Luckily it was “girls only” and we were free to express all that we felt. Snigda got talking like she would do with her friends if she met them for casual lunch. A very unusual sight for me considering she is visiting us, our campus for the first time. There was no need to break ice. What stunned me was she is not 30 and is nowhere closer to that number but has gone past that for quiet sometime now. Unlike other women, she was not a bit hesitant of sharing any of that info. She was not in the preaching mode but so friendly as if she knows this bunch of 4 girls from ages.

I was so impressed and inspired. Snigda has it all. Like most of us, she has worked her way up but she stands out because she did not allow anything stand her way. An early marriage (around the age of 21), Husband - an army officer who was getting tranferred every 5 years, 2 kids and other usual things to attend to. Her priority even today is family. However, career too plays a great role in shaping her life. That’s when she worked around to make things work for her. A veteran, who has 12+ years of work experience in her kitty, is a certified RJ, ex sales manager with Taj Hotels and comperes shows or events and is a softskills trainer. She is so passionate about all the above and it just shows in her eyes. She radiates positive energy.

I’m a big fan of soft skills and keep attending trainings, seminars or anything of that sort whenever I get an opportunity. Most of them would last untill I leave the hall. But the “planning and organising” methodologies that Snigda shared were so simple, practical and realistic I have put a lot of tips to use. She just leads by example. Some of the tips that she shared in the class, the way she was motivating each one of us and also handling a crowd of such diversity (we were from different business units doing various activities right from sales to HR to development to support) She did it all with ease.

In my research “women @ work”, I’ve been talking to a lot of women professionals from different walks of life. One of the key result that was derived from a random sample survey that I did, a lot of women give up/quit their careers the moment they enter their family way. And here, what do I see? Somebody who began her career life after having two kids!! She broke the myth, which is doing rounds that one can’t have both in your life – a great personal life and equally successful career life as a woman. If you don’t agree, meet Snigda once and you will know.

Toastmasters

2009-07-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

Toastmasters happened to me for a reason. Words fail to describe how passionate I feel about this great organisation. The following is what I wrote for one of the egroups sometime in 2003. I still feel the same way about Toastmasters.

-

Now that the New Year has come a long way – almost 2 months to be
precise, all of us would have made some resolutions - kept few, broke
few and going on with few. I even remember having had some healthy
discussions on how we got to celebrate the 1st day of the year too.
This reminds me of exchanging gifts. We are so busy choosing gifts
for others, have we ever thought of a gift for "ourselves"?

Now that I have your undivided attention, let me tell you about an
interesting organisation - "toastmasters". For those who know
what "toastmasters" is all about, you can happily skip the following
three paragraphs.

A "toastmasters" is a non-profit international organisation that
helps its members to enhance their communication skills, leadership
skills and also public speaking skills. Here, at the first level the
members are encouraged to take up 10 projects that have guidelines in
making an individual a very efficient and confident speaker. Nothing
much! 10 scientifically arranged speeches based on 10 themes/topics,
which are entirely left to the speaker's discretion. And at the end
of every speech one can surely sense the achievement. End of 10
projects… there you are… so proud, smiling and happy for yourself.
This is the magic "toastmaster" does to all its members. Does it
sound like "cakewalk"? That's the fun.

When a member is joined new, the other senior members play
responsible roles in moulding his/her personality. They also assign
a mentor and evaluate member's performance. The best part is here.
The mentor is a friendly teacher – who takes the member through this
journey into the garden of speeches. Not only this every time the
member presents a speech, another friendly member also evaluates the
speaker objectively. The mentor brings to the speaker's notice the
positive aspects of the speech and suggests some points for
improvement if any. Where else can one find a mirror to reflect your
real self?

Another interesting thing about "toastmaster" is while preparing the
speech. "Say what you do and do what you say" becomes the "mantra"
here. The content members prepare is so much from their self that
he/she may start wondering if this was their real self. When
speaking out or while giving the speech, it comes out with so much of
feelings that one gets lost with all other members. Doesn't this
sound like a solitude moment?

Hope I've said more than required. In case you would like to
explore, virtually you can take a journey into www.toastmasters.org
or if you want to see all this happening for real, you are most
welcome in any of the clubs that are spread all over the world.
There are 9000 clubs all over the world and 19 clubs in Bangalore
alone. The Taj Gateway on Residency Road has a club called LA1924
that meets every Wednesday at 7 pm. Just drop in. There are no
obligations as to who you are, where you are from or what you are :)

I'm sure this is a gift each one of us have to give – of course – to
ourselves!

"loneliness" in Kodai

2009-07-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

Anu shared this pic just few hours ago. This pic she took when we did our “adventurous” trip sometime in April last year. When a friend asked me what I mean by adventurous, I had told her with a grin we did not take pictures of ourselves. Anu proved me wrong. She had taken this and I was not even aware!!!

I got to know something like this had happened few days back when Anu told me she has sent a picture for a contest. Today she shared this link http://panachallenge.com/challenge/show_entry.php?challenge=59&sortby=chlg&srch=&cam=&favs=&entry=4073

She had posted this pic under the theme “loneliness”. I don’t know if I really look that lonely. J All that I know is, Anu and me were talking endlessly early morning and later she took her camera to take some pics and I was sitting by this big window in that Swedish home – lazily curling up in that thick blanket. I can’t even recollect what I was thinking.

However the theme “loneliness” really intrigued me. If this picture communicates loneliness of the person in the frame, look closely. There is light the other side of the window. Come to think of it, it’s the person in question who is even creating that feeling for her. There is light out there and all that requires is a little bit of effort to just move towards light and let go of the feeling of alone. This so much making it evident how we create barriers for ourselves.

I’m super thrilled with this picture and the thought that it induced in me. Here goes a zillion thanks to Anu for capturing this moment for me.

Short movies and BRTFF

2009-06-23T02:20:00.000-07:00

I'm all excited about this weekend. Coming Saturday, BRTFF has a long day movie screening of short movies. Here's the link for more details http://www.brtff.com/brtff6

I have developed this passion for short movies for quiet sometime now. From first, my interest has been in art movies though I enjoy the mainstream movies too. It was sometime in August/September 2003 I was part of collective chaos - an amateaur short movies club that used to screen movies once in fortnight and also discuss about the movie. Babu, the brain behind this was a very creative ingenious short movie maker. I had good time while I was part of that group. The group still exists in yahoo and I just rejoined.

However, looking forward to the weekend to catch up on all the lost short movies which otherwise is not accessible for private viewing. Lets see how it goes.

Live life - Kiran's way

2009-03-24T23:47:00.001-07:00

Here's something what my sweet friend Kiran has to say.

"Take chances. Tell the truth. Date someone totally wrong for you. Say no. Spend all your cash! Fall in love. Get to know someone random. Be random. Say I love you. Sing out loud. Laugh at a stupid joke. Cry. Take revenge. Apologize. Tell someone how much they mean to you. Tell the a**hole what you feel. Let someone know what they r missing. Laugh til your stomach hurts. LIVE LIFE!"

I liked it a lot. A lot of us may not have courage to do any of the above. But want to do it all deep down. So, its for anybody who wants some confidence and ideas may be.

By the way, Kiran is my sweetest friend. We play Table Tennis together, laugh at silly jokes together, check our weight and compare together, crave for same kind of food and eat it too then, crib about putting on weight.

Its strange how some friendships even bloom. Though i've seen her in the office for more than 2 years now, its during the Table Tennis tournament last November '08 that I took notice of her. She was in the semifinals (women's singles - i think) and semi finals (mixed doubles). She lost in both and we became friends to beat our opponents.

Later we realised there is more than Table Tennis to our friendship. We both love to laugh and do that all the time. We are understanding to each others needs, respect each other and love to hang around with each other. All in all, we rock.

Hey Kiran, this is for you.

Top 10 things that pain me

2009-03-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

1. Bangalore losing its old charm
2. Trafficjams that refuse to make a move
3. Bikes parked sideways in the middle of the road
4. Multi level car parking
5. Trash on the road
6. Infants and Toddlers used in begging
7. Newly laid road being dug
8. The stray dogs of cubbon park
9. Child labour
10. The orphan printouts near the printer on the 9th floor printer room

car key and today..

2009-03-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Though the order could be today and car key, the events that surround around car key precedes any other event that would have occured today. All of a sudden, I remembered I have this shopper's stop gift coupon that I won as a performance award last year. When I saw it for its vailidity, it had expired by a month. I thought I'll take my chance with my luck as Shopper's Stop is just the next building, I decided I go down and buy something in swift. Also, I had to return the audio cd to the library which was in the car. A raised multitasker that I am, I decided to do all this and a little bit of socialising, I called Deepthi to accompany me. We both set our way to Shopper's stop with the usual chit chat as if it was just two of us who existed on this planet.

When we formally cross checked if I could still use the coupon, promptly I came back to cosmetics section to browse on what's new on the beauty enhancer's front. As nothing fit the bill, we happen to land our eyes on the lovely handbags and wallets as both of us binged on seeing all the bags. Its then I remembered, my car keys were missing. I literally went berserk and ran to the first stop of our journey in SS, the cosmetics section. No..its not there. My heart beat slipped 2..no no..4 beats. Then I remembered, we had also gone to perfume section. No luck there too.

I know i was tensed. Tensed about all the practical problems. As far as I know, I dont have a duplicate key back at home. I dont even know what to do next. I put my brain to the best use and sent away my friend back to office. Went to the customer care section and made them do an announcement that such a great thing has happened to me. My brain and heart had changed places. However, I was all set to face the consequences. Promptly called a very good friend of mine for some advice. Again, this is what girls do. We want to tell the whole world if possible, what's happening within too.

Deep down, I was very confident I'll get the keys. This is something, I have learnt out of attending a mind power course and experience. I just visualised as if everything is fine. And me going home in my yellow car, listening to my favourite music on the same road that takes me home everyday. I'm not at all rational then. I know there is this little angel above me which is always protecting me and all.....

And the miracle came to me through this angel who was on the cal. He kept insisting I stay put at shopper's stop till i get it. I really dont know what prompted him to do so. I again went back to Shopper's stop with my emotional baggage and the luggage with prayers to the above lord to the same spot where i lost the sight of the key. While I was wandering near the bags section, the salesman of that particular domain casually asked me dangling that cute little car key around his index finger if that's what I'm looking for.

I almost visibly jumped out of excitement, joy and what not. The rest as they call is history. Thanked everybody - all involved and non involved staff of shoppers stop.

Drove home like how i visualised. Listening to my favourite music in my yellow car on the road that took me home like it does everyday.

slum dog and dev D

2009-03-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

I watched “slumdog millionaire” over the weekend. I came out of the theatre with great admiration to the director for his excellent style of narration. Not so avid movie buff that I am, I can’t relate or compare movies. However, from the limited experience I have in watching movies (on an average of 1 per week – on TV :)) I know that this is one of the best. As I have not read the original book “Q&A” on which this movie is based, I am not sure if the book is also same or the director has adopted this style. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment of the movie. Each one of them has done a splendid job in their own areas.

I personally liked the “happy ending”. How can Jamal not get Latika? Especially when Jamal is so genuine, true and simple. Isnt these the ingredients for love?

2 weekends later, I watched “Dev D”. A record of its sorts for somebody who watches on an average only one movie in the theatre per year. So, I have to be very choosy about what I’m watching.

I was drawn to this movie only because of 5 star rating. Only after done with the movie, I realised after a little bit of googling that it’s the modern version of Devdas. I couldn’t believe my coincidence as I watched Sharukh Devdas just a week ago. So, I could draw a lot of parallels of Dev D.

Though the whole movie was flawless, it’s intended for adult viewing. I was surprised to see some kids. Anyway, our modern Devdas does not have any problem in marrying Paro except he himself. And our Paro too is the women of today who doesn’t ask him “again” to reconsider marrying her though both of them are madly in love with each other. The love triangle is completed with the entry of Chanda, which draws some kind of reality inspiration from the MMS scandal that happened in a school sometime back. Nice to have some kind of social message in an entertainment media. Overall, a nice movie. Again, happy ending as Devdas gets Chanda which is not the case in the original Devdas. I like happy endings.

After these two movies, I’ve vowed not to even wander anywhere in the vicinity of any theatres for the next two years.

Say it with a Rose...

2009-02-13T02:07:00.000-08:00

The much awaited “Say it with a Rose” day a.k.a “Rose day” is on. It was to preceed the Valentines Day as we dint wanted it to clash with the Valentines Day celebrations. And best of it all, the much awaited Valentines Day was falling on Saturday.

Some of us the creative minds if you may want to call, organised a rose day as part of fun activity. The whole idea was, all the employees were given a choice to give roses to their colleagues and friends within the Business Unit. Yellow rose for friendship, pink for admiration and white for respect. Finally the “D” day arrived and we went around distributing the roses per order.

While some received bunches and bunches of roses, some none. While one manager walks that extra mile to gift 3 roses each in his team, the other dint even remember that he has to give a rose. One great soul, who is the most admired for his cool and calm nature never realised he had an admirer in him. While he thought, he hasn’t impacted any, the roses on his desk has some other story to tell. And the best was this Manager, who conveniently deleted all the mails from the past 3 days that had the subject line “rose”. Finally, on the rose day, when the volunteers gave him the roses, which were gifted to him, he realised the whole concept of rose day. And the best part was when this manager remarked how the roses he received were all from his non-team members. He thinks, all his team members too must have deleted all the mails. J While another great soul, was supposedly preoccupied by lot of “other” things again, conveniently forgot. But did make efforts to find out who gifted him roses and thanked them. Isn’t that sweet?

Another manager, dint want any of his team members to feel left out for not getting a rose so, gave one to each even when the member was on leave. Also we have some more interesting people around. This beautiful lady got loads and loads of roses and then she realised that she too should have given. As if buying a ticket after the bus has gone will help. Some members were very happy to be onsite for the first time as they felt they dint have to go through the embarrassment of not getting any roses or save themselves by not gifting any. Interestingly, one sweet soul, did not give any because if she had to give, she would want to give it to all. So, she chose the earlier. What an idea!!!!. While some souls, did soul searching after they got some roses they got all excited and ordered for others. We knew this would happen and had some extra roses too.

What makes me wonder is, is it that difficult to appreciate somebody? Why are we so hesitating to communicate? What does it take from us to leave our comfort zones and enter a new arena and let the other person know how he or she made you feel nice? They say “enthusiasm is contagious”. Why do people hesitate to cheer somebody for just being what you are. When I went around to see, some desks dint have even a single rose. Is it that “he” or “she” that unpopular or nobody likes them or what could be the reason?

There are again some interesting people around us who said it really dint matter to them they dint get any. And some of them have these “very serious” outlooks that all this is for people in the school and college and not for me. Some walked around looking at peoples’ “jumping around” with angst the way they would look at a cockroach that’s wandering around the kitchen all excited seeing some stale food.

Some may think that its not their “type” to participate or celebrate, while some of them made it a point to make this day special. Be what may, crack open the nutshell that is built around you and break the wall that you have built around yourself and reach out.

The whole idea is about not to miss an opportunity to make a person feel nice. For all we know that is the only thing the person may have needed to smile.

watch to watch!

2009-01-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

For some strange reason I had given up on wearing a watch on my wrist. I had a good collection of watches (mostly gifted), which I had collected from past few years. To this collection, I added two more sometime in August (a birthday gift and a friendship day gift). Sometime in September when I looked for the new additional watches from the lot, they were not there. I searched a little bit but in vain. I was so mad at myself for loosing a gift. I felt extremely irresponsible and as a punishment I gave up on wearing them for the whole year.
During the same time, I had a tiff with two good friends. I started relating this with the lost watches. I analysed a little bit on why I lost the watches. Not being organised, responsible and diligent to take care of things were the reasons I lost the watches. And what about the friends? Again the same. Not being considerate, patient and gentle were the reasons. I dint want to loose my precious jewels in the form of friends. This disturbed me so much that I finally made my first attempt to reconcile the broken relationship. These two friends of mine, such lovely gentle darlings, they immediately patched up with me. The same evening, while I was looking for something else in cupboard, I saw my lovely watches sitting quietly and looking at me with a familiar smile. I was so happy. I thought I got all that I lost. J
Now this year, though I can wear the watches, I’m so used to not wearing them, I’m still continuing with the same habit. However, my collections of watches are growing though. I hope I get into my old habit of not only wearing watches, but matching them with the outfits I wear.

heights of optimism...

2008-11-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

“The heights of optimism is reaching office at 9.15 am and hoping you get a parking in the basement and …… you get it”. This is what is the most popular quote, which is circulated amongst us who drive down to office and take the car to the MLCP (Multi Level Car Parking) 6th floor cursing all, right from the security who chases us away to MLCP to God who is none but the mute spectator. Though initially, it started as a pain, over a period of time, driving to multi level parking became not such a big deal actually. Looks like we are following the old adage, when you cant change what’s given to you; as well enjoy dealing with it. Infact, some of us even enjoy driving there thinking as if we are trying our hand on using the car so creatively reminding us of our dream to make it to F1.

And me, what have I not done so that I don’t go to MLCP. Get up in the morning and pray to God for 3 things – 1. The maid should turn up. 2. The cook should come on time. 3. I should get parking in the basement. Well, the first 2 worked most of the time but not the last one. I thought I should make this also work. I did a little bit of analysis why I’m not getting a parking slot to park my car. The most genuine reason was that I was reaching the venue late. The strategy was going backwards or the reverse engineering. The thumbrule is you make it to the basement by 9, and you have a place. Else, go up to the MLCP.

What was playing foul in my reaching at 9 was the bad traffic on the road when I started from my home at 08.30 am. I decided, I’d start a little earlier. And so, I shifted gears to 08:15 am. In order to leave home at 08:15 am, I had to get up really early which was perfectly fine with me as long as I dint have to park my car in MLCP.

It started with one particular Monday morning, I got up so early that I got confused if it hadnt really dawned. With grit and determination, I was up and running and all set to start at 08:15 am. As I hit the roads, there was a feeling of warmth as the roads welcomed me with cool breeze. I was shocked, surprised and also happy to see the road so empty with very few vehicles that stuck to their lines and were also following the traffic signals. With my favourite RJ in the backround, I zoomed to office in 20 minutes. A record time of its sorts – atleast for me.

I reached the office parking and what do I see????? Earlier I had to search for a place to part. And today, I have to choose a place to park per my preference. What a change??? I was beaming with pride and achievement as I parked my car and walked into the office.

I’ve been doing this from the past 1 month or so, and believe me its so wonderful to get up in the morning, so early and come to office – minus the traffic without actually worrying or getting stressed about anything. There’s nothing more to elaborate on the advantages of having so much of time on hand in morning and all. Overall, I’m able to do multiple things along with completing all my tasks at work and also have more time to ponder.
Initially, I hated all responsible for not making it convenient for the car to park but now, I’m remotely thanking them cause, if not for this I would not have come up with the idea or reaching office early and so on. An opportunity most of the times is disguised as a problem. But when you crack it, you know how beneficial it is. I’m glad this happened to me.

object of desire!!!

2008-09-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

My favourite fruit undoubtedly I realised is “Jackfruit”. Earlier I thought, I liked “Chiku” or the “Sapota”. After tasting variety of Sapota’s, I regret my decision of choosing that as my favourite fruit and am glad I found this at last. I like this fruit so much that I can have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And also, in between meals. I was told by my elders that eating jack fruit causes stomach ache. I for one havent encountered any such problems and I don’t know if the credit should go to my good health or my desire to eat the fruit. The best thing about this fruit is, its not available across seasons. When it is available, it’s not available in small quantity. Till now, I have ended up buying those huge ones and then have it distributed to neighbour jack fruit lovers and relish them collectively. I can’t believe there are people around me who don’t know what is a jackfruit, who have not tasted one and somebody who does not like it at all. You people, who don’t like jackfruit, don’t even come in the vicinity when I’m savouring this fruit. I’m not responsible of the consequences.

On the contrary, I have come across people who relish Mangoes the way I do with Jackfruit. I don’t like mangoes the way I like jackfruit. From past two days, this fruit has been my staple diet. This fruit is so good; I don’t need any other modifications done to this though I have had Jackfruit Idli’s, Jackfruit Payasam and Jackfruit Chips (yeah..this one is from Kerala). Of all the three, I like the Jackfruit Idli’s the most. What’s life afterall without a favourite fruit by the way?

It’s not easy to keep the momentum of liking towards this fruit. Unlike other fruits, this fruit is not available very easily. Its available only for couple of months in a year beginning from end May to mid August. I for one would want to make the best use of this period.

The other day, while passing by the market area, when I saw my favourite jackfruit being sold. I jumped at the opportunity of even having a look at them, went and bought two big ones dreaming about relishing them for the next one week’s time. My car and my house was full of jackfruit smell and I loved it. The next day, I made an early exit from office to early entry home just to cut my favourite jack fruit. My home smelled even sweeter than usual. Cutting this fruit is an art by itself. As I’m not that skill ful, the domestic help at home volunteered to do it and we got ready to dissect the fruit, almost drooling.

As that lady slit open the fruit I could see the fruit reminding of some kind of mammal full of its offsprings. Slowly and carefully she cleared the unwanted and placed the fruit in the bowl. I was so happy, I need not even eat but just looking at them, feeling the smell was good enough to make me full. However, as the heap grew, I went ahead to taste the booty. Slowly, I slit open the fruit to remove its seed hidden beneath the fruit’s exterior skin and propped a piece into my mouth. Firstly it was sweet, then soft and smooth went down my throat.

The whole fruit gave me close to 100 and odd slices which I promptly distributed to my neighbour friends who like it not as much as me. However, I felt good even sharing them and sing praises about how good it is.

And now, awaiting the next season. :)

2008-02-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

Oh… Its valentines day. Happy valentines day… I cheered my neighbour friend next door. All dressed in Red, instructed all at home to dress in red, I stepped out beaming with pride looking around if anybody else is in red attire – atleast some shades of red somewhere visible on people – only to find out it’s there only on the company badge tag on few while others did dress to kill. Never mind. I thought. As the day unfolded, I got to know what others are doing for Valentines Day. A couple who are married for quite some time took out time from the hectic schedule to meet up for lunch. Even that came as a surprise to the husband when wife promptly lands at office just 2 minutes before the lunch time and tells him, “hey, lets go out for lunch. I’m here to pick you up”. This surely is one facet of love. Best of it all, wife also goes extra mile to change her hairstyle to look new – just to see that spark in the husband’s eye. I remembered, Pramoda saying “unconditional interest in someone is love”

Another friend couple waited till 12 midnight to cut cake and celebrate the Valentines Day with each other. What is commendable here is amidst the hectic schedule, both of them took time to go out of their way to buy the cake and gift to each other – on a weekday. For people who are working like zombies, that’s a big deal. Its then Neeru came to my mind. “Love is about sharing and giving. It’s about commitment and above all its all about being happy”.

It was lunch hour when I had two good friends coming to my desk to remind me that we had to make a trip to the cafetaria. Valentines day was “nothing” for one, while the other just smiled about the thought of it. “It is companionship, support and trust. It is standing together as 2 pillars and being the foundation of a life despite each other’s shortcomings” so feels Anu. These two friends have realised this thought quite evidently. They celebrate love everyday. Its not the occasion, but the situation for them that is required to express love.

I went on – exploring what love means to all these wonderful people whom I cal my friends. A great friend, another typical scorpion Mini Me (that’s how I cal her), tells me she can write an essay on love. She surely can, ‘cause only she knows to give love. Be it to her husband or to her son or to her near and dear ones or to her friends. Another friend Srini, who is rocking without any strings attached, feels love is all about sense of happiness and care. What a profound thought.

Still single and ready to mingle Deeps is so emotional about the concept of love. She feels “love is not an emotion but the existence. It’s the greatest power in the creation.”. Love, certainly is the most powerful feeling that is created – very similar to the democracy. Very rarely used.

How can I miss Supreme Consciousness to quote on love, who very aptly feels, a book has to be written when asked to define it. I’m surprised, our SC knows what love means, I sighed. I think nobody knows “that which doesn’t concern itself with definition is love” came this message from the far aamchi mumbai Meens.

Its been quite sometime, the smartest one of all, Archana is in love. Who better to define love than her. Without a second thought, she tells me “love is the feeling of belonging somewhere or to someone. It could be a person, city or anything under the sun”. Though it took a while to digest this heavy thought on love, it does make a lot of sense to me. I don’t think if anybody else is in love with Bangalore like I am. :)

I headed back home after a really hard day’s work. While I ventured out all set to paint the town red, all that I learnt was love is in the eyes of beheld. A CEO in the making Anil is quite categorical when it comes to love. He says, “Love is different at different times. What might be definition when you are 25 and dating is different than when you are 34”. Thank god, I’m not 34 and love is all in the air. I have to just feel it. To put it even more symbolically, my valentine gifted me a bottle of perfume – thus the Valentine day ended with search for a definition for love.

idea...

2008-01-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

"Everyone who's ever taken a shower has an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference". ~Nolan Bushnell

I can easily empathise with what Nolan wants to convey. Most of us are like this. There are so many ideas that take birth in the head - sometimes at a fraction of a second. At a double speed, the idea dies an infant death. If I may term it "abortion". What if Thomas Alva Edison too did like this? If not for him - we would not be here - reading this.

Here's somebody who went beyond just thinking about the idea. A friend of mine who has various story ideas, great passion in writing wants to write scripts for movies and one day probably direct them. This friend though is currently sitting and writing codes to make world class software, dreams of writing stories for the movies. On and off, I get to discuss with him the script or the story line, the various modes of approaching the current big directors or latest trends in turning a story into a movie. We both at times laugh it off - but deep down both of us know - he will make it. His idea that has been conceived has gone beyond just being an idea. Never know, he may come out with a blockbuster after 999 stories. Doesn't a beginning of a great journey begin with one step?

This is a toast for him for his grit to go beyond the ordinary. I know he will reach there!

So what's your idea that has not seen light yet?

this is just the beginning!!!

2008-01-04T23:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uADgHFntj4I "Please dont go" this is the song from a group "No Mercy". One of my favourites recollected yeterday night while talking to a friend and reliving old melodies. I've started wondering if music enhances the spirit or the other way round. I bet, these are the best days of my life. I quote my good friend Owen here who is also going through his best days of life far in the US of A.

And this is just the beginning... beginning of my blogging. With due respect to my other great blogger friends sowmya, pramod, sri, naren and others who dont know me very well. Just wait. I'm there soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, what is your favourite pick - that one song which is going to lift your spirits high.