Respite from The City of Joy

As I fly back home early Sunday morning, a lot of things that started in last 2 weeks would come to a halt. I 'd call it - Respite from The City of Joy...

It will be a respite from living alone in a room. A room that has nothing you could call your own. A room, that is only there to serve as a roof on your head, and where you could sleep. Sleep that you squeeze in between work!

It will be a respite from maddening traffic on dingy roads of the city. From poorly managed traffic and from poorly managing traffic police force. From yellow ambassadors, that make a lot of noise and from their drivers who charge you double of what the fair metre shows.

It will also be a respite from hogging at places like CCD, Azad Hind, Fingertips, Honey Da Dhaba, BB's etc. Oh! the list is endless. It will be a respite from chicken hakka noodles as the only good option left while looking at the menu (most of the times). From coffee, toasted bread with butter and black pepper, at 2 PM.

It will be a respite from an-early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise-city, where you dont get to see many people after 6 pm. Respite from a place where most of people work with a laid-back-attitude. The only thing that energizes them at work is initiation of a Dharna.

And finally, this is going to be a respite from Weekends without A

But, the best part of Kolkata: choco-fudge cookies at monginis (I gotta go buy a lot of these today), mishti doi, rosogulla, the Gurudwara where we had nice kesar milk at 4 AM, our funniest attempts at speaking Bangla (no matter how incorrect our bangla was, we all got the accent right!) and sea-food festival at bar-be-que nation on valentines night!

Well, I might have spent all fortnight at the wrong places of the city, however this is what and how it has been all this while.


Already aware of another trip next month,

Yet soaked in an overwhelming respite

Sweety.

Random Updates

I don't know who to apologize from, for being inactive for close to 2 months, you readers, myself or my blog! I dont want myself to even start like this and i dont want to blame work or life for this, but unfortunately, i am doing both.

Things have been very very very busy, work has almost taken over my life controls, but I am happy. Guess, happier than I have ever been, far as work is concerned. Finally feeling like immersed in it and not to forget, getting appreciated for it! Why wont Bosses love such a thing???

Anyway, the other day I was working from my Boss' place. While leaving in the evening with the boss for a meeting, we realized we hadnt turned off the internet modem. Leaving my laptop near the doorway, i stepped in office room, to turn it off. Boss said - turn on the lights, Rekha, its dark in there. I said - thats fine, i can do without it. Turning it off, I returned to the doorway, and left for the meeting, post which we both left for our respective homes.

Boss called at 2:30 in the night, laughing, to tell me I had left my laptop battery adaptor at her place!

The brain went into a quick flashback of things and I realized this:

The battery adapter was plugged in right next to the broadband modem. When I had stepped in to the office room to turn off the broadband modem, I could have easily spotted it there, IF the Modest me hadnt decided to keep the lights off! Damn Me!!!

The next day, I made A stay home and work from there, we managed work by switching laptop batteries from each others' laptops, since the adapters were not common and the batteries were. Thanks a tonne, A, for the idea.

The second day, I was working from the Boss's home office again, so got to pick up the battery adapter from there. Duh Me!

One good thing these days is that I am back to my reading thing. Finished Brida, Veronica Decides To Die, Message in a bottle (I cried for good 30 minutes), a walk to remember, Stay hungry Stay foolish in last 1.5 months. Now reading The Class by Erich Segal - finding it different from his others such as Man, Woman and Child, Love Story and Olivaer's Story. (Enough show off of my collection, I think!)

Not a great news on Movies, Last I saw was Wake Up Sid. Wanted to watch his next too, but didnt get good reviews. They are showing it on Telly this month, that'd do for me :) Saw Outsourced on Telly, its a hilarious one! You must see it, whether u belong to BPOs or not! I recommend, highly!!!

Wanna go see Paa, let see when that materialises.

Looking forward to December Christmas break from work, though its only 5 days and then 2 more days with a gap. I am longing for one now.

Before that, with my birthday approching in about a week, I am due of doing something I promised myself of doing before my birthday. I have to register myself for eye donation, and am looking for a hospital/institution/medical bank that can be contacted for this. Let me know if you know any.

Sweety.

30 Days & 30 Ways

Time flies away when you really dont want it to!

The other day I realised I had completed 1 month in the new company I recently joined. That made me ponder on the events of past 1 month...many things changed, many new were commenced...here's a point by point detail of my 30 days in TPL:

1. TPL has made me diary-gal. I cant do without my daily to-do list. I go off to sleep and something I need to do the next morning crosses my mind - I'm up the very next second and scribbling notes in the diary, with dreamy eyes and shaky hands!
2. My job puts me in a place where I screen people on every stage, starting from their joining our projects till the time they survive there. I hold myself responsible for rejecting "infinity plus 1" people so far... cant say how many more will follow...
3. This job has changed my perspectives a lot. I've turned sides now, I get a two-side view of things now.
4. I used to work 9 hours and travel 4 hours before I joined TPL. Now I spend those 13 hours working!
5. My phone works over-time too. I used to charge the phone battery once in 2 days - now it gets fed everyday.
6. This ones a bad one - I was so used to falling asleep with A's pats on my head. Now since he's moved to decent morning hours, he sleeps off before I do and I dont get those pats I so miss in life :(
7. There's another thing I miss... seeing him sleeping next to me the moment I get up... but I make up for that by calling him while I am still half-sleep.
8. For the first time in 5.5 years, I'm trying to get into a day schedule - the 9-6 routine.
9. Another bad one - the weekend I used to be so crazy for - has gone half - yes, I work on Saturdays, too!
10. I still travel but way less. And I get to travel in Metro sometimes too - makes me happy, reminds me of old days, when I was a regular with Metro.
11. I am a regular with home cooked food, too. Working from Home job has some merits, at the end of the day!
12. But at the same time, eating out hasnt gone down. If I'm travelling, I'm eating out...and eating a lotttt!
13. And that shows when you look at my Tummy. Its never been like it is these days!
14. TPL India team is a 3 women brigade (that includes me, too!) I haven't had female colleagues/boss before - so this one's a change too.
15. I have a weird history of getting along with Leos. Its either too good or too bad. Incidentally, both other women in the league are Leos. Its been good so far... lets see...
16. First thing when I get up - I used to plan the meal I had to cook - now I check the mail.
17. I get to write a lot these days, but that has hit on my reading quota. I am stuck on Brida for about 1.5 months now. Buckle up!!!
18. My break time from work - I solve Sudoku puzzles that appear in the newspaper everyday...1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9.. and you're done! I even have Sudoku on my iGoogle page. I play sudoku when I am travelling - time flies ;)
19. I have promoted myself to a regular Lipgloss from zero make-up.
20. Social Networking sites would soon declare me anti-social. Well...I was never a fan but yes, a regular but its may be once a week now...just so I dont forget my passwords ;)
21. There's been a biiiiiiig cut down on my movies too... 30 days and just 1 movie. Thankfully it was a cute one.
22. I have now entered into a professional relationship with a very very dear friend. This frightened me first, but then enlightened a lot of things later on. I am glad it happened :)
23. One of the very important things I do at work is getting the customers' expectations right...and the way I work is setting my boss' expectations wrong! Leading by example, you see!
24. In my IQR days, I used to think I was a workoholic...I wonder what I am right now...
25. Again in my IQR days, I believed wherever I'd go next, it'd be better for sure - that still holds true. I wont like to compare more :)
26. I gave my first ever salary in my granma's hands, i still remember. My first salary from TPL is due now - and I'm thinking what to get for the 2 most important people in my life...
27. This job has made me take my driving seriously.
28. I have loved to have a planned day, but that's history now. I still begin a day with a plan, but its a plan that has all the deviations and d-tours of the world! Life now is an ad-hoc list of assignments :)
29. Now that i've got myself rid of travelling thru 3 cities everyday (from one end to the other end of NCR), A has got into it and spends a lot of time driving now.
30. My first post in more than a month - the one that you just finished reading!

Some cartoons now, I think I need'em:






Sweety.

Earth vs. Global Warming

March 28, 8:30PM - 9:30PM (your local time) is your time to cast your vote and choose Earth against Global Warming.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness. (Courtesy www.earthhour.org)

You can, too, cast your vote for Earth by switching all lights off for one hour - one billion votes is all dats needed...
Turning off lights for an hour won’t stop climate change but it would definitely show that individual action is important and does make a biiiiiiiiig difference.

Here's a few things you could do in those 60 minutes:

• Go outside and look at the stars. (Lovely!)


• Find a great viewing spot to see your town or city go dark at 8:30 p.m. and take pictures. (Dats a lil tough to do :( )


• Go for a lantern walk through a park. (Ghostly :D)
• Gather your family or friends for a candle-lit dinner. (Lets meet up, guys!)


• Meet your neighbours at a street or block party. (Hello, how are... exercise)


• Talk to your children/family about how much electricity your family uses. Brainstorm ways to reduce it. (Let's get serious)


• Tell ghost stories. (Been ages I did that!!!)


• Change all your light bulbs to energy-efficient versions. (poore ghar ke badal dalo :P )


• Take a walk in the moonlight. (With them ;) )


• Have a candlelit bath. (WOW!)


• Put a glow stick on your dog's collar or leash and go for a walk. (Not bad an idea ;))


• Have a wine or scotch tasting in the dark. (Ummm...)


• Get out the sleeping bags and camp out on the living room floor. (Yay!!!)

If nothing above interests you enough, you could make a list oft hings you'd want to change from your daily life and help Earth beyond this 1 Earth Hour! :)

So Go Ahead... use your light switch as your vote and elect Earth over Global Warming.

Sweety.

The Invasion

I hate it when someone attacks my freedom. Freedom of saying things, freedom of not saying things, freedom of following my heart...

I hate it even more when that Invader is a dear one... but then I realise, only dear ones have this liberty... but I still dont approve it.

I love my freedom more than myself. I love it even more when I am being forced to do something I dont really wish to... and that's when I fight. Like I did last night... though I had to surrender when they overpowered me, but that surrender made them loose their stand in the core of my non stop beating machine. So I dont feel defeated, because they are... What they lost last night, they'll never win that again.

I go down the memory lane and can't find myself acting like this ever. I was never like this. I am forever changing, I think! For good or for bad, is not the agenda at the moment, doing what you feel is what matters...

Having read this far, if you have a feeling that I am using this platform like a venting place, I think we have something in common.

Sweety.

Office Party <:-)

Friday, May 16 was Office party for TM at IQR. Last one was in April '07 and so this one was much awaited.

I aint a regular at parties and the biggest requisite for me is the presence of hubby dearest. Still I decided to attend this one, after Boss #2 had asked me to be there and left me wondering why he said that...so we left the office at 2200 hrs for the venue. I wudnt really name the place cz it sucked big time and I am not here to write reviews abt places...anyway.

So, I signed on the entry sheet corresponding to my name in the list, got my wrist stamped with the logo of the place at the entrance and stepped inside. Soon as I joined a couple of colleagues, I was asked what i'd like to drink and that reminded me of a small exchange of words merely an hour back:
R: Have changed my mind, I think I am going to party, Oliie asked me to join.
A: Gud, have a gud time. Dont drink too much. Love you.
R: Do you think I am gonna drink? Not without you, darls.
A: I meant water, juice....
R: Dont you kid me, ok?
And I declared I wanted juice. "What, you have come here to drink juice?" Asked PS. Astonished, I replied, "Yes, I dont drink when A is not around." She laughed at me, doesnt matter, I thot. :) Snacks were served and drinks started flowing. I quickly sent a text to A, who was still in office and much to my dismay, having a bad day. Guess it worsened it for him wen I wrote, "boring party, missing you loads."

Music was ok initially, probably the DJ took time getting our taste of music...but does it really matter when people are drunk to no limit and all they want is a loud noise to move thier bodies? But yes, music got better and better gradually. And that was only gud thing about the place. Gud english and punjabi music made everyone move non-stop. I can't dance, honestly and so I was sitting at the back, tapping my feet on the floor, non stop (thats all I know about dancing) and munching on chilly chicken and kababs when Boss #2 approaches. Clicking pix from his cam he asked why I wasnt dancing. "Cz I dunno how to", came the apt reply from me. "Yeah, as if I joined a dance school as soon as I was born!!" Saying this, boss left me speechless, stepping on the dance floor again.

I love to see people dancing. I can always spot a few who believe in "Dance as if no one's watching", it shows from the way they dance! While I refused many a requests to dance, I thot of having some more juice. Spotting Boss #1 near the bar, I approached him and asked him to get one for me, meanwhile, Boss #2 comes towards the bar.
R: Thanks for making me come here, I think its gonna be a gud one for all of us.
Boss: (smiling) btw, what are you having?
R: Pineapple juice!



Guess he was a lil concerned, knowing A wasnt around. Making him smile, I left the bar. Back here at the dance floor, things were getting better by the minute. Booze effect, eh? It was so great to see all the bosses dancing, making faces and drinking. For a change, no superviser scolded anyone for not meeting target and no executive cribbed for break. The best part, no hierarchy, no boss-subordinate relation!


Soon, the booze effect was clearly visible on a few and others were still sober. And then we got some retro hindi music! A gr8 start with "Pyar hamein kis mod pe le aaya" made all the bosses go jump on the dance floor, followed by "bachna aye hasino lo main aa gaya" with Boss #2, moving fingers in his hair and giving cute expressions on his face. "Roop tera mastana" left him wondering which gal he shud tease and dance with! :)




It was a little after mid-night when the DJ announced he was going to play the last track for the night. We all shouted our lungs out asking for more n more! Sensing that I was the only one who hadnt danced yet, MS, our new CEO grabbed my hand and brought me to the dance floor. Dilemma: I cant dance and I cant say no to her! So I called all those who I had refused to dance with and thot of trying it out with'em. Thanks to my misfortune, the track the DJ had played turned out to be "Sutta", OMG! But u know what? I went on, I really dunno who saw me doing that, but yes, I danced for a few seconds and ran back. See the Suttah effect:

& The best one...

Next 45 minutes were spent requesting DJ for more music and dancing endlessly. With the free supply of booze, almost everyone had had enough, but not everyone can handle it, u see. The worst part was when a supervisor was also out and started acting insane. I heard a bouncer(i guess he was a bouncer) asking his boss not to play anymore music fearing we wudnt move out of the place if it wasnt stopped. ;) :P The bosses made sure everyone had dinner which was one real difficult task to get done. I, all of a sudden felt an urge of having ice cream so I asked Boss #1.
R: (Raising my hand like a school kid) I want an ice cream!
Boss: Have ur food and u'l get it.
R: Had it.
Boss: Will just get one.

And I saw him asking the buffet guy, but I figured thay dint have ice cream in stock, strange though. We finally left and I heard a lot of us thanking the bosses, shaking hands, hugging each other. Nice feeling. :) I also moved towards Boss #1.
R: Thanks a lot, S.
Boss: You are always welcome, R.
R: (smiling wickedly) I thanked for the ice-cream, S.
Boss: (Embarassed) Sorry yaar, they didnt have it. We'll have one once we get downstairs.

I smiled and dint say anything, cz I appreciated what he had said and I also knew there wudnt be an Ice Cream wala outside at this hour of night. Its atitude dat matters to me!

I have a special caption for the pix below: "Shikari khud yaha shikar ho gaya!"

It was a gr8 evening that made us see who we really were, what we were made of and our different facets. We were just being ourselves, unlike we are when we are in office. May be we dont realise, but we put on a mask wen at work but the real us comes out only in these times! This outing also made me realise how important such times are for they let you know each other better.

Sweety

Why?

My husband told me this last night...Early that evening; he had gone to buy something at a local shop. The next thing he saw, the shop owner, slouching in his chair with his eyes closed, was listening to a real old number…do naina, ek kahani, thoda sa badal, thoda sa pani, aur ek kahani… this was enough to remind him of the days when he was an ardent music lover…Lucky Ali and a couple more being his favs…

We both are working. I am in sales and He works with numbers and works approx 14 hours a day, and his day is such that doesn’t permit him to listen to music, I feel, and not only music, but a lot of similar things…“little things of joy”. And this small incident that took place a few hours back in his life made him say this… “I want to play some music for myself while I am also slouching on my chair, with my eyes closed, not being bothered about anything, at all!” and in my heart I had said, “Amen”…

Post 13 months of married life, I have countless good and very good and excellent things that have happened but I’d also admit that the little time we get together (read “weekend”), we try our best to make it the BEST! But honestly, not everything can wait till next weekend comes. We try our best to show up in family gatherings and we try our best to keep up with our social circuit but we fail at times…but the irony of life is when at work, we never fail…and sometimes, I wonder WHY?

Sweety.