Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

WISHING EVERYONE HOURS OF HAPPY TIME AND FUN WITH THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DURING CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR:-)

Onions driving me to tears!!

The prices of onions and other regular vegetables are skyrocketing again! All because of heavy rains in several onion and other vegetables producing areas.

Here in Bangalore, I found them priced at Rs.90/- per Kg at a grocery store near my home. I heard my friends complaining that they have guests during Christmas and since they cannot do without onions in most of the dishes, they are forced to buy them even though they are priced at a whopping Rs.100/- per Kg near their place. The cafeterias in several companies have revised the food rates now. So have all the hotels and restaurants. I read in today's news paper that they have stopped making "Onion Dosa" in several hotels and restaurants in Bangalore!! Moreover, with the vacation time around for children and with relatives visiting, its becoming tough. We can compromise on several dishes, but in the long run, it becomes tough to handle.

It seems the prices may not go down even during New Year! According to some news channels, this situation might continue till the end of January next year!! All this happening during a time, when the government is paralyzed with too many scandals. Previously too, governments have fallen down due to price hikes. If it comes to this, then what will we eat???

Image : courtesy - google

I really wish we had something like "Onion Essence" or "Mixed Vegetable Essence" similar to "Vanilla Essence"!!!

Some funny animal signs :-)

I came across some funny signs related to animals while browsing something. I thought of sharing them here. I'm sure, you'll have a smile on your face at the end of it...

Blog ratings...

I don't remember where I got this from because its been a long time. But since I haven't posted for some time, I guess this just serves the purpose :-)

I know this place has been completely boring lately with my philosophies and crazy ramblings. But for anyone who still stops by to read, I want to say "Bless You"!!

Lots of things have happened in the past so many days and I must say I have heard all kinds of news possible on the face of the earth in this short period of time. My conclusion is that the stress and tension have finally caught up with me. Or may be its just my feeling!

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their life.

Later folks!

Monday morning blues...

This is my mood on a Monday morning!! I'm absolutely sure this is how most of you feel too :-)

Ma :-)

Finally the waiting is over...my mom is home after a full 3 months and needless to say, I am super thrilled to have her here with me :-)

I wanted to give her some gift and was thinking what shall I gift her. I got my answer - nothing, simply nothing! I was shocked, but....

Little did I realize that she is the one who shaped me, refined my qualities, taught me to differentiate the good from the bad and made me what I really am today. Which means, I am nothing without her. Can I return her all that? Can I really compensate for all the sacrifices she made for me to make me what I am today? Can I give her back the 26 years that she spent on me? Obviously, the answer is a big fat NO. I wonder often, how can a person keep on giving so much without expecting anything in return?

Growing up, I was always a daddy's girl and was scared of my mom. Needless to say, I miss my dad a lot. I am more attached to my mom now. I know she loves me so much (even though I get scolded by her at least 10 times a day) and wants me to be ME despite everything. I want to be so much like her, but deep down I don't think I can be as awesome as she is. She is truly a gem of a person and I am super lucky to have her in my life.

Love you Amma :-)

The pursuit of happiness...

Well, I finally cleaned up 60% of the disaster zone (my room) yesterday evening (may be it was not as dirty as I thought it to be) and I really felt good about it. Guess I will be doing the rest of it between today evening and tomorrow.

While looking for some information on the internet, I read somewhere that “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather a skid sideways, chocolate in one hand and your favorite drink in the other, totally worn out and screaming –what a ride!” Wish it could be that way for everyone :-)

Now, that made me think, a time comes in everyone's life when in the midst of all our anxiety and fears, we stop dead in our tracks and a little voice in our head screams “enough is enough”. Enough fighting, crying and struggling to hold on to that last bit of sanity.  And just like a child after a blind tantrum, we begin to calm down and see the world in a new light. 

Now, what about happiness here? Is it fleeting? May be, it really is fleeting. Because we never make an effort to really hold onto it. I feel that sometimes our fears or our ambitions surface too strongly to wash away the happiness and we are left yearning for it again. Probably, this cycle repeats itself carelessly.

Naturally, the next question here is what can we do about it?

There are some people around us, especially our friends who really care for us and always have the best intentions for us. They are all there for a reason. We should hold on to them like a thirsty man holds on to water. These people might vary at different points in our life but happiness will elude us without them.  Probably, we can also try not to harbor any hatred for anyone however bad they might have behaved towards us. This only increases our tensions and affects our health. We need not nullify who we actually are because someone hates us. We humans always tend to believe that the grass is always greener on the other side. But in reality, it is always better to assess and count the blessings which we already have because the other road will always not lead to happiness.  Most importantly, it is always better to define the set of people whose opinion genuinely matters to us. Otherwise we might end up caring or pleasing people who are indifferent, insensitive and narrow-minded. It is best to cultivate multiple interests or even revive our old hobbies and passions. When the going gets rough, these interests might act as cushions for us to fall back on. I know that it is easier said than done. But trust me - reviving an old passion really is a great stress buster.
  

I can go on and on and on. But let me tell you. The simplest thing that anyone can do to bring back some happiness however momentary or fleeting it might be is to smile. On a tiresome and frustrated day, a genuine smile could be all that a person needs. 

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it. - Groucho Marx

Ramblings of a lazy soul :-)

Revelation today: I churn out new posts on this blog mainly when I am lazy!

But today is an exception because I am totally lazy now and don't have anything proper to post. Which probably explains why my room has turned into a disaster-zone :-) I have been getting up late in the mornings for some time now because I've been engrossed in reading Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol". I have to admit that if a book is interesting, I can't put it aside very easily. Being a coffee lover, I even made myself a steaming cup of coffee at midnight!

However, witnessing all this, my brother ( wanting to take revenge on me for refusing to make him a cup of coffee yesterday) dutifully warned me that if I didn't get up early the next day, I might have to clean the entire disaster-zone (not just my room, but the entire house!!) before my mother's visit this weekend! Which is why, today, surprisingly, I was up sharp at 6 AM even before my cell phone alarm went off!!! Does that mean I am lazy or just plain scared of my brother still!!!???? I can't seem to figure it out :-)

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it - Mary Wilson Little

Reality bites!!!

At times, I admit that I can be highly opinionated of someone or something. On many occasions, I've also been accused of being a "hater" :-)

One of my so called "hate victims" happens to be a well known Bollywood celebrity (I don't want to name her though). I don't really have anything against her personally but I hate women who sexually objectify themselves to the extreme. What is more weird are the men who fantasize such fake women! A male counterpart told me that she has a perfect body and if a woman has such perfect features, all males could go crazy and out of their minds. Well, I would say, any woman could look perfect if she could buy her body parts just like that celebrity did (surgery) :-) There is a saying which has struck me ever since I heard it - "real girls aren't perfect and perfect girls aren't real". Its so weird and sometimes seems funny when certain guys more or less worship women with fake hair, fake nails, fake eyelashes, face all caked up with make-up and then say that women are too fake - what the hell!!!! This confuses a lot of souls and therefore its no surprise that certain women reject their natural features to fit into this so called fad.

But, let me also tell you that there are fake dudes too, men who do not keep it real! These fake dudes invest a lot of money and show-off a lot. I have seen that such men attract fake women instantly because looking perfect sure doesn't come cheap!!! Such people are just caught up in a world of superficial glitter and glamour and try to emulate the fantasy world that the entertainment industry creates. 

I have grown to realize that a man who is true to himself wants a woman who is true to herself. I have been fortunate to have friends who do not overrate such fake women. Don't get me wrong...I am yet to meet a guy who doesn't want an attractive woman :-) 

For those who like to fake their outer beauty in order to make people go out of their minds.........Keep it real guys!!

Growing up too soon?

I came across a kid's profile ( he is 10 years old ) on one of the social networking sites. The first surprise was that he had a profile on a social networking site and the next surprise was the description in the "About Me" section. It said "I am sexy, flirtatious, trendy, athletic and cool" :-) Another friend of mine who has a kid of the age 11 years says sometimes his son comes home and says "Yo Dad"! and that for his next birthday he wants an ipod.

We usually associate such behavior to adolescence or the starting of it. I find that kids these days are more independent. They select their own clothes, shop a lot of stuff by themselves. For kids, I think adulthood is all about breaking free from parents's care and from the conventional ways of the society. There seems to be a lot of friction between the parents and their kids these days in terms of understanding each other.

Can we consider this as a natural journey of a kid towards adulthood? Is 10 the new 15? Are kids these days growing up too fast?? I am not an expert to be able to give answers to any of these questions. But all I can say is that this goes a long way in shaping the kids for what they become in the future.

Reminiscing about childhood and friends :-)

Whenever I reminisce about my childhood, I often wonder what happened to my friends from school and college. As we grow old, it is human nature to leave memories and people behind. In the past, it was easy to loose track of friends and you could drift away easily unless you wrote to them regularly or telephoned them.

But now, thanks to Facebook, I had the opportunity to reconnect with so many of my friends recently. It is amazing how wonderful you feel when you connect with someone whom you have not spoken for like 10 odd years and yet it feels like yesterday when you last saw them at school!!

Life and choices take people to different directions. But fate does have a way of making us go around in circles :-) It is amazing how people change during this time. Some changes are quite drastic. It reminds us how different we were then and now. Whatever it might be, when you get back together and remember all those things that had happened in the school and college, the good and the bad, it always brings a smile on your face.

Birthday time! :-)

Technically I am a year older today. But those are just numbers and a state of mind. At least that's how I want to see it now...LOL :-)

I do NOT want to start off a philosophical piece saying that we cannot control the hands of time...that we are growing older moment by moment...or blah-blah-blah :-) As someone said, growing older is mandatory but growing up is optional. I am just thankful that I not just grew a year older, I became a year wiser and stronger with the support of my family and my friends. Love you all for that :-)

I had a surprise cake cutting at midnight. Love my brother and sister-in-law for that! And thanks to all my friends who wished me and who still are :-) It would not be the same without you all...

As you can guess by looking at the time of this post...I couldn't wait till tomorrow to write this :-) But then, that's me! LOL :-)

Yummy butterscotch flavour :-)

26 November 2010

MISS YOU A LOT APPA....

Burning question of the day....

How does a dog know that, when you rub your middle finger to your thumb causing sound, it means you are calling him/her?

Who tells them!!??

My Diwali experience…

To simply say, my Diwali was good would be an understatement! I really enjoyed my stay at home this time with all my dear ones and it was an awesome experience.

Celebrations-wise it was not much. It was a very simple affair. We have not been celebrating this festival of lights and fireworks for the past two years for various reasons. This time upon the request of my family, I went to my native place not because I was much interested in the celebrations, but the idea of just being there with the family and the kiddos was very exciting. I visited all my relatives after a year. My mom showed me the places where she spent her childhood. All our cousins had a get together of sorts at our place and it was fun catching up on all the missed gossip :-)

The kids were really afraid to burst crackers initially and the little one in the family, my two year old niece cried a lot hearing the noises. It took some time for her to get used to the idea of crackers. We stuffed cotton in her ears and made her believe that she would not be disturbed anymore and the fun part was that she really believed us! The next day was better because all my nephews and nieces had a great time bursting crackers in our presence leaving their fears behind.

Thanks everyone for making this Diwali memorable.

Yummy...mouth watering...

Again mouth watering....

My Aunt and Mom with my 2 year old niece :-)

Totally helpless and very depressing...

A relative of mine is currently hospitalized and I very honestly admit I haven't gone to visit her. No, it’s not because I am heartless. It's just that sometimes I find hospital visits very difficult to deal with. It becomes very painful especially when I see so many patients there who are diagnosed with incurable illnesses.

How do people deal with this? It pains me a lot when I see someone lying there in the bed with long transparent wires with sharp needles pierced and jutting out of their skin, the other end of which is connected to various odd contraptions which helps keep them alive. The patients are usually asleep from either the anesthetics given to help reduce the excruciating pain of the surgery or the drugs and injections. They sometimes even have the oxygen masks on their faces which is even more depressing. We can mostly hear them struggling to breathe with their chest rising and falling slowly. I remember watching someone's chest very closely once fearing that it would suddenly stop. I really feel depressed and helpless!

Everyone prefers them asleep but wish inwardly that they wake up and talk like everyone else. Visitors pretend to be cheerful around the patient, asking how they are feeling and telling them whats happening around them beyond the hospital walls. For a moment it seems like a happy scene. Even though the patient smiles and tries to talk to everyone, their smile does not reach their eyes. It is quite obvious that the illness has taken a toll on them and sapped them of the sparkle in their eyes and filled them with pain and torture. Everyone leaves promising to pray for them and return to visit them the next day and the patient also retreats to their dream land knowing they might or might not survive to see their dear ones again!

I have heard people say that the family should accept whatever happens. How cruel is that? Of course that is practical. But family is the only thing that matters at this stage. 

One thing that I have learnt is that people are not invincible. Each new day is a blessing. As I already wrote in a previous blog post of mine, to tell a dear one how much they mean to you is important because you never know when they may be taken away.

Happy Diwali everyone :-)

As Diwali/Deepavali - the festival of lights and sound is approaching, I am also all set and excited to head home to spend time with my family and dear ones. Would be starting in a couple of hours now!

Its been a couple of years now since I celebrated Diwali. So in a way, Im all determined to make it good this time. It would be awesome to light lamps and burst crackers this season with my family. Planning a get-together with all my cousins as well! Lets see how things go.

I shall write about my Diwali experiences when I head back home. Until then, bye guys. Have a wonderful and safe Diwali :-)

decisions...decisions!!!!!

Its the first day of the month and suddenly this crazy thought flashes across my mind. I want to go for a new hair-do! After all I am also a normal girl, just like any other!

I have worn my hair short and kept it just a couple of inches below the shoulder for quite some time now. I do not know from where this "new-hair-do-crazy-bug" hit me. It's been driving me nuts since morning! Have been looking at great hairstyles for round faces over google all evening. Even pestered my family so much so that they could not tolerate me and went to bed! Hmmm...so much for wanting a new hairstyle (laughing out loud) :-D

Lets see if I come across something eventually....till then sayonara folks!

Superrr Duperr Weekend

It was an awesome weekend. To simply say I was excited would be an understatement!

Went to Ooty, the queen of hills with my family. Everything including the climate was perfect. My sis-in-law and myself had been pestering my brother for quite some time. So he gave us the surprise this time!

For me, personally,  it was like a journey into the past which helped recover from all the pain that I had undergone. It was like a step to help let go of the past. I thank my mom, my brother and my sis-in-law for all their support through the ups and downs in my life. It wouldn't have been the same without them. Love you all!!

Would love to continue such rendezvous almost every weekend if possible...am I wishing for too much? :-P

Would you rock any of these??

I came across some crazy and weird hairstyles on the internet today. Have to appreciate the stylist though :-)

Anyone in the mood for a flag!!!

Spiderman part -4

The new age Sherlock Holmes I guess ;-)

The above picture reminded me of a close friend of mine from school who once sported a funky hair style!!! Just the thought of it brings so much laughter :-D

Clever guy...trying to avoid irritation on the neck I suppose :-)

Go green project!!!

Is that a Banyan tree or cloud no:9 !!!!!

 I personally liked the last one...it might not be crazy but sure looks cool....

They too have sense of humour :-)

oops!!!

Life just seems stagnant and pretty much monotonous with home-work-home routine and here I am with a blog which is named just the opposite!! 

When I started this blog, I had a goal and that was to continue exploring my interest in writing and post often about all the interesting stuff happening to me and around me....Laughing at myself now....

But then as Bruce Lee said,

"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at."


P.S: If my boss ever happened to read this, he would definitely appraise me as "Needs Improvement" !!! :-D

Say cheese......

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight, said Phyllis Diller. 

How true!! A simple incident enlightened the true meaning of this today. I was frowning about something when I went to help my brother wash the car. While going down the stairs, some kids who were playing hide and seek saw me and gave a big smile. So innocent and from their hearts. That was enough. It worked like magic. I forgot what I was worried about and carried that happy face of mine the entire day.

Some people are too tired to give a smile. It takes only a moment to spread a smile but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. It helps break the ice even between strangers. No one can ever become poor by giving away some of it. It will only bring more satisfaction. On a tiresome, busy or frustrated day, a genuine smile could be all that a person needs. 

Spread a smile :-)

Never Say Never....

I happened to listen to "The Karate Kid" movie's title track "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber featuring Jaden Smith. Awesome song and lyrics. It was very inspiring.

Lyrics:

See I never thought that I could walk through fire
I never thought that I could take the burn
I never had the strength to take it higher
Until I reached the point of no return

And there's just no turning back
When your hearts under attack
Gonna give everything I have
It's my destiny

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down
I will not stay on the ground
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up up up
And never say never

I never thought I could feel this power
I never thought that I could feel this free
I'm strong enough to climb the highest tower
And I'm fast enough to run across the sea

And there's just no turning back
When your hearts under attack
Gonna give everything I have
Cause this is my destiny

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down
I will not stay on the ground
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up, up, up
And never say never

Here we go!
Guess who?
JSmith and Jb!
I gotcha lil bro
I can handle him
Hold up, aight?
I can handle him

Now he's bigger than me
Taller than me
And he's older than me
And stronger than me
And his arms a little bit longer than me
But he ain't on a JB song with me!

I be trying a chill
They be trying to side with the thrill
No pun intended, was raised by the power of Will

Like Luke with the force, when push comes to shove
Like Kobe in the 4th, ice water with blood

I gotta be the best, and yes
We're the flyest
Like David and Goliath
I conquered the giant
So now I got the world in my hand
I was born from two stars
So the moon's where I land

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down
I will not stay on the ground
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up, up, up
And never say never

I will never say never! (I will fight)
I will fight till forever! (make it right)
Whenever you knock me down
I will not stay on the ground
Pick it up
Pick it up
Pick it up,
Pick it up, up, up
And never say never


(Source: youtube and freemusic-lyrics) 

Today's prayer

Oh God, please bless me with ....

the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can and

the wisdom to know the difference between the two!!

Its birthday time!! :-)

It is my brother's birthday today!!

Me and my sis-in-law had a surprise for him yesterday night. We had ordered a cake and other eatables. Woke him up at midnight and.....SURPRISE!!!!!!

Had a good time....

Happy birthday brother and may all your dreams come true this year :-)

My new laptop!!

I got my new Dell Latitude E5500 laptop today!!

I am so excited....I've been waiting for it for quite some time now :-)

Am I good enough? Can I do it?

I was asking this question to myself today.

I read somewhere that many of us tend to ask such a question to ourselves atleast once in this life. Mostly when we are presented with a change or when we are seeking new opportunities. I had asked this question to myself today because I doubted I could succeed. May be I am too shy or too old or too young or too some reason I do not know!!

Whatever reason it is...may be it is just an excuse. Probably all I need to do is to take a serious look at my reasons and start believing in myself because I am good enough and I can do it.

Time management!!!

While chatting with my childhood friend a while ago, when I told him about my early dinner he said he is very bad at time management.

There are numerous distractions inviting us to wander off course like the internet for example :-) You just don't know how time flies when you are in front of the computer. From checking emails and replying them, to updating blogs, facebook, twitter and what not....it is so tempting.

Why is it so difficult for us to do things on time?

Letting go of the past...

Letting go of the past is the hardest and most painful thing any person can imagine doing. Holding onto something which is not meant for you anymore can be the cause of more pain isn't it?

Life is like a teacher and we are supposed to learn things the hard way so that we could move on in life. However, the past can weigh you down and keep you from achieving what you are capable of. Ultimately we would never be able to come out of it.

Well, it is always easier said than done. But come to think of it, does life stop for anyone here? No, not at all! There is nothing we can do to change the past and pondering over it repeatedly is unhealthy.

Its time to look forward and move on in life...

How forgetful are you!!??

How many times have you kept your house/car/bike keys in one place and the next moment forgot where you kept them? I am sure it happens to most of us on a regular basis. Not only house keys, but simple everyday stuff like the mobile, torch or even spectacles!

Why do we tend to forget things? Well, it is because of lack of concentration during a conversation that our brain tends to stash things in its recycle bin rather than saving it in a folder J

Long time ago, I had this habit of misplacing my keys and sometimes coins (change to pay the bus fare) etc. and used to spend considerable time looking for them. I was advised by my mother to stash away such important stuff in a big container/box where I could find them easily whenever needed. Well, for a change, I decided to follow her advise and kept all my important stuff in a big box on my table.

I even told the same to a friend of mine who had a similar problem. He said he put away his mobile, watch, keys and also screws and nails too sometimes in that container! He told me that once when he could not find the keys, he just called up his mobile from his land line and found the container in the kitchen where he had been repairing a light the other day!!

Everyone tends to forget something or the other at some point in their busy lives. Like I keep forgetting simple everyday stuff, Most guys cannot remember important dates like their girlfriend’s birthday, their anniversaries etc. The best solution for this is, maybe, like that old joke goes, you have to forget it once J

What's in a name?

I have thought about this question many times at different points in my life.I have so many nicknames given to me by my parents and friends alike but the one name which I've been carrying around for the past 26 years is Laxmy R Iyer. I am proud of my name. I understood the importance of it very recently.

The other day my neighbour's cute little son came home one evening and I was asking him casually about his school and his friends. He said he had two best friends at school and when I probed him about it, he said that one was a boy whom he called "best friend -1" and the other was a girl whom he called "best friend-2". When I asked him why he did not know their names, he said he forgot to ask their names :-) Now I feel he never felt the need to ask their names! Why?

I have always been of the opinion that a name matters a lot because I am so particular about mine :-)

What say folks??

Childhood memories :-)

The moment I wrote the title of this blog (yeah I wrote the title first!), there was this wide smile on my face :-) All of a sudden I wanted to go back to that small but beautiful town where I was born and spent a quarter of my life. Phew!! When I said a quarter of my life...it sounds as if I am quite old now and as if my 25th birthday had come and gone many many years ago :-)

But it is funny at times that not everyone remembers their childhood. Some have clear memories of their childhood like I do whereas some only have a vague picture. Some people do not remember the incidents but only what they felt about what happened!!

I still very clearly remember the games me and my friends used to play (There was this small play ground where we used to play in the sand) in front of our house. Most of the people I used to play with were elder to me by many years (not many my age near my house). I still laugh when I remember how me and my brother used to stealthily enter the house to clean our wounds without my mom seeing us. We used to call mom "Sherlock Holmes" because even if we cleaned the place really really well, she somehow used to find out that we were upto something.

All the punishments I got from mom especially when I disobeyed her are clearly imprinted in my memory. Once such funny incident was when I said a bad word which I was not supposed to say. Mom showed me a green chilly and threatened to rub it on my tongue if I repeated it but instead of obeying her, I repeated the word purposefully and ran to dad and complained that mom had rubbed a chilly over my tongue!! He knew I was lying but still he so lovingly reprimanded me and gave me a spoonful of sugar :-)

During our summer vacation, we used to visit our cousins back in Kerala. During one such summer, my cousin had come down to our place for a few days. My brother and cousin used to play all day and never allowed me to indulge in anything. I then deviced a plan! I used to put water in my eyes, stand near the living room door and pretend to be crying when it was time for mom to come home from work. When asked what happened, I used to say that my brother and cousin had spanked me and hadn't allowed me to play. My poor brother got nice scoldings from her :-)

There are many such incidents which I vividly remember and laugh whenever I remember them. Many of them from school as well :-)

So, what's your childhood memory?

Is work eating away your favourite time of the day?

This is a very old question with a very obvious answer - "yes".

If you ask a school going kid what her favourite time during school is, the answer would obviously be "interval/break" :-) and this answer has not changed much since a long long time. Similarly if you ask an adult what their favourite time at work is, 99% of the working population would answer "lunchtime" (Atleast the ones in the IT industry will say this for sure!). If this is the case, why aren't we making time for it? Well, I am not talking about those who have lots of time for lunch and take breaks very often :-)

Most of us bring our lunch to the desk to eat. I remember bringing in mug noodles, sandwich or a fruit bowl to my desk! Some people do this everyday and some even skip their meals altogether. Some are just glued to their desks and some even work for hours together without taking a break. Reason? They say they don't have time to bring in lunch or go out for it! These days the eat and work ethic is very popular. You either eat at the desk or go grab a quick lunch or order in a pizza or worst of all, depend on the vending machine for a big cup of coffee.

Most of the business these days revolves around the internet and deadlines are also not limited to a certain time on the clock. Meeting deadlines being a major concern, people are very crunched-up for time. Working population is very much competing to keep up with that and even skipping breaks to meet the ever increasing demand.

All I am saying is that, people need to make an effort to find the right balance between work and break.

Daddy's girl

According to me, one of the most important person in a girl's life is her dad. No matter how old she is or how far away she is, their relationship is special.

I have always been a daddy's girl ever since I could remember. My dad's death was a great shock to me and my family and now one and half years later, we still are coping with the great loss. I miss my dad a lot and today was missing him even more. I carry very fond memories of me and my dad.

One thing that I have learnt is that people are not invincible. Each new day is a blessing. To tell someone how much they mean to you is important because you never know when they may be taken away.

LOVE YOU APPA

The uncertainty...

There is something which is stirring my thoughts these days. I have decided to call it "uncertainty".

I have come to learn that life keeps presenting one or the other hurdle and keeps throwing questions at you for which you have to come up with the best possible answer. When I thought I have sorted one question, life presented another one...phew!!

I have decided that this restlessness has to be contained now so that I can start thinking beyond the obvious. Let this serve as a reminder to me :-) I have noticed and have been told by many also that few people feel crushed, few struggle a lot and few fight it out and handle the challenge.

This uncertainty needs to be answered and the interesting thing is that I know that the answer is within me and may be I even know the answer :-)

Now, all those reading this post - please do not curse me for writing something way too philosophical here. Let me assure you that this is just a reminder to myself!!

Well...its time to hit the sheets now. Good Night :-)

Reality shows on TV!!

The other day I was scanning the television for some entertainment. It was not surprising that most of the channels including some popular ones were airing mostly reality shows!!

Most of them are game shows, talent hunt shows for music and dance, game shows where families come and earn money, makeover shows, cookery skills show and what not. You name it and they have it on some or the other channel!! Well I agree that they do bring a lot of entertainment to your doorstep but at times isn't it too much to handle?

As I was looking for some entertainment to bust my stress of a long day at work and not having any other choice, I started watching this specific music reality show where they boasted of giving India her best singer. I didn't really understand the concept of audience voting system. As audience they would vote for their favourite contestants right? How would you then come up with the best singer when the person who is really talented and genuine is eliminated just because he/she is in short of a few votes?? In that case the contestants can just come and sing instead of being judged by a couple of famous music directors and singers and then going to the next level based on the audience vote instead of talent.

The channels are popular. People are watching these shows like crazy. Intelligent businessmen are making loads of money by great marketing strategies and by tempting the masses. Sometimes I just laugh that there are people who really spend money and SMS for their favourite contestants. Are they earning anything out of it? All I know is that I am satisfied as I am getting my entertainment to bust my stress and nothing else...

End of the day, that is all that matters :-)

A long day!!

It was a long day today! I was completely tired and exhausted when I reached home and didn't know how to bust the stress. Tried buzzing a few friends but bad luck there too. I just felt I've become way too old in seconds!!

I was lucky that the movie "Bruce Almighty" was being telecast on star movies and yeah Jim Carrey always lightens the mood...thanks a ton to him and the makers of the movie.

I feel a lot better now.

Anxiety -> Excitement -> Satisfaction....

This is my first blog. I've actually postponed writing this piece for quite some time now. The major problem in starting this blog was as usual the topic. After rummaging through my brain, I came up with this one. Better late than never, isn't it?

It was the first time I was travelling abroad, alone. You can very well imagine the state of my family! But I enjoyed this experience thoroughly, made a lot of friends en-route too! I cannot even describe my euphoria in words when I saw snow for the first time. Well, now its been some time since I left home and came down here to Germany. Its such a beautiful country with nice scenic beauty and nicer people to give you company.

Initially in the first few days of arriving here, everything I saw was new, exciting and euphoric. I started anticipating everything that I was about to experience. I was eager to learn German. I went out every weekend and saw different places and even clicked many photographs.

Slowly, as time passed, all that initial excitement began to wane. I started feeling frustrated and lonely. I felt really bad at being called a foreigner. I was missing my family terribly. The feelings of anxiety and homesickness began to creep in.

Then, slowly I started developing an understanding of the country I was living in. A more balanced view of life. By this time, I had made new friends. I analysed the good and bad between the new country I was in and my home country. Over the time, I felt less like a foreigner and was more confident that I could live successfully in two different cultures.

But, the initial child like excitement of seeing new places and meeting new people, the anxiety, all the prayers that I sent up to god (hope he isn't very unhappy with me now) to make things right for me at every stage, the new culture and a completely alien language (culture shock) , missing my family, wishing they were here with me in such a lovely place experiencing the same joy...all this is, just "priceless".

Here are some photos to share that excitement :-)