Summer evenings in Bhuj

I do not know why but these days I have got very nostalgic. I am thinking back to the good old days of my life. Its notthat now I am unhappy or anything but it just made me realise how being "in the moment" we sometimes forget that"this is the moment". Many of us and of course including me forget to appreciate the "present" and always look forthe future. And even when we do come at "that future" we still keep on looking into the future! Ah! I know I haveconfused you now!

Like about a few months back when we were in Italy and mesmerised by its beauty, all I was thinking was "I wanna comeback to this place and soak in its beauty and culture." I had to remind myself that "Well, you are here NOW, soenjoy it"
I have stayed all over India. Actually mostly the North West parts like Bhuj, Deolali, Ambala, Chandigarh, Jhansi, Nasirabad to name a few :)

The best memories that I have of are Bhuj in Gujarat. The warm and breezy summers of Bhuj during which once me and my brother flew the kites at the back of our house. The big Magnolia tree at the back which was always in full bloom during the summer. In the evening when I used to sit at the dining table for studying, I always used to sit facing the window through which I could see the magnificient tree and the slanting rays of the sun falling through its leaves and flowers on to the ground. And the cacophony of the birds coming back to their nestsfor the night. Ah! It seems like I am back there on that chair by the window. The bright and exquisite flowers are looking morecolorful by the rays of the sun falling on it in the evening. The sky is too a plethora of colors made by the setting sun. And I can see the dark outlines of the birds hovering over the tree. I always used to be mesmerised bythat sight and could not read even a line in my book untill the sun had set and it was all dark outside.

Things I Wish/Want To Do In This Lifetime

These are not extraordinary or out of this world! These are just some simple things, but for which I need to spend a considerable amount of time.

This post will act as a reminder to me.
It may also be edited to add more points or to indicate which one of these I have accomplished.

So here goes the motley...

Read the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Learn classical dance

Get into HR

Visit Australia

Learn Astrology exhaustively

Want to try teaching atleast once

Learn to play piano

Visit all the scenic places in Karnataka

Visit Ooty

Publish a article in TOI, RD

Construct a hospital, or atleast donate something useful for the help of mankind in the name of my parents and Grandma.

For the time being only these things are uppermost on my mind, but I am sure many more things will be coming up soon!

Person Of The Year!

TIME magazine has named 'You' as the person of the year, but I have my own person of the year. Unfortunately I don't know that person, but he has made a big impact on me.

OK, now let me tell you how I met him...

It was about mid Sept 2006, I had gone to "Sunday To Monday" a mall in Koramangala to buy some sweets and some eatables as I was going home for Onam. As almost all my cousins are married there are a lot of little ones always running around the house. So I thought of buying some sweets and chocolates for them. I just adore kids :) they are so cute and also so clean of mind as till now they haven't been spoiled by the bad world! Ah, I am deviating from my story again!!

So I go to this mall and ordered some Kaju Burfi and Gulam Jamuns, and then notice that the guy behind the counter is a new guy. When I saw him only I felt as if he was like one of the kids, innocent by the mind. He is dressed appropriately in shirt and pants, well oiled and combed hair. All in all the first impression I got of him was he was a little jittery. I attributed that to his first day at the job. In this mall we have to pay at only one counter, by showing the receipt of the items we purchased.

After I finished ordering he told me how much I have to pay. The when he started entering the amount into the machine with the item names I sensed that he was not comfortable with the equipment, just then another guy came and started making fun of him saying "Ha ha! Still you don't know how to enter. Want me to help you?" in a jeering sort of way.
But this guy kept his cool and entered it by himself, although the names of the items entered were wrong also the amount was wrong! In the sense that it should have been 120 Rs but I think he hadn't entered the point at the correct place so it came to 1.20 Rs! I brought that to his notice and he again got very jittery, so I didn't tell him anything more.

I went to the other counter to pay with the bill. When that guy saw the bill he was shocked but I told him that actually it should be 120 bucks. This guy got very furious and took the bill from me and went to this other person and started shouting at him at the top of his voice!

I felt very bad for him! At least he new the arithmetic to do the calculation correctly, only thing he didn't know was how to operate that equipment. Couldn't these people train him in that? Shouldn't he be given more time to learn and adjust to the new environment? At least he was trying to lead a honest life by working hard! There are so many dishonest people in this world who must be more educated than this poor guy. So shouldn't society encourage such people? I was tongue tied at that time and couldn't say all these to the men shouting at that man. :(

I name that unnamed guy "Person Of The Year".

Next time I went to that mall, that man was not there, somehow deep inside me I knew this would what it will come to.

So Indecisive!!

Why am I always so indecisive!? Even when I have to make some minor decisions, i keep on thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking.......

Now I want to buy a new mobile and am still thinking which model should I go for? Should I go for something expensive which has a good camera and good speakers? Or should I go for an ordinary mobile with just radio which I can listen while travelling as I can always buy a good DigiCam if need be. But then I think "Oh Come on! Nowadays everyone has good expensive mobiles then why not me!?" And then comes the advice from my parents to add to my confusion "Save your money for a rainy day!" Later when I think about it I feel " Should I gift my younger brother the mobile and buy an ordinary one for myself?"

And then a thought comes to my mind "Maybe I don't need a mobile!" I can definitely survive with out a mobile or atleast let me see whether I can! ;D How much money I could save without a mobile, per month minimum Rs 800/- ! Now that sounds nice! But then can I survive with out calling my parents!? Can I get through my day with out my father's constant advice! Although I rarely pay heed to it, but its good to know that he still considers me as his baby girl! :) And what about my friends spread across continents!

And then it hits on to me!! How will I wake up in the morning with out my mobile alarm ringing!!?? And what about all those reminders!

Oops! I will let ya all know whether I got myself a mobile or not!? Afterall my ascendant is Libra! :D

The year that was!

2006 is coming to an end very soon! Let me see what all I accomplished in this year!

First let me see career wise...

• Awarded the "Best Developer Award"
• Conducted an Induction Program for the new joinees
• Joined the Data Engineering Team
• Delivered many products successfully and got a very good feedback. :)
• Attended "Microsoft TechEd 2006" Seminar
• Got trained in "SQL Server 2005 with Reporting Services"
• Got visa
• Improved my score in one of the certifications that I had taken at Brain bench
• Gave a presentation to our client, which they said was quite impressive! :)

Hmmmm, now when i look at this...i feel career wise i did quite well! *pats self on the back* But then I could have done better.

Now in the other arenas...

• Developed (a little) more patience. ;D
• Learnt that money is not everything!
• Improved on speaking publicly with more confidence
• Improved my vocabulary
• Visited some new places around Bangalore
• Started investing my idle money
• Became a little bit more religious, before I used to go to temples very rarely.
• Started participating in the cultural events of my company.

Now what am I still lacking!! (This is what I am planning to accomplish before the end of 2007)

• Should learn to cherish watever I have more
• Learn dancing(any form)
• Start going for aerobics
• Buy a house for myself
• Read more
• Get trained in some new skills and brush up on my old skills
• Visit more places around Bangalore
• Learn to love unconditonally(I know this is tough for me, but still...)
• Want to start contributing to my company News letter.

Does the "Lacking" list has more points than the "Accomplished"? :D