WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY 2009!

Hope the New Year brings you joy and prosperity...

That whatever be the difficulty, you will have moments of laughter

and the strength to get thru the tough times...

I also pray and hope that the new year brings peace and tolerance...

(Image courtesy: Google)

Happy New Year to all my faithful and wonderful readers...

Wishing you and your families a joyous and peaceful year ahead.

(Image courtesy: received it by e-mail, not really sure about the actual source)

(Go on, de-lurk and leave a message behind! :-)!!)

The year that was...

I had written last year , as to how unhappy and unsure I felt about 2008 approaching...
I was so right!
I remember writing about unfair people at work and as I read that post, I remember how unhappy I was at that time...
I also tried to fight... to make my point heard...
But, you know - it's a good thing to quit sometimes too...it's good to let go.
It was good for me - personally and professionally to let go, sit back and relax a bit.
I learnt a valuable lesson - somethings can't be changed. Some people are fuckwits and there's nothing you do or say that will change this all important facts.
2008 has been a pretty OK year.
It had a lot more tears than smiles...
It was also a good year because my husband had another chance before recession hit, to work at client side and me quitting my job.
Quitting my job helped me regaining my mental peace, my health and my sense of humour.
2008 saw my husband losing his father and me falling sick with spondylitis and falling sick with advanced case of fibrosis for my back (upper back) which meant a lot of physiotherapy, diet and exercises.
Spondylitis has been cured, but my back problem is probably a permanent one.
I have been advised - not to gain extra weight, to stay warm, to walk and to continue with my back exercises. I am 100% fine now which is again a good thing.
2008 also saw me getting a better job, a pretty stable one for now (TOUCH WOOD!), it saw my husband wondering about job options before he was told that he won't be removed or scaled down!(YaY!)
2008 made me realise that sometimes, just sometimes it's not really your fault when something bad happens.
2008 also saw me blogging more, reading more and making more friends...
Some blogging friends have become very close friends now and I wonder how I ever managed before I met them!
I look forward to the New Year with hope and a lot more faith than what I had for 2008.
I hope that both of us and all our friends keep their jobs and their homes during these difficult times.
I also pray and hope for more tolerant times... lesser corruption, inequality, and discrimination.
I pray that new parents have healthy kids and their kids learn to respect one another.

How was 2008 for you?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I received not one, but 2 awards from the very sweet IHM and its Christmas! :-)
So, here they are:












And,











I want to pass on these 2 awards to all my readers, all of you -
My sis, Grail, Rayshma, Galadriel, Swati, Vicky, Illusionaire, NM, Cantaloupe's Amma, Mandira, Sachin - you guys have been great... reading almost all my posts and commenting on them too...
the support and love has been great!

I also want to give it to Ritu, IHM (Yea, back to u!), Renu, Pallavi - my new readers and new friends!

All you guys have been so inspirational and I have learnt so many things and you guys have given me the courage to stand up straight for the truth... you have helped me change my views about so many issues and have given me clarity for my thoughts...

Thank you guys... for all the support and love.

Here's the friendship band which I picked up from IHM also, for all you wonderful people out there!








Merry Christmas everyone!



















Image courtesy: Google

The other side of the fence

It's official people!
The grass IS greener on the other side of the fence!
I always used to wonder, you know, before, when I looked over to the other side - where you see people lying around in the shades of huge trees, on lush grass or having picnics or simply sitting about smoking expensive cigars!
Now, that I have jumped over the fence to the other side, it really IS Good!!
Wondering what I'm talking about right? Right, I'm talking about my promotion... which puts me in the league of the so-called leads and managers!
Heh!
I have 3 guys in my team, who think that by impressing me, they will get good appraisals! LOL!!!
I attended a training last week, and there too I was amongst the elite!
I mean, there were people with 8-10 yrs of experience and they carried 2 mobile phones! (I think carrying 2 mobiles is impressive!)
I thought I was very ill-prepared for the training because I didn't even "Google" what the course was about before attending.
BUT, I actually knew stuff!I had the experience to talk about the terms used!
I gave useful information and had pretty good examples, info to share with the class!
I totally ROCKED!!!
AND.. AND ... (Hold on to your breath!) The guy who took the training was mighty impressed!! He said that we should get together and talk about some of the ideas I had and see if anything concrete comes out of it which might help the organization!!How cool is that?!! (I still love my new job! TOUCHWOOD!) (We have a meeting set up for that in January!)
On another note, I walk about 1.3 kms everyday to board my bus and I leave home really early - 6:45 AM.. the bus is at 7 and I need around 13 minutes to walk the distance.
I have really grown to love these morning walks.
The time's ideal, its good exercise and I get to see the world waking up to another chaotic day in Bangalore!
I have no complaints about the walk or the journey to my new work place... I like my work now even more than before and I like my team...
(I want to do another post about stereotypes and about this girl in my team who has come to Bangalore from Mumbai for the very first time)

On another note, my husband's team is being ramped down almost 60% because of the recession and his clients don't want to risk their profit margins...
So, its been a wait and watch to see if he will be moved out or not.
He does have a couple of projects lined up with different clients in case he needs to move out and I'm glad that he has very good friends and managers who have helped him out.(TOUCHWOOD)

His manager doesn't want to lose him in his current project and is trying to see what best he can do...
At times like these, its good to see such people, especially managers who are worried about their team...
So, praying that things work out for him, either in his current project or elsewhere as well.

So, I really do believe that THE GRASS IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE! YAY!!

Don't have a title for this post...

While growing up, for both of us, our marks in Maths mattered more than house-work.
My parents always said, studying is THE only way out...
My mom sealed the whole deal on "studying is more important than anything else", by saying we will be rich, making pot-loads of money if and only if we studied!
So, we studied...
The discriminations, the boundaries were applied only by visiting relatives and one set of grand parents...
It still got me. I am not too sure about my sister, but being the eldest had its problems.
I remember, when I was 12, my granny telling my mom that I should stop wearing skirts, because good girls from good families don't show off their legs!
My mom made sure I didn't wear skirts when we visited them in the village during vacations.
I realised because of these small incidents, (many more - but, that's new-post material) I gradually disliked going to my native for vacations, family functions...
All these so-called family functions were missed most of the time because of exams, work, tests - very convenient and always supported by my parents!

I loved draping the saree on me when I was young...
I always dreamt that after I completed studying and started working, I would drape myself elegantly in beautiful sarees and go to work and my colleagues and friends would notice how I bought 3 new sarees every month!
Then, as I grew up, and people around me started insisting that I was all "grown up", I resented the saree, for it represented a house wife, someone docile and traditional, who stayed with her dominating in-laws... (Don't ask from where these ideas were got from!!! however, ludicrous they maybe, it was true!)
So, I unlearnt how to wear and love the saree and didn't bother with it till recently.

My mother hated the shirts, big and out of shape ones which I wore. I loved them, because, funnily, it made me look unattractive!
When I was doing my graduation, I wore them a lot, along with loose-fitting clothes, saying that they are comfortable.
The real reason being, it made me look unattractive. Boys, marriage proposals wouldn't bother an unattractive girl in jeans and huge specs!
And I would be left alone to pursue my studies so that I could get a job!
It was only after I started my post-grad that I stopped wearing loose fitting clothes, because all my relatives didn't like the fact that I was studying and not making babies!
And gradually, they stopped bothering my parents as well...
So, now, I don't wear loose fitting clothes, I know how to drape a saree and look nice.
I love wearing all colours and not just "light shades" because I am "dark skinned"!
I am what I am and I hate putting on appearances just to please others (Read, relatives!)
I still put on appearances sometimes while visiting my grandfather...
I still fight with my mother to wear bangles while visiting the said relatives...
I still thank my parents for shaping me and for influencing me to be the person I am today.
I still love my sis and my husband with the same passion in different ways after all these years...(I think I started to love my sis when I was 10 or 12, till then she was this annoying little twit in my life!!!)
I still love ice cream and rain and the cold weather...
A hot cup of coffee, a good book, a warm hug always make me happy!
A few good friends, dignity, respect, happiness, good job, decent bank balance, a husband to go home to and a family to love and respect is what I have always wanted...

Still searching for a cause to support for its sake and not for tax rebate...
I still feel just as strongly as I did when I was 12, about discriminations, harassment, inequality, gender bias...
The difference now is, knowing when to shut up and when to raise my voice!

Awarded!

Yay! Got another award! This one is from Madira -

Thank you my dear...I'm truly touched and honored...

These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this text into the body of their award.

I would like to pass on this award to:

• My sister
• Grail
• Swati
• Renu
• Cantaloupe's Amma
• Vicky
• Illusionaire

Thanks again Mandira, for making me soooo happy! :-)

TAgged!

The ever Charming Renu tagged me with this really different tag!
The rules are simple:
Answer the questions below and do a Google image search on your answer,pick a picture from the results on the first page, with minimal explanation

1. The age you will be in your next birthday: 29

I have no idea why this image got pulled up! But, it looks good!!!

2. A place you’d like to travel to: Vienna

3. Your Favorite place: Mysore!

4. Your favorite food/drink: Akki Roti/Watermelon juice/wine

5. Your Favorite pet: Not really, but if I had to choose, it would be a Golden Retriever!

6. Your favorite color combination:

7. Your favorite piece of clothing: Jeans and Kurta (Couldn't get a decent enough pic of both together)

8. Your all time favorite song: Careless Whisper by George Michael, Mungaaru Male Title song (Hindi -can't think of any at the moment!

9. Your favorite TV show: FRIENDS!

10. Full name of your significant other: I didn't get anything for his full name, but found pics which come close!

11.The town in which you live in: Bangalore/Bengaluru

12. Your screen name/nickname: Pixie

13. Your First job: I taught in a computer training school for pocket money while doing my post-grad!










14. Your Dream job: Bharatanatyam Dancer!!














15. Bad Habit you have: I bite my nails...














16. Your worst fear: losing my specs and not having a spare pair!
(Couldn't find a decent pic to represent this either!!)



17. The one thing you’ll like to do before you die: Travel around the world!












18. The first thing you’ll buy if you get $1,000,000: The latest fantasy would be to buy a castle in France!










I tag, Rayshma, Galadriel, Grail, Cantaloupe's Amma, Mandira, Swati....
and of course anyone else who wants to take it up!! Enjoy Maadi!!! :-)

Edited to tag: My sis as well since she was complaining in the comments section ! (Happy?!)

Another story...

OK, I'm trying my hand in writing really short stories... And, here's one such piece... Tell me what you think! :-)

She walked slowly, each step faltering as she inched closer towards her apartment building. She sighed, deep and long and walked into the compound with a false and cheerful smile fixed on her face.
The watchman of the building was delighted to see her and wished her saying that he and the others had missed her during the last one week she was out of town.
She smiled at him and thought of her blissful 1 week freedom, away from her family, especially away from her husband.
She knew that he would be waiting inside for her, to reclaim his possession and to remind her not so gently that she belonged to him.
She opened the door with her keys and let herself in. She could hear the TV and knew that he would come looking for her into her room.
She would be ready this time, she promised herself. She walked into her room and threw her suitcases on the floor, each falling on the ground with a resounding thud.
Then, she heard him, get up from his place, turn on the volume of the TV so that it would block out all other sounds.
She waited patiently behind the door, her hand holding the very bat he beat her with everyday. She could hear him search for the bat and then, she heard him grab his belt from his closet and walk into her room. This time, she was ready, she swung the bat as hard as she could and hit his face.
She stood over him, satisfied, watching him whither in pain and lose consciousness. Then, she stepped over his unconscious body, picked up her empty suitcases and walked out and into the taxi where Sameer was waiting for her.

Take your time and read and do comment!

I have always been excited about new places, meeting new people and experiencing different things.
But, this time I was vary of the new company I was joining and a bit hesitant to be friendly as well.
Again, I was pleasantly surprised... I've met a few interesting people and what I've learnt so far about my work, seems to be challenging enough.
Right now, I don't have too much to do... just reading up on the project and getting into trainings and knowledge sharing sessions.

We have all been witnessing the terrible things happening in our country for the past 1 week... the terrorist attack, politicians resigning, making statements.
We see the fury, feel the remorse and with some share the pain of the loss of a loved one.
I read a lot of blogs, links which condoned the attack...
Some pointed out rightly - what about the people killed/injured in CST? Why are they not being shown?
(Hop over to Mad Momma where she shares this link - for better clarity)
I have a friend, whose aunt is the head nurse in one of the hospitals in Mumbai where these injured were treated...
Apparently, the numbers are greater than the ones released by the govt/police...
Also, apparently some of the hospital authorities were so incensed by the attacks and the neglect shown towards the people hurt/killed in the attacks on CST and on the roads, they demanded money from the rich who were injured in Taj and Trident!!

(Now, I don't KNOW how true these stories are... I couldn't find anything to support these statements on the Internet. If you find anything, please do leave a link and if this is incorrect information, please do go ahead and leave a comment)

I have a couple of questions though...

-> Did it take an attack on the rich and powerful for our govt to wake up to terrorism?

-> Why was POTA removed? Its replacement was the United Progressive Alliance. How helpful has this been? The reasons I found for POTA's removal didn't seem to be very convincing. If you have anything else, please do share the information.

-> The families of the top officers who laid down their lives were offered compensation which was turned down...
But, what about the 18 odd constables who died and some 30 or so still fighting for their lives?

-> What about the cooks, waiters who were killed without a second thought, after serving food to the terrorists?
Why hasn't any News Channel/reporter spoken about them?

-> Where were all the celebrities who spoke up AFTER the attack got over until then?
What are they doing to help the "common folk" who were injured/killed?
When the whole issue of Raj Thackery happened, a lot of them were officially quoted saying "This is my city, my Mumbai" etc etc...
What are they doing to help now?

-> My biggest question - where was our PM?
Why were there no re-assurances from him?
My sister commented that, not all great administrators are eloquent speakers, to which I do agree, but, wasn't it even more necessary for the PM to make a slightly more impressive speech, stressing on the importance of justice, peace and harmony during difficult times like this?


Makes you think doesn't it?


I also had a couple of arguments with the new friends about Islam as a religion and Muslims in general...
I mean, you can't blame the religion or the entire community for what has happened right? We have bad eggs and extremism in all the religions.
Fanatics exist everywhere... and more importantly these so-called leaders of these various extremist groups know who has to be brain-washed and where exactly to hit, so that it hurts the most.
This is not just true with the Muslim fundamentalists it's true with the other religions' extreme groups as well...
But, here again, when one says “Muslim fundamentalist”, what it would mean is “a person who strictly adheres to the principles of Islam”.
The same would apply to a Hindu/Christian or anyone else for that matter. But in today’s terms, the term has been twisted out of shape, which is pretty sad!


Don't show animosity towards a person based on their religion...
This is the time for unity and a small effort on our part to be a bit more open-minded.
This is the time for us to vote more cleanly and sensibly...
(However ideal it may sound and slightly impossible in many ways!)
It's the time for togetherness and to send out a message that we won't bow to Terrorism either from the terrorists or from our "Esteemed" politicians!!

Sending out a prayer for all those injured/killed in all those attacks we as a country have faced in the recent past...

PS: These are my views along with some of the stories found on the Internet... Again, I stress the fact that if your views are different, go ahead and voice them, but be polite and open the door for arguments and not fights.