Happy
13 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: friends
A friend of mine fulfilled an important milestone in her life today. Something which was very important for her to do, something which was a big part of her identity.. It was something which took immense courage and a big leap of faith to overcome and I am very happy for her. Things can only get better now. good luck.
Travelling without a care..
11 Dec 2008 8 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: friends, work
I met an old boss of mine for lunch today. He was an awesome boss – one of the very few bosses I have had that I really really liked. Very friendly, immensely helpful, considerate, approachable, good at what he did, and one who spoke his mind, which meant that he had a lot of enemies at our workplace.
Anyway he is back in the country after back-packing in South America for over an year. He is trying to get back into the workforce now and so we were exchanging notes over lunch.
Me with my typical middle-class mind had so many financial questions running in my mind, but obviously being the good girl that I am, I did not ask any. What I did ask him though was how his CV was being perceived in the market-place, with the one year gap. I know its not such a big deal in this country, yet the field he works in is fairly specialised. Also, with the market being as it is, it is hard enough to get a job without having to explain this career break.
I think this is something I would never be able to do (maybe never is too strong a word, and I should change that to NOT, never say never and all that jazz). It is so not in my temperament to be able to take off without knowing where I am going to stay, how long for, whom I am going to meet. Also the fact that I will not have a job to come back to at the end of it all, even the thought of it terrifies me. My imagination goes berserk and I imagine various scenarios – like being stranded alone on an island, becoming penniless after all that travelling, being killed for my money while on holiday – (and I don’t watch too many movies either !!) all kinds of random fears.
I think a lot of it is do with my conditioning. The way I was brought up as a middle class Indian – taught to save, work throughout, settle down, live my dream as long as it within the realms of a stable, secure job but not at the cost of it. It probably is changing now and students have started travelling, exploring the world, taking gap years and probably even taking a break from their career to explore the world and maybe its just me who cannot. But I just cannot fathom giving everything up and going backpacking for an year. This holds true for the times even before I had a baby. I thrive and need the security and comfort of my own home, knowing at least roughly what I am going to be doing in the foreseeable future, plan things and slave away for the few holidays that I am entitled to. I don’t think I can accept any other way, but I sure envy those who can.
Petrol Etiquette
15 Oct 2008 7 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: children, friends, outings
Yesterday, for the first time in the nearly 21 months of K’s life, I went to a petrol station alone with her in the car. So far, whenever I have had to fill fuel, either R or my parents were with me. (To be fair, most times I dont venture into a petrol station at all. R miraculously keeps the tank full, though he doesnt use the car as much as I do. In the past too, when I would use the car regularly for work, he would undertake special journeys to the petrol pump on Sundays to fill up the tank for my sole use during the week.)
Yesterday I was driving to meet a friend, with my faithful assistant Jane (of TomTom fame) for company. She asked me to take a right turn and because I did not recognise the road (have been to this friend’s house once before), I decided to ignore her and carried on driving. When she went all quiet on me, I thought maybe, just maybe she knows better than me. Since a petrol station came up just then and the billboard showed a price nearly 12p cheaper than what I have become accustomed to, the bargain hunter in me made me pull straight in, without thinking.
K was asleep when I pulled in, so thought it would be a breeze. Filled up, opened the door to retrieve my wallet when the little devil opened her eyes for a brief moment. I was wondering what to do when she drifted back to sleep. Unsure of what to do with her while I went up to the kiosk to pay, since this was far-flung-land where they havent clearly heard of pay-at-pump, that wasnt an option.
I was wondering if I should leave her in the car or take her with me while I go in to pay. Or if I should leave the car door unlocked with her inside, or lock the door with her inside simultaneously going through thoughts of what I would do if the car doesnt open, locks jam or horror of horrors I lose the keys in that short duration and have to call R in utter panic mode.
Finally though, I did go in leaving K in the car with the doors locked, watching the car parked on the forecourt like a hawk. Came back to the car to find that she had woken up and had shed a few tears too. Wonder how they know or maybe they exist only to trouble and worry us.
What do the rest of you do though ? Take the baby in ? leave her or him in the car ? With the doors locked or unlocked ? Or then, just take the greener option and stop driving !!!!
Thank You
09 Oct 2008 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: friends, thoughts, work
An ex-colleague of mine Z started in my office on a contract position, working in my team. And can I just say how wonderfully refreshing it has been for me ?? I mean, he has only been here since the start of this week, but already it has made such a BIG difference for me.
I never did interact much with him in my previous office. He was my boss for a short duration there, which obviously meant that my interaction with him was guarded and limited. We were colleagues before that (he, being senior to me), when we did interact a bit but not too much. He had a ‘senior’ aura about him, which I did not want to mess with while being the office novice. It also did not help that he used to be out of the office for extended durations of time, working on client sites.
Now is entirely different. For one, I am much more experienced in this line of work and so able to hold conversations on our subject area, discuss clients and projects from the past and am generally a lot more confident.
We have been going out for lunch this entire week. Not going out going out, but grabbing a sandwich and back to our desks kind of lunch. Yet it has been such a change from my usual routine, deciding where we want to go among the various options that we have close to our office, whether we want to go for a wander, just having a conversation about something so routine, yet so important. I have probably spoken more to Z over the last 3 days than I have in my entire 6+ months stint here.
Its also so nice to look over my cubicle and talk to Z. Again something which I took for granted so far, but which I dont have the luxury of doing here. The desk exactly in front of mine was empty all this while. Also I am surrounded by pre-sales people, who travel a lot and so more often than not, I have to look at empty desks. Not to mention the fact that I find them entirely superficial – overtly friendly but not really and so not my type.
My colleague, whom I dont particularly get along with, thankfully sits away from me, though I am not sure if I would be able to have a conversation with him as easily as I am able to, with Z. About routine, random things. Dinner plans. About the whacky house rules he has to put up with at his new flat (one of which is a NUDE day, though am sure his flatmate is making that one up). What he plans to do on his birthday. Those kind of things.
Incidentally, Z too thinks my colleague is particularly unfriendly, curt and rude at times. Yayy…
So thanks Z for making me feel ‘normal’ again. Because I did not have anybody to talk to, go to lunch with or have a random, coffee-break conversation with, here. I had begin to doubt it was down to my unfriendly, non-conversational self. And am glad that its not entirely that at all.
Weddings and homecomings..
27 Aug 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: friends, thoughts
One of the biggest disadvantages of living in this country is missing events back home. Important milestones – like my cousin’s daughters first birthday, a wedding, a house-warming ceremony. Important, no doubt but also not important enough to warrant disrupting family, specially because my parents are here with us. And it makes little sense to go to India when they are here. Yet I do miss these ceremonies – numerous relatives congregating in a city, the endless cups of tea and coffee, endless snacks to be devoured, always being told by extended family how thin I have become (of course its not true at all, but who cares), the confusion, chaos and crowd that is part of an Indian ceremony. Hated it when I lived there but now I miss it. Strange are the ways of the mind eh ?
One of my close friends from my childhood days is getting married on friday (22nd). I have known her all my life, she is a good 4 years younger than me, she was born a couple of years after we moved in to our newly-constructed bigger flat soon after my birth. A chubby, content, happy, friendly kid – she was the building’s darling. Her older sister (who is 4 years older than me) used to be awfully protective of her, carrying her with immense pride and show her off to us girls – never allowing us to hold her but we were allowed to do that under the protective eyes of their mum. Wish I could be there, I will certainly be there in spirit P..
My aunt was unwell a couple of weeks ago and my parents and I drove to see her in the hospital, leaving K home with R. My parents were jittery all through the 4 hour drive, calling home at regular (read 15-20 minutes) to check how their granddaughter was faring. My father was quite close to tears once (i think) when R told him that K was not eating. He has started eating lesser than usual just because K doesnt.. I know i know, totally illogical, have tried telling him but have stopped now. I think its going to really really hit my parents hard when they leave and its going to be an unbearable, difficult, emotional, tear-filled farewell – of that I have no doubt whatsoever.
My parents go to USA from here, visiting my brother who doesnt have children. They are going to be bored, chained, constrained in what they can do during the day as public transport is not as good as here. There is no buzz of a big city like there is in London, nobody and nothing to gaze at from the window, no grandchild to baby-sit, so undoubtedly its going to be hard on them. My ever-positive optimistic mother is already making plans of how she will surf, read books, sleep and visit us each year now to see her granddaughter. I do hope that thats true.
Happy Birthday
13 Aug 2008 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: birthday, friends
Happy Birthday
- to one of the nicest people I have the pleasure of knowing.
- to one of the most generous souls on this planet
- to a fitness, health-crazy freak
- to a superb dancer
- to a friend who reminds me the day before that its his birthday today (because he knows I am rubbish with dates and will feel bad later if I dont wish him)
- to one who takes financial advice from *ahem ahem* me.. R nearly had a fit when he heard this.
- to one who does random, crazy things, on an impulse.
- to one who is going to provide me with a retirement home some day, with fresh milk from his home-bred cows (no I am not joking and so i better be sweet)
Happy Birthday. Hope you have a fantastic day and have some nice plans lined up.
