The Pepper Spray Story...

Yesterday's topic at RJ Kanmani's show was "Should we use pepper spray in Chennai?" - Well good question. I didn’t really listen to the answers but immediately drifted away into my own Pepper Spray Story! I used to carry Pepper spray in my bag when i was in the US.
I was staying with a couple of girls in a shared apartment and had my colleagues staying in and around the same area. One of my friends who helped me find the apartment was finally wrapping up his tasks at work and was getting ready to get back to India. In order to give him a good farewell another common friend invited both of us for dinner. In the evening after work, we walked to our friend's place and settled down when suddenly he remembered that he had to pick up his last set of clothes from the nearby laundry. He promised to be back in ten minutes ..sharp! All of us started setting up the dinner table and waited for him to arrive. 10 minutes became an hour but no sign of him. His phone was not reachable and we waited impatiently!
He came back after 2 hours, sick! His eyes swollen, wounds on his cheeks, his stomach was hurting bad and his cuts on the face were bleeding! He was MUGGED! The laundry was in the parallel road and 2 huge guys had attacked him while he was returning and tried to take away his purse and cell phone! He started screaming for help and the more he screamed, the more they punched him. Finally somebody spotted him on the road and called 911. The 2 guys fled after they got what they wanted and left him stranded on the road. The Cops and ambulance arrived soon and he went through emergency medication and filed a police complaint.

All of this happened at the door step of my friend's house and none of us heard it or saw it!

We freaked out and were in a state of shock. We lost our hunger and all we could think of is his safety! We booked a cab from her place to his place (which is the parallel road again). We had no courage to walk on that road in the dark again! Everybody around us looked suspicious (the Cab driver included)! I dropped him home and went to my place, Shivering with fear in cold weather!
We went to the nearby hospital next morning, got him checked and confirmed no severe injuries and bid him farewell at the airport! I must mention, the entire team in the US called and checked on him (Including our CEO). It was heart filling to see the care people showed around us.

I was strictly instructed with the following things after this incident:
- A pepper spray in my bag ALWAYS
- Nothing more than $5-$10 in my purse.
- When mugged, don’t scream - just surrender and give money or spray the pepper!

A lesson learnt and an incident which can never be forgotten! RJ Kanmani is surely reminding me of a lot of things through her not-so-commonly-spoken-about topics :)

Steal from your own house?

As I was getting ready for work today I tuned into "Radio Mirchi" to listen to some new Tamil tracks. The RJ Kanmani was talking and calling out the question of the day to all her viewers (actually hearers? Whatever!), and the question was "Have you ever tried to steal from your own house anytime in your life?" – First, I found this question a little silly, why would anybody in their right minds steal from their own house, and second, if they did, why will they confess so publicly? But hearing the number of people calling back and answering made me really think about the question! One girl called and said " I needed pocket money and I stole Rs.500 from the rice box" and another one, "I picked up the change from the dining table" and many more such callers! So I started to think, did I ever steal anything from my own house? For some reason, I immediately remembered one of the stories Mom had narrated to me, an incident which happened when I was small.
I was a small kid, probably still wearing diapers and chewing toys! My sister was a little older and was probably in her kindergarten. Mom used to store all my diapers (remember we had cloth diapers those days) in a small aluminum box. One fine day, Mom dressed me up after a nice bath and in few minutes I was crying. Crying really bad. Mom had no clue what was going on! (I wasn't the crying types apparently). To her surprise, she spotted ants on my clothes! Red Ants! The ants had bit me so bad and I had no choice but to just keep crying. She did some investigation and found that all my clothes in that aluminum box had red ants and lots of cashews!!! Cashews?? How did it get here? My sister then confessed that, she loved cashews and she used to keep the extra ones for later. All those extra cashews she hid in my beloved clothes box and finally forgot to eat them! My Parents appreciated her "storing for future" idea and gave her cashews as a prize :)
This is no way the answer to Kanmani's question of the day, and I was surely not going to call her and narrate this either. It just struck my mind as I was thinking of my own stealing moments.
Enjoy the story as I still think on what I stole from my own house..

Pleasant Surprise

My day has not been one of the best ones today. I have been a little low on mood and gloomy as the outside weather for almost 24 hours now and don't know what else to do to cheer up. Loud music, browsing old photos, Facebook-ing, playing TT or having numerous teas - none of them have helped. And suddenly, I get a pleasant surprise from Mr.Krishnan :)
Krishnan and I know each other for more than 6 yrs and have had a similar career so far. We joined iNautix together and never looked back. I am not really close to him and we have treated each other as acquaintances and the only time i would see his emails in my inbox is either when there is a Sev-1 ticket on me or it's my birthday :)
But today, for a change, he sent me this email which brought a big smile on my face (imagine my grin from left to right ear). It was the least expected email but the timing was just so good. I am telling you, this guy is gonna be a big blogger someday ;) (I have been paid for advertising about him, don’t get carried away ;)..) Jokes apart, I really loved this email and with his permission I take the pleasure of pasting it below:

Subject: Revelations from a gtalk status bar msg..
Message:
A hectic day at work... thanks to the benevolent folks at the Electricity Board, for switching off power in the middle of the night and giving the mosquitoes an opportunity to sing me a lullaby... dozed off at around close to 3 AM in the morning, after battling with the test environments and doing deployments and configurations and even designing a pet rocket to be launched into space on the day of 2012 (lol.. just kidding...), woke up to the distant voices of mum.. who yelled.. "Kannaaaaaa time's 8... get up.."... dad timidly walked into my room just to re-iterate the fact that i was running late... finally after playing the waiting game for the Rain Goddess to be kind enough to cease "fire" (if you can call it that way, that is...) walked into work at 11 in the morning... then the work starts.. you bother developers.. developers bug you... help people with scripting.. clear doubts.. take unofficial project requests from people and get their work done as well... decided to take a break... (nope the smoke breaks werent helping either)...
logged into gmail, to check out what the spammers had to say to me today.. (they are the only ones who very caringly mail me everyday....) saw a link in your status message.. which said... "http://sak365.tumblr.com/" decided to check it out...
I must admit.. am impressed.. from an ordinary spilled over tea cup, to a fruit being voraciously gobbled up by a friend.. to a match box (yup the dil matchbox).. to the sign boards on your apartment entrance. .which said... "Stop complaining, someone stole the complaint register..".. lol (I found that really amusing).. you seem to have captured it all.. almost all of the funny moments of life.. which go so unnoticed thanks to the so called busy hectic work schedule... you seem to be getting better at it by the day sakina !!
Now that's made to start thinking as well.. have you just now switched on the "Eureka Eureka" bulbs and showed me a new hobby... lol.. will ponder over that for a couple of days, before i eventually bore myself out of the contemplation and decide to either take it or ditch it... hehehe..

Kudos !! That was a nice relaxing 30 mins of album walk.. if I could say so, that is...

Thanks & Regards
Krishnan Mahadevan

Thanks Krishnan, am flattered and honored and what not...You made my gloomy day bright! :-)

You!

YOU guide me and confide in me
YOU motivate me and irritate me
YOU let me BE, and be to the fullest.
YOU allow me to make mistakes and help me correct them.
YOU stay at work all night when I need to do a night out.
YOU drive me nuts and you drive me around the city too.
YOU are an indispensable part of my life and you complicate my life too.
YOU let me listen to my kind of music, even if its something you hate listening to.
YOU take away my troubles by just making that funny face.
YOU are my weakness and my strength
YOU add logic to my senseless emotions.
YOU are a pain and the medicine to a lot of my pains!
Being with YOU is like being with a Best friend.
I love YOU!

Friends in need

Its midnight and I am still at work. My eyes are red and I am going through a tough day. I miss my team mates and feel extremely insecure about the day. My day at work hasn't been good at all and I was trying hard to get out of the numerous goof ups I had done during the day. I had woken up half dozen support guys at Seattle and lost the little sleep which showed up in my eyes. I had never seen a day like this before and was crying inside for help.
Suddenly, a friend comes online. He pings and asks the entire day’s story. I vent out my plight and start to feel a little lighter. But not completely, I still didn’t seem to be normal and was talking weird. He was probably worried or probably just surprised to find me in that state of mind. He tries to talk more to divert my mind, but doesn't work. My phone unexpectedly wakes up and starts singing. It was another friend from work calling. I pick up the phone and kept quiet. She sensed the tension and asked "Sak you’re OK"? And guess what.. Tears roll down. ..
She patiently waits for me to finish the crying and sneezing and asks me to calm down. We spoke about work and then she pepped me up with her usual funny jokes. I was finally laughing at her and my tension had suddenly disappeared. I was so happy she called and felt - "Yes, someone does care about me". I finally asked her how she got the idea to call me at that time of the night and she said "He (the friend who was online) called and told me that Sak is tensed and upset and a girl talk would cheer her up"
I was flabbergasted; I never ever realized he could be so good at this. He just knew the right thing to do and helped me get out of it. He is not someone who knows me the most, but he just knew what I needed. "I am impressed" I told him and thanked him for being sensitive to me.
I choose not to mention names, but I know he and she will know when they read this :) I just want to say "Thank you dear friend!" - I truly appreciate it!

Boondon se baatein

Rain has been playing hide n seek with me. When I was out on my week long vacation it was pouring here. and, when I was in Bangalore during the weekend there was a down pour here. I haven't got a chance to see much of rains myself, but I love this season.

Besides all the havoc rains creates, it bring out the music in life. The downpour, the dark clouds and the flashy thunders add on to the not-so-happening city life. The rains add a beautiful aroma to your surroundings, wonder if you have ever smelled rain and said, "Is it raining somewhere?". It is the time when Mom's are busy frying pakodas and bajjis and malphuas! yummm! Slurp!

The Air conditioner's are given a break and the natural breeze is given way. The fans run slower and the wind blows faster. The old thick blanket on the loft is finally put to use and you hardly sweat. The dried clothes get wet again and the mud covered cars get water washed naturally :-) The schools and colleges get generous with holidays and a privileged few get to Work from Home. The roads are empty but flooded and schedules slow down as the rains get heavier.

Often rain is expressed as an emotion. Some people think that nature is crying along with them for their sorrows and some think its a celebration of their success. Some see it as a reliever to heat and some call it a menace. Some call it the season of romance and some just don't think anything at all!

For me, Rain is music, rain is dance, rain is rhythm, rain is refreshing, rain is energy, rain is fun, rain is rejuvenation, rain is awesome!! (I didn't bother to sound rhythmic though ;)...)

Rain Rain come again, Lil Sak wants to play :)

New Arrival!

I have worked for days and nights together for numerous launches which happen at work. However, this time, this launch was neither official nor it took me so much of labor. Announcing the ALL NEW TRAVELOGUE - My Incredible India Discovery! And, if you haven't yet noticed, this blog has a new tab on top - "My Travelogue" :)

I am very happy creating this new blog as it opens up new doors of creativity and writing! I have recently made "blogging" as my hobby and now it looks like this hobby is gonna go a long way! Please drop by at my new blog and also drop any feedback/comments! Would love to hear from You!

Enjoy reading!

Nothing official about it!

Just about when I thought my team is growing big and we have lots to do together I was suddenly moved to another team. This new team was once the "neighbor" team on the floor and now the neighbor has open doors for me to stay in. This surely came as a shock to me, it felt as if i just joined this place all over again! My "adoption" process from one team to another happened few days back and I was formally handed over to the new team by my old manager - literally like how a baby is adopted from the-mother-who-gave-birth to her and the-mother-who-will-raise her!

Thank fully, My desk location has not changed and I am still sitting with my old team mates. But lots of other things have changed, I no more get emails from my favorite boss, I no more exist in the team group emails, I no more share work with my team mates. I don't even get the heart or motivation to go and talk to my new team mates (I don't know why). Nothing against them, they are good at whatever they do and they are welcoming too, but I am just not ready to enter those open doors..

Some of you must be thinking; :Sak, Don't get emotional about it, it's after all your work place and as long as the pay cheque comes in, be happy!" Well you are probably right, but not completely! I don't (nor does anybody else) work in isolation. And yes the pay cheque is why everybody starts to work, its finally the environment and the people which motivates you to get going and do the best at work!

I hope that this remains as a temporary "phase" and though i am not trying right now, I would be out of this soon.

It was a dream, Weirdo!

Off late, I have been dreaming a lot (not day dreaming Duh!). I was initially sleep deprived due to project deadlines and now that i get to heartily sleep, my dreams wake me up. I have no idea why i see these "out-of-the-box" dreams as they don't have any similarities with my life!

My first weird dream has a bunch of relatives, my buccs gang (from previous company) and my current beloved team mates! My dream starts from my grand mom's home, I am not surprised by that cos I see grand mom dreams very often. In the dream the home is kinda re-vamped, so looks a little different, looks more like 2 big blocks kept adjacent to each other. I enter the place to find out if there is enough place to "party" (huh!). There is ample space for the entire city to party, but there is a problem. The house is located in a not-so-good locality and I wish to party next to a beach (:-S).

Now is when the "weirdness" of the dream starts..

I make arrangements for this 1 block of the house to be "removed" from there and strategically placed on a beach(WHHAAAAAT). So now, I have a huge place to party and i do party all night @ the beach with my current team mates..Wonder who was sponsoring it ;-).. The party goes on and then i fall asleep in my dreams (hahaha)...When I wake up.. I find my buccs guys (Where did they come from???!!!???) is all set to leave from the venue and are making arrangements to get the block back to where it came from!!

Yes, i like my granny's house, i also like my team mates and i totally love my buccs gang..but whats with the party @ the beach in a block of house borrowed from Granny??? - God only knows!

I woke up confused, but didn't bother telling anybody or making a big deal out of it until the next night i saw a weirder dream!

My dream didn't start at Granny's place, but in a HUGE Temple! And to my surprise, I was standing in the queue to get into the temple all by myself (nobody came along with me). I deposited my hand bag at the counter and proceeded towards the temple when someone passed a comment "you will go in fine, but you will have a tough time getting out!" - I gave this "Whatever" look to that stranger and walked in. I completed my visit and was about to step out when i spot a very very long queue of people stuck inside the temple waiting for their turn to go out! The long queue was because people were made to go through a "MAZE" in batches before they can get out of the temple. The queue grew smaller and i got closer to the so called Maze. When my turn came, I was asked to enter a huge empty room, more like a never ending passage. The passage was dark and quiet horrifying. The bunch of us, managed to walk into that passage without stamping anybody and little later in the passage we started hearing noise of water flowing. We suddenly saw water gushing into the passage with a force that will drown all of us in a jiffy. We managed to swim in that water and got out of that passage. The next scene I remember is we entering a chamber which was filled with closed doors on either sides of the wall. The clue given to us was that, one of the doors would lead to the exit. All of us frantically start opening each door to find the exit but we would find only a plain wall. we passed through the complete chamber and the last door lead to one more passage. This passage had some source of natural light and we were sure we were near to exit. We finally ended up in a Police station!(aing) A big fat inspector led us to the room where our bags were kept and then allowed us to go home! I victoriously run to the exit and call my father-in-law to say "Appa! I finally got out of the Maze, and I am safe. I am going home now!"

None of the scenes in this dream coincide with what I do in my day to day life, the last time I stepped into a temple was @ Thirumalai few months back and that was surely not a Maze. - I wonder why i got this dream...and I wonder what more weirder dreams are in store for me!

Hope you guys are still awake and reading this last line of my post :)

Sweet Dreams!

Time to Resolve!

It's not a New Year, nor my Birthday today, but it is surely a good day to make some resolutions for the rest of my life! I am gonna try my best to follow them and pinch myself hard whenever I violate it! The list is small but worth every word cos it makes a big impact in my life!..

1. Start saving for my Dream CAR: If I don't do this, my dream car is gonna remain a dream only. And before Honda themselves give up on the Civic and stop manufacturing it, I want that sexy piece of metal in my garage! My savings start from today and btw, Donations are welcome :)

2. Lose Weight: Well this has been on my plate well before marriage, but haven't done much to show any signs of losing weight! In fact, I gained some Kgs after marriage (happily married I guess..:-)..). Though I did make some effort to use the Treadmill and not let it collect dust at home some time back, I conveniently stopped that exercise when project deadlines started kicking in! So now, no more excuses! Am gonna control my in-take of food, or at the least watch out for calories to start with and get stricter as days go..

3. Become proficient in Table Tennis: I am desperate! i am so tired of losing against Vishnu on the TT Table! My winning rate is 1 in probably 12 matches against him and it is really not helping my small "ego" :)

I did say the list was small, didn't I? Please wish me luck in achieving these.. I am confident I will :)

Overprotected...

Yup...you got it right..That's exactly how I feel today! Far too many threads in my mind made me think this way but I don't have the apt words to express them! So I took help from Britney Spears (yeah she is my langotiya yaar) and her song was just so perfect to the mood I am in!

I need time (time)
Love (love)
Joy (joy)
I need space
Love
I need ME!

(Action!)

Say hello to the girl that I am!
You're gonna have to see through my perspective
I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am
And I don't wanna be so damn protected
There must be another way
Cause I believe in taking chances
But who am I to say
What a girl is to do
God, I need some answers

What am I to do with my life
(You will find out don't worry)
How Am I supposed to know what's right?
(You just got to do it your way)
I can't help the way I feel
But my life has been so overprotected

I tell 'em what I like
What I won't
What I don't
But every time I do I stand corrected
Things that I've known
I can't believe what I hear about the world, I realize
I'm Overprotected

There must be another way
Cause I believe in taking chances
But who am I to say
What a girl is to do
God I need some answers

What am I to do with my life
(You will find out don't worry)
How Am I supposed to know what's right?
(You just got to do it your way)
I can't help the way I feel
But my life has been so overprotected

I need… time (love)
I need… space
(This is it, this is it)

I don't need nobody
Tellin me just what I wanna
What I what what I'm gonna
Do about my destiny
I Say No, No
Nobody tell me just what what what I wanna do, do
I'm so fed up with people telling me to be
Someone else but me

(Action!)

What am I to do with my life
(You will find out don't worry)
How Am I supposed to know what's right?
(You just got to do it your way)
I can't help the way I feel
But my life has been so overprotected

I don't need nobody
Tellin me just what I wanna
What I what what I'm gonna
Do about my destiny
I Say No, No
Ain't nobody tell me just what I wanna do, do
I'm so fed up with people telling me to be
Someone else but me

What am I to do with my life
(You will find out don't worry)
How Am I supposed to know what's right?
(You just got to do it your way)
I can't help the way I feel
But my life has been so overprotected.

Am sorry :(

There was a time when I was known for being amazing at remembering "Dates". I was the "Reminder Service" for my sister who always used to forget her friend's birthdays! I could confidently fight with all my friends who forgot my birthday, cos there was no way I could forget theirs! But suddenly, I seem to be losing this image of mine! :(

I have managed to forget 2 of my best friends birthdays over the past week! I still can't believe my ears, eyes and stomach which keep saying that I forgot their Birthday! Though I can conveniently give reasons like "Oh I was terribly busy with a big release", "Man, after marriage I can't remember anything else except my husband", "Shit, what is today's date? I didn't even know your birthday came" to keep them calm, but no matter what excuse i give, the damage is done!

I am sorry Kalyan and SV for forgetting your Birthdays! I did speak to you guys last week but I did not realise I was being forgetful. Please Please Please forgive me! I promise I won't fight if you forget mine (next year ;-) ..). Hope you had a great birthday and wishing you guys a beautiful and memorable year ahead!

Last year this day...

Last year this day it was Eid!
Last year this day I had no ID card, no car parking slot in 3rd floor @ work
Last year this day I looked around at my office and didn't know a single soul

Last year this day I pressed "4" instead of "8" in the office lift

Last year this day I got introduced to Subash, Krish and Preethi

Last year this day my new manager took me out for lunch!

Last year this day my Old manager made sure I was fine!
Last year this day, I made History!
Last year this day, I decided to work hard and have fun too!

Last year this day I joined amazon.com @ Chennai!

Amazon-ing for a year now...Wow!

Lost + found

As kids, almost all of us have lost ourselves in a crowd and have cried until you found your family. I am no different! I have had my share of the so called "Lost+found" incident.

I don't remember at what age I was, but I was pretty small enough to get attracted to all the small "ice cream on wheels" guys at the Marina beach. It was a normal weekend where the family decided to chill out at the beach late in the evening with some family friends. We were a small gang sitting on a bed spread and playing games with mommy. Dad volunteered to buy us some roasted bhutta (corn) and like a tail, I followed him wherever he went. It was past sunset and the lighting at the beach was very low, so visibility was very bad. I mistook some other person as my dad and kept following him. The guy was walking very fast and was heading towards the car park. I had no clue why my dad was running so fast and I kept calling for him with my soft and sweet voice (wink) "Daddy!". It was at the car park that i realized that I was following the wrong "Daddy" and found myself lost. I kept looking for every cart which sold corn and was searching for dad until I got distracted by an ice cream wala and started to pester him to give me a cup of ice cream. Funny part here is, I completely forgot that I was lost! I don't know what happened next, but all I remember is, mom had finally spotted me and hugged me tight and I was back home safe and sound :)

P.S - Thanks to Vasu for reminding me of this incident during lunch :)

In a triangle

Before you start getting ideas and start digging your non-existent Grey matter, let me tell you that this is not a "Love triangle" story. I am thankful that I am away from it for my own good.

So what triangle is this one? no it's none of those mathematical triangles and I am not venting out the after effects of a problem solving interview either. I am not talking about any of the prisms or pyramids which exist in this world. I just have a simple problem with no solution, a triangle of FRIENDS!

For some reason, I am always a part of a trio where I am the least needed! This is not new to me, and by now I should have got used to this trend of friendship, but some how the senti-mental me keeps clinging on to those nodes of the triangle. From school, to college, to work I see patterns of this triangle existent in my life and now finally it's time to not be a part of it and find friends of my own.

If this didn't make any sense to you, don't worry. As I always say "You are not sane if you are not as insane as me" - you are not yet sane and you would not understand the point I am trying to make. And if you do, you are either a victim of this triangle or know the pain I go through for being in one!

Hmph!

Change is constant...

There has been quiet a few changes happening in and around me for the past 6 months and I guess its time to make a note of it :) (wonder who it would benefit!)

So here it goes...

First and the most obvious...ok ok ok..relax, don't jump. I know you already have the right answer. The first change is the "SIZE". I would like to thank all my friends and acquaintances for being nice to me and very kindly complementing on the increase in size as a "sign for happiness". I got the point! I have put on some fat here and there and it has started to show pretty obviously to the outside world!..grumph!

Second one, the black chain on my neck! My mom was very surprised that I managed to wear a choker for 4 hours at my wedding reception, the reason being, iam allergic to whatever strangles my neck! Now she is more than surprised to see the black beed chain round my neck 24 hours and Iam not complaining! I have hardly let this chain part from my neck so far :) I guess Grand-mother-in-law made it anti-allergic ;)

Third one, my hair :) ...ok i know what you are thinking "Whats with the hair?" hehehe. The change is, i have never had the patience to grow my hair for a long time. The last time i had long hair was in school and after that i wud either have a boy cut or shoulder length hair. This time its grown beyond that and I am happy with myself for not chopping it off for more than a year now... Ahem..wait until i lose patience and show up with a boy cut one fine day ;)

Fourth, my eating habits :)) well this change was obvious and welcomed! Being a typical gujju I had a little difficuly in adapting to the rise of spice levels after wedding. But thanks to my very understanding in-laws, they brought down the spice levels at home so that I can eat more and cry less (lol). Now I am more used to groundnut chutney than kadi khichdi :)

Fifth, The car!!!!..Before: Grey Maruti 800, 2000 Model. Now: Red Hyudai i20, 2009 Model :) and to add to that change, i get to sit at the passenger seat more frequently. Thanks to the upcoming driver at home ;). But yeah, whenever I am not driving, we (the car and me) are praying with eyes closed hoping to reach home without a scratch :P

Wel, there are many more, like change in water, change in language, change in home, change in room, etc etc...but i understand that your concentration level is low and it ends right here. So, signing off...tata..

Naani maa

It has been quiet some time since i penned down my accumulated thoughts and it's time to vent out! So...here I was, all busy with my work, and i suddenly found myself addicted to this song "Meri Kahani" from "Atif Aslam". This song has not only been sung well but also has great lyrics too.

tera mera galyoon main yun phirna
phirte phirte raat ko yun thakna
thak ke nani ki godi main sona
paryoon k des ja ke na aana

"thak ke naani ko godi mein sona" - this line brought innumerable memories of my time with my naani. My childhood has been pretty plain and uneventful but is filled with some very good times with my naani. We had a ritual of visiting her every Saturday and the entire "jing bang" would go to her place and have a ball. I have seen her from walking around a huge house, to going slow with a walking stick until she got bed ridden. Rashida, Mariya, Maryam and myself used to spend most of our summer vacations there. Nanni's place was huge, with just 2 rooms separated by a long walk way where we could play cricket if needed. It was the best place to play Hop n catch, skipping race, kho-kho, hide n seek, blind man's buff and what not! During festive season, the entire family would gather and jabber and bring the roof down. Man it was the most happening destination in town!

(That's all the cousins @ Naani's place on Eid!)

I still remember the last smile on my Granny's face, when she looked at me and said "Sakina tujhe dekh mujhe aata hain paseena" - her favorite dialogue to me! She slept that night and never woke up. She slept peacefully with a smile on her face and free from this world. I still go to meet her at the Cemetery and whisper into her ears "miss u naani"

I really do!

Tagged!

I got tagged!

Thumb Rule: this is going to make answering this interesting.. each questions is to be answered by quoting a song.. or any verse from a song as reply to the questions..
P.S. - at the end of the verse please give info abt the song.. (err.. not lot of ppl recognize lyrics)

OK here's mine

1) If someone says “are u ok with this?” You say?
jo tumko ho pasand wo hi baat kahenge
dete na aap sath to mar jaat hum kabhi ke
dete na aap sath to mar jaat hum kabhi ke
pure hue hai aapse armaan zindagi ke
hum zindagi ko aapki hum zindagi ko aapki
hum zindagi ko aapki sogaat kahenge
tum din ko agar raat kaho raat kahenge
jo tumko ho pasand wo hi baat kahenge

-Safar

2) What would best describe your personality?
Koi hero yahan koi zero yahan
Koi star hai koi bekaar hai
Koi hero yahan koi zero yahan
Koi star hai koi bekaar hai
Main kaun hoon tumse main kya kahoon
Hai sach to ye doston
I am the best I am the best I am the best

-Phir bhi dil hain hindustani

3) What do you like in a guy/girl?
Ye kaali kaali aakhen
ye gore gore gaal
ye teekhi teekhi nazren
ye hirni jaisi chaal

-Baazigar

4) How do you feel today?
ab ke saawan, aise barse…
behe jaaye rang, meri chunar se…
bheege tann mann, jiya na tarse…
jamke barse zara…

rut saawan ki…
ghataa saawan ki…
ghataa saawan ki, aise jam ke barse - Shubha Mudgal

5) What is your life’s purpose?
Jo Bhi Chaahoon Vo Main Paoon
Zindagi Mein Jeet Jaoon
Chaand Taare Tod Laoon
Saari Duniya Par Main Chhaoon
Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai
Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai

6) What is your motto?
It's my life
It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I'm alive
-Bon Jovi

7) What do your friends think of you?
Rangeeli ho, sajeeli ho - 2
Tu albeli o - 2
Main albeli,
ghoomoon akeli,
koi paheli hoon main
Ho, main albeli,
ghoomoon akeli,
koi paheli hoon main
Pagli hawaaye mujhe jaha bhi le jaaye
In hawaaon ki saheli hoon main

Tu hai rangeeli, ho
Tu hai sajeeli, ho

-Zubeida

8) What do you think of your parents?
Tu Jo Hai To Sab Kuch Hai Na Koi Kami Hai
Tu Hi Dil Hai Tu Hi Jaan Bhi Hai
Tu Khushi Hai Aasra Bhi Hai
Teri Chaahat Zindagi Hai
Tu Mohabbat Tu Aashiqui Hai Tu Aashiqui Hai
-Jhankar Beats

9) What do you think about very often?
Aankhon mein ankhne teri
Bahoon mein baahein teri
Mera na mujhe mein kuch raha hua kya
Baaton mein baatein teri
Raatein saugatein teri
Kyun tera sab yeh ho gaya
hua kya
Mein kahin bhi jata hoon
Tumse hi mil jata hoon
Tumse hi tumse hi
-Jab we met

10) What do you think of your best friend?
Tum mile
dil khile
aur jeene ko kya chahiye
- Criminal

11) What do you think of the person you like?
koi jo mila tho mujhe aisa lagtha tha jaise meri sari duniya mein
geethon ki ruth aur rangonki barkha hai khushbu ki andhi hai
mahki hui si ab sari fizaenhai bahki hui si ab sari havaen hai
khooi hui si ab sari dishaen hai badli hui si ab sari adaen hai
jaagi umange hai, dhadak raha hai dil sason mein thoofan hai
-Breathless by Shankar Mahadevan

12) How did you feel after passing out of college?
So gaya yeh jahan, so gaya aasma)
So gayi hai saari manzile, O saari manzile,
So gaya hai rasta,
-Tezaab

13) What will you dance to at your wedding?
sajnaa ji vaari vaari jaanu ji mein - 2
tu hi to mera sansaar hai aisa mera pyaar hai - 2
charno mein jo na jagah paanu ji mein 2
to mera jeena hi bekaar hai aisa mera pyaar hai -2
mera maan hai tu abhimaan hai tu
meri pooja hai tu mera dhyaan hai tu
tu devata mein pujaaran
sanjnaa tujpe mein arpaan
tere gungaan hi to gaanu ji mein oh tere gungaan hi to gaanu
tu hi to mera sansaar hai aisa mera pyaar hai - 2
-Honeymoon travels pvt ltd

14) What will they play at your funeral?
Gham ka baadal jo chhaaye to hum muskuraate rahe - 2
Apni aankhon mein aashaaon ke deep jalaate rahe
Aaj bigde to kal phir bane
Aaj roothe to kal phir mane
Waqt bhi jaise ek meet hai
Zindagi ki yehi reet hai - 2
Haar ke baaz hi jeet hai
Thode aansu hai, thodi hasi
Aaj gham hai to kal hai khushi
-Mr.India

15) Your life story?
We were strangers starting out on our journey
Never dreaming what we'd have to go through
Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected what you did to my heart
When I lost hope you were there to remind me
This is the start

-Anastacia

16) What is your hobby/interest?
Mera Jhumka Utha Ke Laaya Re Yaar Ve, Jo Gira Tha Bareli Ke Bazaar Me
Main To Thumka Lagaake Sharma Gayi
Boli Ghoongar Bandha Denge Mein Aa Gayi
Mujhko Nachaake Nachle, Aaja Nachle Nachle Mere Yaar Tu Nachle
Jhanak Jhanak Jhankaar
O Nachle Nachle Mere Yaar Tu Nachle, Abb To Luta Hai Baazar
Sabko Bhulaake Nachle, Aaja Nachle Nachle Mere Yaar Tu Nachle
Jhanak Jhanak Jhankaar
O Nachle Nachle Mere Yaar Tu Nachle, Abb To Luta Hai Baazar

-Aaja Nachle

Now tagging Maria, Vishnu, Vikram, bajji :)

Optional Holiday

In the corporate world, an "Optional Holiday" is an OPTION to take a Holiday on an already declared Government holiday! Funny to know that an already declared holiday was made optional and even funnier I didn't take the option to Holiday!

In my world, an "Optional Holiday" is all of the following:
Less noise, less work
Cleaner toilets, cleaner roads.
Less waiting time in TT room, more usage of internet.
Music volumes high, working speed low.
Long breaks, more breaks.
More facebook, less outlook.
Less of monitor, more of mobile.

How is it in your world???

Taxed?..No more!

I successfully filed my taxes for last year, last week! Yes! I am late. The last date was July 31st ( I Think). But hey, better late than never. The reason its important to mention about my taxes is that I have had the simplest filing ever! You know why? Guess guess guess...Cos, I paid taxes for what money I earned! No investments, no policies, no rents, no medical insurance. Just plain "Gross Salary", "Tax to be paid" and "Tax paid"! - Have you ever seen such a simple tax statement? I bet NO! And I am totally proud about it!!!

Yeah yeah yeah, I can see some of you reacting. Sak! what the hell, why haven't you saved any taxes? tere paas bahut paise hain kya daan mein dene ke liye? kuch toh document dikhana tha, itna sara paise waste kiya?

Unfortunately, I don't think that way. I have no regrets of paying 30% of that pay cheque I earned. If I deserved a hike in my pay, so did the country! I have no right to crib about bad roads, dirty colonies, poverty, bad infrastructure if I don't do the basics! The government won't help you if you don't help them help you! Simple..

I totally pity my friends who run around (esp. in the month of March) trying to get the cheapest investments and best policies in town which would get them the highest savings on tax! I also know friends who have a home loan on their own house, and then stay in a rented house to get the benefits of both! I have nothing against investing for securing your old age or for securing your kid's future. But investments sold and bought in the name of saving tax totally irritate me!

IMPORTANT: I don't expect you to agree with my thinking, and I respect your way of handling your finances. This space is mine and is purely used for venting out my thoughts.

Signing off, proudly!

Why?

Why do we talk about global warming and do not stop cutting trees?
Why do we subscribe to e-statements and then print them and file it for "reference"?
Why being an adult is to stop being a kid?
Why do we measure the wealth of a person by his bank balance but not his values?
Why we are not lazy to watch TV all weekend but lazy to call an old friend?
Why we spend more on investments to save less than that in taxes?
Why do we look for great cameras in a cellphone?
Why do we go abroad to get laid off?
Why do we cut down on food, when it comes to cutting down fat?!

Why am I writing this??!!? :S

Hetic-ism

Just when I thought that the series of busy weeks and weekends will come to an end, I discovered that the "thought" was a myth! Past 2 weeks has been far too hectic than I could have imagined and when I look back, I am surprised that I survived it! Here is a glimpse of it..

- July 20-24 - Work-Work-Work, test-test-test, bugs-bugs-bugs, meeting-meeting-meeting
- July 25 and 26th - work @ home and work from home
- July 27th - Appointed as the Official driver for the coming week and made three visits to airport in 4 days.
- July 27th - Found a new room mate and got used to talking in American accent :)
- July 28th and 29th - 2 day Break from work. and 2 day visit to Thirupathi, back with zillion laddoos on 28th evening.
- July 28th evening: Trip to Thiruvanmiyur beach: Sea waves and sand castles, sandy pants and sea shells!
- July 30th - Back to work, lots to do, lots to not do! Evening feast was spiced up @ Spice Jar (The Residency)
- July 31st - Bid farewell to my room mate and awaited for the original one to return.
- August 1,2,3 - 1 planned release and 2 emergency releases. Translated to 24/7 work and boredom

The rest of the days till today seem to be a little relaxed and more fun-filled. But that's not the end of the story. There is more coming up this month
- August 8,9: Trip to Kabini
- August 15,16: Trip to Bangalore
- August 20th onwards - Ramzan fasting commences
- August 31st - One more launch!!

In between all these things a whole load of pre-launches, emergency releases and TABLE TENNIS :) is planned to happen!

Phew! Ain't I busy? :)

Makeover!

It was on May 21st when my new blog had got a newer look, and i had proudly announced it on my blog post: How Does it Feel when??

After 2.5 months of the new look, it was time for a much newer look and I started hunting for new templates for my self-obsessed blog. The process of hunting took me 2 days!! (like geet says in Jab We Met "Just IMAGINE!!!"). After short listing 4 possible new looks for my blog, there was a round of voting and decision making all the 4 templates went through to see which one suits me and my blog the best! and.... WaterColor won it! This template really caught my eye and I couldn't wait to have it on my blog!

But guess what, it wasn't easy to implement. However thanks to FalconHive for providing very detailed and easy to understand instructions for applying the template and my blog got a great new look!

I simply Lowwwwe the Makeover and I hope you guys like it too!!

Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

It's like filling petrol in your car, to discover the petrol prices have slashed down the next day!
Its like getting a phone call from your boss when you are ready to leave for the day!
Its like fasting on your Birthday!
Its like running out of battery when your favorite song is about to play!

- This might surely sound like the song "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette...the way it goes:

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of your dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic...don't you think
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...

I have been having far too many "Ironic" moments at work and I am no more surprised why it happens to me always! Have you ever had a high-priority-customer-ticket to resolve exactly the same day when your project is about to go live??! Isn't it Ironic..don't you think?

KT Problems!

As a part of my job, many a times I am asked/required to provide a "knowledge transfer" to either a new joinee, or an old team mate who is new to the project. I have absolutely no issues in teaching somebody or even learning from someone. In fact i learn more while teaching, cos every new person has a new way of looking at things. I am usually open to a lot of questions and I am usually patient in answering them. Ok, I guess i made my point far more than clear that I can teach and I am patient enough for it, but there is a problem here and without further delay i would just get to the problem statement :)..So here it is..

Problem Statement 1: You are in a new team, you are little more experienced from the rest of the team, however the team is new to you. You are just trying to get a hang of things and the do's and dont's in the team. After about 6 months of self learning and lot of practical knowledge, you are suddenly found in this situation where: You are no longer new, the old team thinks you are doing something new (which is actually not) and you are supposed to give KT to the old team members on what you learnt from these 6 months! Weird isn't it? Weird but true!!

Problem Statement 2: You are again new, you are new the team and the team is new! you are learning things from scratch from some stranger 7 seas apart! And finally you are the one and only owner of the project, when suddenly, somebody is introduced in the project and you have to give a KT! Always happy to have helpers, you give all the KT you need to and take the help from him/her in return. This entire process happens once, twice and thrice. Fourth time you are like: Oh my God! when will this end??

Problem Statement 3: You have taken KT from an old team member, learnt almost everything from him/her and took over the project. After few months, you fall back on him/her for help in the project and the reply is "I have forgotten everything, give me a KT". What do you mean forgotten? If you are on fast for a month, do you forget to eat? Do you forget to pay your monthly bills? Do you forget your own mobile number cos you never dial it? GRR!

Problem Statement 4: Nobody is new here, everybody knows everything and is doing the same thing. you are just asking for "backup" when you wanna go out for a short vacation with your family and your manager comes and says. Please give KT so that your backup is not blocked due to your absence? @#!$@%#$

Last but not the least, Problem Statement 5: You have resigned from your current company and you are on notice period. After 2 weeks of torture you finally get a replacement and you are expected to transfer the knowledge in one week. You stay late, take shorter breaks, write pages and pages of wiki for your replacement and leave the company. After a week you find out your replacement has left!!!! WHAT A WASTE OF TIME and EFFORT!! GRRR!

Tumbling...

This was not my idea. My friend suddenly came to me and said "Lets do Project 365". At first, I had no clue what it meant! and then this is what his explanation was "Its a photoblog. You should take pics of the most significant event of the day, each day, and post it. The project goes on for a year and that's why it's project 365"

Well, interesting for sure, this project not only required me to have a decent camera with me all the time, but also the presence of mind to click a pic at that significant moment of the day! Moreover, post it on the same day! To add to it, I had a stream of questions on my mind before I could say a "Yes" or a "No" to him.
1. What if I don't have a decent camera?
2. What if I don't have net at home?
3. What if there is no significant moment on that day?
4. What if I am on a vacation and no access to technology?

And the quick answers to these were:
1. I have a blackberry with a decent camera, what more do I need..
2. Zimble, use office net :)
3. Take my own pic and post it ;) I am significant enough for myself :)
4. Who cares, post after you come back!

The final answer was "YES!" in CAPS and with a BIG GRIN! (don't imagine me doing that)

So, next day I created this new blog and promised my followers that there will be a post a day, sorry a photo-a-day in that space starting from TODAY!

Check it out: http://sak365.tumblr.com

Still wondering why the tumbler pic on the post? ;-)

Bugging you!

This video has been my favorite for years now. It reminds me of the "S" bay which I had in my previous company where all of us used to repeatedly watch this video whenever our khadoos boss is asking a zillion questions!

Thanks to mariya (yes its her again!! Gosh I am mentioning her name more often than my name!!) for finding this video for us. Salma, Sumanth, Solo-man and myself (The "S"bay in-mates) are very thankful to you :P

The bug in the video is damn cute and I still remember Salma and myself trying to sing like him...lol!

Enjoi it!

Driving the car is always easier than parking it!

They say "Getting a driving license is different from actually driving".

Initially I didn't understand this saying, until I started to drive! Well for me, getting the driving license was adventurous enough and i was confident to drive on the roads. But I guess, I was wrong. I have far too many occasions where I have managed to save myself or my car from damage (Mom, don't panic after reading this, cos I am much better at it now)

It was sometime in November 2007 when i got my own car(A year after i got my license). It was a 1999 Maruti 800 and I was the third owner. The reason i give this info is for you to understand that the very old car was gonna be driven by a very new driver! - ME :)

When the car came home, My dad was just too scared to give the car keys in my hands, he insisted i go for another round of classes before i actually drove the car myself. However, I managed to convince him for a few classes by a known driver.

The known driver finally turned up on one of the weekend and I could finally take charge of the car and control the steering myself. Well, it was not only the steering, but the clutch, the gear, the accelerator and the brakes too! As I sat on the driver's seat, there was a wave of nervousness running down my body and the only hope I had was the person sitting next to me - My teacher - The known Driver.We drove and drove and drove until we hit the Toll plaza on ECR and we decided to get back home. The drive was pretty smooth and I did pretty well in my first class. My teacher was already impressed and was recommending me to take the car out everyday!

We finally reached home and I was totally proud about myself! Now that the driving was impressive, my next chapter was the parking! I was supposed to park the car inside the house garage - which was slightly scary as the car park at home was pretty weird. I had to take a right and another right and then left in order to get to the parking slot! And to add complexity to the already complicated route, The second right was an elevation and the left was where the gate was. It might sound extremely simple to you, but for me it was no where close to it being simple.

With all the courage and skill, I took the first right peacefully, no engine noises, no tyres screeching no smoke, no clash. However, the second right required some knack cos it was an elevation. It needed a little acceleration, lot of clutch and quick brake when the car has to turn left. Mummy :( I was very cautious on the accelerator, but because of that my car refused to climb and my teacher kept signaling for more acceleration. Finally i left the clutch, jumped on to the accelerator, went zoom on top and forgot to break before turning left!!!

Result: Car was in the place where it had to be.

Car Status:
Right headlights were broken
Left bumper was smashed
Left headlight and indicator light shattered into pieces

People Status:
My mom's eyes couldn't believe what had just happened!
My driver was almost in the verge of laughing
My dad had a mixed feeling whether to scold the driver or me!
I was shocked and shivering to get out of the car!
The neighbors came running after hearing some loud screeches.

My driving status:
Though i got to drive the car, my dad, never let me park for almost a month after this incident. I would leave the car on the road until he came home and parked it himself!

Hence proved:
Getting a driving license is different from actually driving

Outsourced??

I saw this movie on Star movies, and i just did not seem to relate to it. This movie is about an American guy who comes to India to teach how to run a call center. So far so good, the only part which irritated me was the "exaggeration".

I simply don't understand why the non-Indian directors, making an Indian movie, always want to portray either one of the following:
1. Slums
2. Dirt
3. Crowd
4. Anything which spells "eeew!"

This American guy who is supposedly the "AVP of sales and order fulfillment" is dumber than the villagers. He eats whatever is offered to him (including ice golas), he sits wherever there is place, he talks to any stranger and he cannot differentiate between "Mac Donnells" and "McDonalds".

In reality, every visitor/tourist is given a huge list of "Do's and Dont's" before stepping into India. I don't have the complete list, but this is the preview:
1. Do not drink/eat anything which is not served in disposable material
2. Do not use tap water - Brush your teeth with bottled water
3. Do not eat any restaurant which is not star-rated!

Looks like this man had never read the list and finally blamed the ice golas he ate on the roadside for a "cramped" stomach!

I think the movie failed miserably in projecting the right picture about India and Indians and the way we work and live here. We did start the IT consulting firms in small rooms and then expanded to big campuses but not by building huts in the middle of no where and operate with borrowed electricity lines! The movie showcased a frustrated outsider who initially had an horrible experience and then finally fell in love with his co-worker and got back to his country with a bollywood ring tone-d mobile phone!

Gosh, so FILMY!

P.S. I am not a professional critique and this blog is not meant for writing movie reviews, this is my personal opinion written down in my blog!

Shopping!

Well, I think I already know what you are thinking after reading the title. If I know you well enough you’re saying one of these:

1. Sak! No! Not again!
2. GIRLS!! !!
3. There goes her husband's money
4. Gosh, how boring!
5. Give me a break!

100 points to you for choosing the right answer ;) but no matter what you think, It ain't gonna stop me shop :) Imagine how T.Nagar would look if nobody shopped! - I just did and instantly got this: "I am Legend" Movie's scene where the place is totally deserted. Imagine how the "Saravana Stores", "Kumaran Stores" and "G.R.Ts" would look with NO People around! - Gosh!

Anyways, I Wonder why people (Guys esp.) have a crooked face when we (Girls) talk about shopping. You know what??! If we didn’t shop, YOU wouldn't have got that lovely shirt in your closet and all you would be wearing is a crushed T-shirt for the 3rd time in the same week! So be thankful to us ladies for sparing that small amount from our pockets to make you look presentable!

Shopping and I have a unique relationship. I prefer shopping alone and not show the bill when I get back home ;) I am not very fussy when it comes to picking up stuff for me. I can blow up half my salary in a day by just going to "Shopper's stop" all by myself and get back home SATISFIED!

Sak! How do you manage to do that?

Zimble!- Whenever I set out to shop I make sure I have a list. I need to know what I want before I hit the mall. Also, I hate going to 10 shops and finally buy 1 saree from the first shop I visited. I mean, Why waste energy on the next 9 shops when u already spotted something you like in the first one? I feel sorry for the sales guy/girl in front of me who is patiently displaying all the dresses I wish to see and then tell him/her "Thanks, I will come back later" - TERRIBLE!!! My funda is simple - See it. Like it? Take it! I don’t care if it costs a penny less in the shop down the road! I am totally happy with what I got and the price I paid for it.

Besides shopping alone for myself, I totally enjoy giving company to somebody else. For some reason, I usually have confused people around me. They cannot help me shop, nor themselves! They just can't decide what they want and if its the right thing to buy. That's when I show up and rescue them - SO, need company?

Hope the shopping gyan has enlightened some poor souls in this universe! Good night!

Shhhh..it's a Secret...

Now this post is surely inspired by my cousin..No wonder why her blog shows up on "My Motivators" list. So here is one blog "inspired" from her post: "Can you keep a Secret? - It is how Anu Malik gets "Inspired" by every English pop song! LOL

So, Can I keep a secret??? ABZOLUTELLYY!!! I know far too many secrets about you before you realize it yourself ;). Don’t panic and call the cops, I am not gonna let it out in a public forum :-) for the very simple reason that, IT IS A SECRET..Duh!!! But, guess what, This post is gonna have few of my very own secrets ...and after this post, it’s gonna be known secrets ;)

1. I am scared of dogs! - This is a known secret to some of my friends who have seen me reacting to a dog around me!

2. My first crush was when I was in LKG!! - Don't ask me the name, cos I don't remember it either ;)

3. My favorite color became purple only after college; it used to be black before!

4. I DONT have any best friends. I have huge chunks of friends from every path of my life, but no one as my closest or best! I don’t have anybody to pick up the phone and vent out something which bothers me or excites me!

5. My original name was "Rubab" and was changed to "Sakina" as a dedication to my grand mom!

6. There were exactly 2 Bohri muslim guys I seriously liked before I got hooked on to Vishnu! Both of them had no interest in me...Thank GOD??!?? - Don't ask names again, both of them are supposedly married to somebody else ;-)

7. My sister gives me an inferiority complex. Though I love her the most, I have always been jealous of her. (More details in a later post)

That's it for now; I would like to keep the rest as secrets ;)

And the winner is....

After a month of hunt and analysis, this man made machine wins all the 4 hearts in the family...Surprisingly, it impressed the parents in no time and we got the green signal to go ahead and sign the 'Booking Form'. Now, anxiously waiting for it to arrive home. It is the Hyundai i20 :-)

Beauty Tip :)

Ever tried a facial which gets over in 5 mins and also gives good results??

A facial which does not need you to spend 1.5 hours in the parlour?

A facial which doesn't burn your pocket?

A facial which guarantees instant glow and no after effects?

A facial which is free of cost once a year?

A facial done by 10 of ur friends rather than some stranger in the parlor?

A facial which can be photographed and treasured?

A facial which is creamy and colorful?

A facial which can be done at work or home or friend's place?

A facial which gives the same effect irrespective of gender, color, skin type or size of your face?

Ok ok ok, these are the people who have gone through out-of-the-world-facial and have been proven to be brighter, cuter, smarter and cleaner after that;-)

Btw, I am not waiting for mine ;)

Half Deccan Charger??

It has been a relaxing weekend so far and as i type this, i just finished watching 2 Telugu movies at one time ;-) Thanks to "maa" and "Zee telugu" for systematically providing commercial breaks so that we cud see 2 movies at the same time. I am sure you are thinking "Sak, you and Telugu movie? what happened to Jab we Met?? " ;-)

Guess What, I am on my way to becoming a "Deccan Charger" Didn't get it?...Read on!

One of my colleagues, infected-with-IPL-Madness; said : 'Sak, you are half Deccan Charger" LOL. and the reply I have is "I am quarter Mumbai Indian, quarter Chennai Super King, quarter Rajasthan Royal and a quarter Deccan charger and YOU are not even an IPL, FULL French from pondy ;)" - No Offense here buddy.

Anyways, being in A Golti family has been a different experience indeed. A switch over from Dal tadka to Sambar. From Rotis to Dosas. From jaggery to red Chilly. From chicken lollipop to gobi masala. From paya to drum sticks. From Butter chicken to mutter paneer. From "Woh rehne wali mehlon ki" to "some-random-Telugu-serial".. The switch has been good so far (until you find another post out here cribbing about it ;)..) and it is getting into my blood that I am apparently on the way to being a half Golti...

BTW, before I even attempt to get into the Telugu Race, my sweet Mom is already showing signs of belonging to one! with her mind blowing Telugu. She is been taking Telugu classes daily and when asked why her answer was..."To talk secrets with my son-in-law"...LOL ;) So, Mom when are you gonna teach me Telugu, so that I can talk secrets with you???? ;)

Yippppppeeeeeee!!!!

Today was a prelude to the Ramzan season, today was one of those holy days where we try to tone down our stomachs and control on junk intake! Today was a very slow and draggy day to FAST!

As a matter of fact, Fasting is not new to me, I have been fasting for required occasions since 5th standard, so no complains about it. The only difference is the drastic change in weather conditions since then! Today looked like an exceptionally hot and dry day! I almost survived the last 2 hours of the fast, i could hardly look at the monitor and concentrate on my work. And to top it all, I had to sit with trainees and help them while they executed test cases. I hope you understand my plight here..but overall managed it pretty well :-)

BTW, that' not the reason for the excitement displayed on the post title!!!

I have been struggling in no-blackberry-world for the past 5 days and let me tell you, the world seemed simply complicated! I was struggling with a Moto phone trying to type the keys thrice to type one letter (GRRRR) and unable to type the entire word either!! Me being an sms pro, totally suffered this part of the world. But thanks to a kind man in Mumbai, for promptly sending the replacement battery for my beloved BB and guess what...I am Back 2 BB :)) ...so that's why...YIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Back pain is behind me!

One not-so-fine morning, I just could not lift myself from the bed. I was wide awake, but totally immobile. It was annoying and painful; It was a horrible back ache. Unable to wake up on time for work, I finally decided to take a day off, relax my strained muscles and pay homage to the Doc!

I think I should have just stopped with taking a day off and relaxing, because paying homage to the doc cost me lot more pain!

So, here I was, struggling to stand and brush my teeth, wear something random and walk out of my room like a robot! I still remember Vishnu smiling at me when i was doing a combination of limp, hop and drag at the same time in order to just walk! However, with his help, I successfully reached the destination - Doc's den! He examined and said "Strain may be"..and here is where my mind starts running.. Strain due to what? And the possible Options were..

A. Work?
B. Walk?
C. Table Tennis?
D. Cooking?
E. Bike?
F. Ahem!*

By the time I did inky-pinky-ponky to choose the correct answer, the doctor had prescribed some tabs for 3 days and said "Don't bother, you would be just fine!” I believed his words, took the tabs religiously and slept like a log!!! The day off was totally fruitful on the sleep front! Totally relaxed and made sure my back does not complain...My back was fine as long as the tabs kept going in, but once stopped, I still saw symptoms of back ache...but guess what, It was on the opposite side..Wonder if the tabs were designed to "move" and not "remove" the pain!

Anyways, now I am due to meet the doc and give him my prescription (dose) and ask him to cure it properly, until then, hail to amazon.com for providing the most comfortable bean bags at work!

* You need to be like me to understand this option!

I have a life...let me live!

I am trying to be totally "positive" about today - but somehow "today" doesn't want to reciprocate that feeling!

Today morning, I land up to work to find out that I have to give Kt about everything i know to the new joiners and I would be free from what I do (I donno what this means). Like an obedient student to my boss I went up to the training rooms to give the Gyan (I supposedly have) and find out that my students are already celebrating weekend!

I was kinda glad...until I got on to something else...

Yesterday, I spent the entire night to do the so-called Test case cleanup. I managed to do a lot and I tried to import my new-and-improved testcases on to the portal. They did get imported! – Phew...until...I saw that the imported stuff was TOTALLY MESSED UP! There were far too many bugs on the portal to handle my format of TC's and I felt terrible! ...Without losing hope, I gave it another try, which took me more than half a day and re-imported....but…SIGH! The newer testcases created more mess than before :-(....I struggled for the rest of the day to make it right, and I finally did!... Btw, in this whole Process I was using "Microsoft Word", "Microsoft Excel", "WordPad" and “my PORTAL! - All of these SUCK!

Now that I earned another relief, I picked up my phone to share the good news to my troubled husband! And guess what - My phone was dead!! It was beyond recovery, it refused to wake up and respond to me! - My phone was in coma :( The battery had conked off and I felt disconnected! I am gonna trouble the rest of the world until i get my phone live and kicking!!

All of this was not enough… My boss very casually informed that tomorrow is not a holiday for me! There is a freaking recruitment event and I have to be a part of it. GRRRR…. I am already getting night mares about the candidates who will try to spoil my vocabulary and testing knowledge :(

I hate it cos it ruined my lunch plans, car plans, shopping plans and bonding plans! I have stopped saying "Thank god it’s Friday" - Cos I am not looking forward for the weekend! – Not ANYMORE!

For the rest of you who are probably home by now, probably relaxing or staring at the TV, or probably cooking, or shopping or baby sitting or traveling, I am glad you are doing something else besides work and I wish you a very Happy weekend - May you live the weekend I want to!

SoSo

Signs Of Self Obsession
You are Self Obsessed when....
.....you see a group photo and all you are bothered about is how you look

You are Self Obsessed when....
...you keep staring at yourself in the mirror 10 times more before you leave for work.

You are Self Obsessed when....
...you compare every gal in town with yourself and then rate her

You are Self Obsessed when....
....you have mastered clicking your own photos on your mobile

You are Self Obsessed when....
....you say "I" more number of times than "We"

You are Self Obsessed when....
...you create a blog to blabber about yourself

You are Self Obsessed when....
....you still cut out your face from the "couple" photos to put it on orkut

You are Self Obsessed when....
....you think you are the best at everything no matter what the rest of the world thinks

You are Self Obsessed when....
....you are always talking whether somebody is listening or not!

You are Self Obsessed when....
...you cry when a huge pimple shows up on your face!

You are Self Obsessed when....
...The weighing scale goes up higher and you are like "OK, I am stil the Best" :-))

You are Self Obsessed when....
...You pick your own photo when talking about self obession :)

So - are YOU showing "SoSo"????

Interbiewing ebent!

He was the first guy I met at office today. I had no clue what he would turn out to be and I was supposed to evaluate him and recommend him for our team! Yes..I was interviewing him. As I was typing out his answers during the conversation, I felt strain on my ears and difficulty in reading my own lines! Later did i realize that I was typing the way he was talking and this is how it was:

Me: So, give me a brief about what you have done so far.

Him: I habe done M-Sh-c IT phrom allahabad unibershity and then completed MBA in Phinance. I worked as an inthern in Dhelhi and then got deputed to Tee Shee S. Aphter that i joined cognijant and now in Shathyam compooters.

Me: Oh ok. What would you test on a device?
Him: I will phirsht check iph it ish eajy to uje. Whether the applicason is running phine and the pheatures are working as per recurement (requirement)

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I can't write phurther than this as most oph the coshtions aphter this are either conphidential or absolutely stressphool to my eyes and ears! I habe no intentions oph putting this person down, but I just could not bear it! I was switched oph in the phirst ten minutes and wash shtruggling to eben gibe philler coshtions.

Oh Gosh! Get me out oph this!!

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P.S.: Replace "ph" with "f", "sh"/"j" with "s" and "b" with "v". For further guidance please get in touch with me via comments ;-)

I am Pirated!..

This is a new trend in office; Forget to lock your Laptop and there you go! "You are Pirated". Thanks to my lovely team mates, they chose me as the first bali-ka-bakra to pirate! I (as usual) got too tempted with the offer of a TT game and carelessly left my lappie unlocked. After sweating and running across the table trying to play the game for half an hour, I got back and realized that an email was sent from my mail box to the entire team - Subj: "I am Pirated". As they say it in Hindi - "Sotein hue sher ko jagaya" (For the less fortunate: "Woke up a sleeping lion") - From then, I haven't left one single chance to pirate somebody else! - So far the count is 3 and I would have just added one more to my score if I had gathered enough courage to conquer my boss's cabin and pirate him! Better luck next time...

However, none of my team mates know that I have been a 'Buccaneer' aka Pirate for more than a year now! Didn’t understand? Here's the story...

Last Quarter of the year is the most looking-forward-to part of the year in iNautix (my previous company). We have our annual day celebrations and a whole load of competitions organized during that time. The entire organization is split into 4 big groups and the event has a theme on which every group has to innovate and compete. In 2007 it was a WAR FIELD; A war between "Gangsters", "Raiders", "Buccaneers" and “I-don’t-remember-the-fourth-opponent”. My friend Teeks (the jack sparrow of the group) and I were the captains of this totally crazy, charming, creative team called the "Buccaneers". We as a team totally rocked the place and left the entire floor speechless. We had a super gang of guys and gals with mind-blowing talent and wit! In fact our costumes on the day of the event set us apart; I wish I had photos to share – anyways, that day was simbly awesome!!! We would have won the trophy hands down if only it hadn't rained that day. All our vegetable carvings, paintings, backdrops, props, costumes got washed away. But it didn’t wash away our spirit! Winning or losing was separate from the fun we wanted to have and we totally had a ball!! From then my identity at office changed from "Sakina" to "Buccaneer Captain Sakina"

I am sooooo PIRATED! :-))))

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

"God gave us our relatives; thank God we can choose our friends" - Who ever said this, said it right! Our world revolves around our friends and that's why "You are what your friends are!” A lot of us have different opinions when it comes to "friends". Go ahead and ask very casually "What is friendship?" or "who is a friend?" and you would get answers like these (or somewhere close to these)

- Friendship is life!
- Friendship is the beginning of love
- A friend is a person who might forget my birthday but would be there crying when I die!
- A friend in need is a friend indeed
- A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are

For me, friends bring out the kid in me and allow me to be myself. I am the most comfortable with my friends, this is assuming that my husband, my sister, my cousins and my parents are my friends :). I love being surrounded with friends and hate to be left out! Totally appreciate and enjoy their jokes, their kindness, their surprises, their mischief’s, their brilliance and their love for me!

A long lasting friendship needs a lot of trust and involvement. For instance, think about how many school friends are you in touch with today? 1? 2? Many? How often do you meet them? Or at least scrap them on orkut or poke them on facebook? Do you know their spouse's name? How many kids do they have? Which city they are in? Making friends is very easy; keeping that friendship alive is equally tough. That's why the saying "Make new friends but don't forget the old!"

May you always have "Friends Forever"

No Post today

The day was uneventful. No good/bad news to share. No jokes to laugh about. No work related inquiries allowed here. No non-work related stuff to blabber. No wars in the TT room, No bugs to report. No lunch boxes snatched, No coke spilt. No cute guys to sight, no smart chaps to drool at. No new joinees, no ragging. No birthday celebrations, no cake cutting. No exercise, no diet!

The day was as normal as it could get. Couple of coffee breaks, more than a couple TT matches, a late lunch and lots of typing documents – this describes my day today and hence: NO POST TODAY!

Did I just post something right now?

Enjlish...

What if there was a universal change in the English language to change "g"(the way its pronounced) to "j"? i.e. English to become Enjlish?

"Oh My God" would become "Oh My Jod!" and "Good Girl" will be "Jood Jirl"? Hungry will be hunjry and gone will be jone!

English is a funny lanjuage - now the reason why I didn’t replace the "g" in the lanjuage is because g is already j!! Similarly in Bajjage, Damage, carriage, marriage!.. Phew I am confused! Why is Go not Jo? Why is got not jot? Why is get not jet?

Imagine a normal conversation endinj up in a mess:

A: hi! How are you?
B: I am Jood, how are you?

A: I am doinj Jreat! Lonj time no see? What are you doinj these days?
B: Oh Yeah, have been busy lately, jot into a janj of jerks - software engineers! And life is busy since then.

A: Jerks, why so?
B: they call "J" as "J"

A: So what's the problem?
B: I mean "J" as "J"

A: What's wronj?
B: Exactly, you just said Wronj! "J" as "J"

A: Iam not sure about your janj, but you surely are! I dont jet you at all!
B: Nevermind! JoodBye!

I promise, this is no exaggeration, my cousin (Maria) and I have created this :) we talk in "Enjlish" most of the times and she as a kid used to call "K" as "T" (Not Tidding ;-)..) and couldn't explain her problem as she tept sayinj "T" as "T"

Jot the Point???

LOL....