4 years....

Wow! cannot believe that I have ignored this blog for more than 4 years.. The job that I mentioned in my previous blog has kept me so busy that I had completely forgotten that I have a blog.. 

The last four years of professional life has been really challenging but on the brighter side, I have gained a wealth of knowledge. I have had the experience of working with top management and the chief executives. I am truly thankful to my ex boss for having the confidence in me and just picking me for the role. I am truly thankful to her.

This morning, I was talking to my friends Archana & Sateesh and that's when I decided that I have to revive my blog and start writing once again. I need to jot down my thoughts as and when they come so that when I grow old, I can come back to them.

Recently, I bought a book where I have started writing my thoughts in that book. That's mainly because I have started to make a lot of mistakes in my spellings and also my handwriting needs improving. I used to have neat and beautiful writing, which is completely deteriorated. Hopefully more writing will improve my writing. 

I was talking to my friend Archana this morning and telling her that how I don't have a flair for writing. My writing is very simple and does not always have good and meaningful words. She encouraged me to practise more writing, another reason for reviving my blog. 

Today, we went Sunglasses shopping for Sateesh. I wanted to buy him sunglasses for his Bday next weekend. This was something I decided when we were walking on the streets of Edinburgh this easter holidays. Sateesh just casually mentioned that everyone is wearing Ray Ban glasses, that's when I decided I will buy him Ray Ban for his birthday. I knew that he did not have a good pair of glasses, so this was a great idea.

Then we went to Costa coffee, did our usual.. get some drinks in the coffee shop and then sit and talk about world affairs.. (our own affairs.. we dont care much about current affairs). Its always fun.. and we always have lots to talk about.

All in all, today was a relaxed Saturday.. look forward to more saturday of these kinds.. 

New role... once again

I have had very little work to do over the last few months. Since the time I have come back from holiday, I have had very less to do and therefore I feel I have become extremely lazy. This is not a nice state to be in..

After I came back from holiday(Bali) in May, a few things had changed in my company. One of my boss(RL) suddenly disappeared from the company, therefore significantly reducing my workload. Since his departure, I had been applying for new jobs and looking to see what is in the market etc...

I think not having anything significant or challenging to do is making my brain rust a little bit. I need something that challenges me and pushes me to learn new things. I hate to sit in the office and twiddle my thumbs. I rather sit at home and read my book or do something that occupies my mind.

While I was busy searching for new roles outside, an interesting situation has come up recently and I have been requested to cover for someones maternity. I grabbed this offer with both hands as I think its really a good team to be in and I have a lot to learn. Its a commercial finance role and hopefully I will do well there.

In a way, I am really happy that I was chosen and given this opportunity. The manager of that team approached me saying that I have received really good reviews and feedback and therefore if I would be interested to take on a new challenge. I was really happy to hear that from her, I only hope now that I can keep up with this new challenge.

If everything works to plan.. I should start on the 10th of Oct.. Fingers crossed..

Sunshine in my garden...

Sunshine in my garden

I love sunflowers, I think they are the happiest flowers

They are big, bright and beautiful and make me smile everytime..

My day

I am year older today.. but I feel younger, wiser, healthier and happier..I hope and pray that I can make this statement every birthday.

Few people I know are worried about getting a year older, but I am not one of them. Ageing is a natural process and therefore the quicker it’s accepted the better it is.

Instead of dwelling on all the bad things that this milestone brings, I look at the positives. I am no more in the twenties. I am entering the new age bracket and I am happy about it.

This year has already been exciting for me. We(college friends & I) were planning for a holiday together for this year and we actually went to Bali, Indonesia. We were thrilled that we finally managed to do somethng about our plans and not just plan

I got to spend some real good quality time with my 2(S&A) college friends who I have known since I was 16. Here is a quick list of the things we did or some of the events that I will remember for a long time are

1) Our 12 hr wait in Malaysia airport –thanks to A for booking the flights :) and keeping S & I entertained in the airport by her sleeping skills
2) Being upgraded to Ocean suite the first day and watching the sunrise from our balcony – beautiful
3) MR Dana – our tour operator and S referring to him as ‘Cow’ every time she forgot his name
4) ‘A’ called the housekeeping one early morning to ask them for a bucket and a tub – then after S corrected her; she asked them for a bucket and a mug. 10 minutes later, the guy turns up with a laundry bad and a coffee mug – we were all in hysterics over this
5) Our all night chatting/brainwashing sessions in bed and in the coffee shop
6) S the poser :)
7) Being millionaires in Bali – effect of devalued currency
8) Scuba diving, water rafting and jet skiing
9) Trying ‘Barong’ – Balinese dance
10)Leaning about, Wayan,Made,Nyoman & Ketut
11)A’s little rice cooker and S’s tasty edibles
12)Our shavige bhaat, puliyogare and chutney pudi experiences
13)SPA & body massage – beautiful – I could do with one now
14)Paintings and the art work around Bali
15)A’s skill of falling asleep just about anywhere
16)Kaapi Luwak experience
17)Lamp shades, glasswork, garden art and furniture in Bali
18)Air Asia staff not allowing me to get on flight back to Bangalore and S & I running around the airport finding internet and printer
19)Hanoman Street shopping - drooling over all the silver jewellery
20)Last day shopping and spending all the money

As we get younger each year, we plan to do more of these trips around the world together.

What’s been happening then…

I first needed to clean the cobwebs on my blog. It’s been more than four months since I have been here.
We finally managed to go for the holiday I was referring to in my earlier post, but it was such a drama! We decided to go to Tenerife for a 3 night holiday. The idea was to just relax and do nothing else. Our flights were scheduled from Gatwick airport at about 7.00AM and due to really bad weather conditions (snow); our flights were cancelled. We were offered to fly the following day from Manchester City (5hr bus ride). To get to the bus, we had to travel from Gatwick to London City (45mins on train), get in the queue, get tickets, book a night stay at Manchester city etc. Thanks to my iphone and unlimited 3G internet connection! After all this, we managed to get to the hotel at about 11.30 PM and our flights next morning was at some 8AM.

It was the first time that I travelled somewhere from the UK and did not have to change the clocks. Tenerife and UK operate in the same time zone. I was not able to work out the logic of that one. We got there about 2PM and headed straight to the hotel. Both my friend and I fell ill, we were not able to go sight seeing or anything like that, we did not leave our hotel, but all in all, it was a great adventurous holiday with really good friends.

The island itself is really nice; the resort we stayed was good, there was access to the beach through the hotel, beautiful swimming pool. The weather was perfect, about 15-20 degrees Celsius in December.

I have been thoroughly enjoying my Amazon kindle and iphone from the time I bought it, both the gadgets are great and I love it!

We finally managed to get another car earlier this year (FEB), this time we bought a Toyota Rav4 as we wanted to experience a 4 wheel drive. It’s good fun to drive it and we are planning a few road trips this year, lets see how many of them actually end up happening.

Some of the other things I have been up to are
1) Going to gym at least 3 days a week
2) Reading books
3) Knitting a scarf (its going a bit slow now)
4) We got half of our garden paved, so M does not have to lawn mowe during summer
5) M is growing a fruits and veggies in the garden, so I get to eat fresh strawberries every other day :)
6) Been to India & Indonesia recently – was sooper fun..:)

Office is getting a bit boring now.. I think its about time I find another job which will bring some excitement back.

I have not been here for long time now.. :)

Phew.. It’s been ages since I have been to see how my blog has been doing.. I have been really busy lately with work especially and have been going back home late etc.

I have been working on a project recently, which suddenly gained pace making me extremely busy. Now, it’s slightly losing its pace as it’s close to Christmas and everyone is either planning what Christmas tree they should get, where to buy presents, what to do on Christmas day or what to wear to the yearly office Christmas party which I avoid going to! I hate parties that involve lot of drinking and loud music.

It’s been snowing in the UK and the local councils are struggling to cope with it. The snow has arrived early this year and its heavy, which means, no one is prepared for it and it's a dire mess. People stuck in trains, stations, roads etc for hours. The footpaths and roads are frozen and are like ice skating rinks. It has stopped snowing for now, and I hope it does not come back this winter.

Anyways.. I recently bought myself a delayed birthday present (that's my explanation to spend money) which is the Amazon Kindle. It’s amazing; I absolutely love it, the screen looks just like a book. I am really happy with it, it’s got its limitations as it can only be used read books and its not touch screen etc.. But I still like it. It’s really convenient for me to carry on trains while I travel. It’s not heavy and is compact. There are some books that are not available in the kindle version or an e-version, which can be a bit of a problem, but otherwise, it’s great. Love it.

MR got me an iphone yesterday (yay!), a 32GB 3gs black iphone. I have been plotting to get an iphone from a long time, but never got it, because most of the network providers wanted to bind me into a 24 month contract and I hate contracts. You end up with a phone that you can only use on their network and loads of free minutes that you don't want. MR had promised me that he would buy me one, when he finds the right one.. I don't like the iphone 4 so, I had asked him to look out for a iphone 3 preferably 32GB and yesterday, he just got it because he found a good deal. I was pleasantly surprised. He actually went looking for some network switch that he wanted for one of his friend’s office and ended up buying iphone for me.. I am really happy that I have yet another new toy to play with…:).. I am so eager to get it all set up and working..

I and my friend have been planning to go away this Christmas to some sort of a holiday place, where all we do is eat, sleep and relax. We are probably going to an island somewhere in Spain for about 3 nights. It’s not confirmed yet, and we have not done any bookings yet, but it looks like we are close to confirming it. It's a pity that we cannot go for more than 3 nights and also that MR cannot join us. Hope everything works as per plan… and may be I will blog again from some island in Spain…

Aerobics

One of my friend S is training to be an aerobics tutor and as a part of her course she is required to learn all exercises and be able to teach her students. She also needs 2 people to accompany her on her assessment day where she is expected to lead an aerobics session for 60 minutes. So, I volunteered as it sounds like super fun.

It was real good fun this weekend, we spent about 2.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday learning exercises and actually doing it to the tune and count. S needs to be able to run a class for 60 minutes, without any mistakes and therefore requires a lot of practise. She is expected to give instructions, watch her students, maintain the count, stick to the beat & change steps correctly ..sigh!. Too many things to do together so we have decided to practice for everyday for at least an hour each weekday and more on a weekend until she is perfect and can get through her assessment with flying colours

Aerobics is such a fun way of exercising, there is a music, a bit of dance, being a part of the team, looking at each other and catching up steps when you miss a beat In a way, it's a good practise for my friend S, but its also a much need exercise for me. I only hope that my knee does not play up and behaves until she finishes her assessment. But I am having a ball of a time doing aerobics. Sooper fun it is..