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..

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.

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..

Footy

I normally tend to avoid going to pubs with office colleagues, firstly because they have loud music, therefore it’s impossible to have a conversation, without screaming down one’s ear and secondly I don't drink (like) alcohol!

But yesterday, everyone in my new project office were going to the pub to watch an important England football world cup match, I had to go with them as this meant we left office at 3.00 and went home early too.. :) How could I miss that? I am making all attempt to follow the world cup at least until such time that England are out. It was a new experience for me, watching football game in the pub.

There were a lot of people shouting and screaming and enjoying the game. Luckily, England won the game, which meant that they are not out of the world cup (yet)! The weather was very good, which meant the celebration continued for a lot of people even after the game, a lot of people moved out of the pubs to continue drinking and I headed home to catch up on some Wimbledon action.
I have never been this interested in football, but I always loved watching tennis. Football is new to me and I am slowly starting to learn the rules of the game. I am looking forward to the game this Sunday between Germany and England. Go England!

First Contact with Contacts...

This time while I was in Bangalore, I got my eyes tested. I wanted to get it tested here, but always kept pushing it. Finally, when I was walking around in Commercial Street, trying to find a pair of sunglasses for my husband whose luggage was misplaced– courtesy British Airways, I spotted a vision express and decided to get my eyes tested. I was 100 % sure that I will come out of there with a prescription for a pair of glasses and that’s exactly what happened. A week later, just a couple of days before I was to come back to London, I got my new glasses and actually, I could see much better. Initially, I though I did not have a problem with my eyes, but the glasses made realise that I did have a problem (clearly- I was being stupid). I was prescribed a distance vision of -1.75 for left eye and -1.5 for the right eye.

After coming back to London, I used them everyday and then got so used to them and found that I wanted them all the time. I was not able to use my sunglasses as much as I wanted to (considering Sunshine rare here) I could not benefit from both proper vision and sunglasses, as I could not use them together. Some of my friends recommended that I get a photo-chromic glass which reacts to the light. Somehow, the idea of just sticking to one pair of sunglasses and not being able to use my own sunglasses did not go down too well… so I decided I needed contact lenses. Therefore, booked an appointment for getting contacts.. I was told; I needed to get a new eye test for it, after which there would be more tests for contact lens fitting. They also told me, the whole process is going to take 2 hours, I was a bit worried as to what are they going to do with me for 2 hours!

Went to specsavers(store) this Saturday, got my eye test. I was told I had more power when compared to the tests that was done in India, so I was prescribed to wear -2.25 left eye and -1.75 right eye. I was a bit worried as it had only been 2 months since my first test. Anyways, I have to trust someone, so I had to spend some more money and get a new pair of glasses. Then came the contact lens fit time, underwent some more tests, looked in to strange machines, the doctor looked through my eyes with some strange pen like things with lights coming off them etc. After about 20 minutes, the doctor said, my contact lens power is different from the specs power. Its -2.00 for the left and -1.5 for the right and by this stage, I was confused as to what is going on? The doctor addressed my concern, by saying that this is quite common and used some medical terms that went well above my head. He placed the contact lens in my eye; it was more comfortable than I thought its going to be. Then came the fun part.

He sent me to another lady who gave me a session of the do’s and don’ts of contact lens world. She even taught me how to put them on and take them off, she got me to do it myself twice, I was quite happy that I could do it. I was actually dreading the whole idea of placing something in my eye, with the eye wide open. It’s a weird experience, but it’s easy with some practice. I had seen some of my friends do it, and I used to wonder how they do it with such ease and will I ever be able to do something like that?

They sent me off, with contact lenses in my eyes and gave me about 5 pairs of lenses to try. I went home, went to play tennis, and had them on for about 5 hours. I had some trouble taking of the lenses off my eye as it was the first time I was doing it all by myself. On Sunday, I wore them all day, had slight trouble getting them on, as the lenses would not stick to my eye at all. In the end, somehow got them on.. and got them off before going to sleep. I was chuffed :)

I kind of liked the idea of contact lenses, and also the idea of wearing glasses to work. Thoroughly confused - Now I have to decide how often do I want to wear them? Do I want to wear glasses to work? Do I want contact lenses? Do I need contact lenses for leisure or everyday use? Do I go for monthly/daily/yearly? Don’t know the answers to all questions yet, but that’s probably why they have sent me off with some lenses to try and see how I feel with them.

Kaapi

Hailing from the south of India, I have always loved Coffee (commonly known as Kaapi in many south Indian Languages). Every morning Amma used to make up light kaapi because as kids, all three of us hated milk and still do. So, just to change the colour of milk from white to brown, she used to add a little liquidated filtered coffee into it. Amma had tried various drinks like horlicks, Maltova, Complain etc..but nothing had worked like Coffee as none of us complained. So, at a very early age I was introduced to Coffee and developed a taste for it.
Every morning, I woke up, brushed my teeth and then went into the kitchen, helped myself with a cup of hot coffee made by Amma and waited for my turn to have a bath before I went to school, college or anywhere. Also, in the meantime, would read through the English newspaper (mainly adverts ). We were not allowed to step out of the house without a morning bath.. Now.. That’s what I call discipline.. !

Eventually, I was old enough to make coffee for myself. I used to try to alter the proportions of milk, sugar and the filter coffee liquid. I realised that it tasted much better with little milk, more filter coffee liquid, in short strong coffee. But Amma did not like the idea of her kids drinking strong coffee as it was not healthy and I agree with her completely, so she avoided situations where she let me make coffee. That was tasty filter coffee with chicory in it. I had enjoyed coffee everywhere, from Coffee house on MG road, to coffee days, from the self service darshini’s to good restaurants.

The love for my coffee continued even when I came to London. But the coffee’s here did not taste as good as Amma’s coffee, the coffee’s here are very bitter and some of them are disgusting. Eventually, I realised that the real coffee is actually bitter and back home they actually add chicory to coffee to make it taste better. I also learnt that chicory is banned here and what we see in London is one hundred percent coffee. The fact that coffee was bitter, did not stop me from having it… I slowly developed a taste for it and today coffee is become a part of my life, a part of my daily routine. I love the smell of fresh coffee, and whenever I pass across a coffee shop I am tempted to have one. This is not a good temptation as there are lots of coffee shops in London, and when its chill outside and you smell fresh coffee being brewed somewhere close to you.. all you want to do is.. have a nice hot cappuccino or a nice hot Mocha. Although, I should say, that I am in the verge of getting addicted to coffee and I make conscious effort to stop drinking too much as its not good for health and can disrupt sleeping patterns and has many more side effects. But it works wonders when one has had a heavy meal in the afternoon, and have to spend the rest of the afternoon working. It helps you survive the afternoon quite well…
Three cheers to coffee.. I love you.. !

Life...

Life throws at us soo many things.. how we take it is important... This is something I read in a book... and applies to some of my situations where I held many things in my head for a long time.... and then one fine day... decided to throw them out of my mind.. and live life at its fullest.. I am a more happier person today.. than ever before.. .

A Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see & asked the students "How much do you think this glass weighs?" '50gms!' ..... '100gms!' .....'125gms' ...

the students answered. "I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the professor, "but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?" '

Nothing' …..the students said. '
Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the student "You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?"
"Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!" ….. ventured another student & all the students laughed
"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the professor.
'No'…. Was the answer.
"Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?" The students were puzzled.
"What should I do now to come out of pain?" asked professor again. "
Put the glass down!" said one of the students "Exactly!" said the professor.

Life's problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK. Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache. Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to 'PUT THEM DOWN' at the end of every day before You go to sleep.. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh &strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!