A new Beginning

2009 approaches... 2008 has been very happening for me one way or the other... and I hope 2009 is just as awesome as 2008....

I wish all of u a happy new year and a rocking new year eve :)

A change in perspective

     About 2 months back, my company announced that it planned to lay off 10% of its workforce. Although this news was expected, it still was an official stamp on all the rumors already whispered in the office corridors. Now a new speculation started... who will be let go? My nightly prayers had a plea to God to make sure I wasn't in THE LIST!!! But I never understood the situation even then, I was too busy looking at it from a personal point of view. I knew I would get another job but didn't want to face the embarrassment of being laid-off. Also I haven't got a project since I joined the company 6 months back, so I hadn't got a chance to showcase my capabilities to my managers and the small opportunities that had been given, I had wasted by saying that "Why waste my brains on this!!!", which now I realised was the worst possible attitude to take.

   Then the D-day arrived. I was travelling back from hometown to Bangalore and my flight was delayed so I was late to work. When I reached office I saw that my colleagues seat was empty but his bag was there. A little time later he came with our manager and waved goodbye to me in a very sad manner and went away with our manager again. That is when I started getting an inkling of what was happening. 

    A little while later I sent out a mail to all my friends and colleagues in office and 2 ids bounced, I was shocked and reality sunk in, they had been laid off. One of those friends was in my project and was the most hard working person in our team. A little while later he came by to formally say goodbye and we went with him to see him off. I know that his lay off is a loss to the company but this won't lessen his pain at being laid off.

   After this experience, my perspective changed, I was no longer embarrassed about being laid off, I was embarrassed about being retained when someone more deserving was let go. At that point I decided that no matter how small or meaningless the work, I'll do it to the best of my ability. Before that day, If I was given an assurance that we won't lay you off, but some other employee or you can take a pay cut and no one will be laid off, I think I might have chosen the first option but now after witnessing the process first hand, no matter what the incentive, I will chose the second option.

   This experience also made respect my previous company more. The company is famous for having thousands of people on bench but not firing anyone. Before I would mock this policy as an inefficient way of running things but now I understand the policy and have a new respect for the concept of socialism.

Reality shows...Promoting regionalism????

   Reality shows... I don't know any Indian who doesn't hear about them.....or hasn't seen at least one... I am addicted to roadies and have followed Indian Idol and Nach Baliye in their first seasons. The one thing that contestants and judges cribbed about was that people only voted for contestants from their region. Maybe this is true... I don't really know the statistics. Anyway, this led to all the anchors, participants and judges pleading the audience to be impartial while voting and to vote only the deserving participants. 

All this is fine, but yesterday, My mom was watching a singing reality show I noticed that the channel was displaying the name of the singer, his district/town and his state. If the channels real want to have a fair vote, I would think they wouldn't display such information on national TV. To me the pleas for a fair vote by channels just seem hypocritical now... not that I had much belief in "realness" of reality TV before.

Dasvidaniya

   A very nice movie, simple and too the point. A "kuch nahi" person finds he has about 3 months left on planet earth and goes about saying goodbye to loved ones and life in his unassuming and quiet way. Vinay Pathak does a wonderful job as the lead, especially when he confesses his love to a girl he has loved since childhood using dumb charades. He makes sure that not a single eye remains dry in the movie hall. If you are expecting world altering truths or a hard hitting storyline then this is not the movie for you. It is a simple story that is told beautifully. Hats off to the director.

Rating: 4/5

Dostana : Review

   A typical Karan Johar style movie...amazing locations, good songs and lotsa drama and romance. Two guys pretending to be gay for the sake of accommodation..fall for their best friend who is also thier room mate. Later on drama unfolds. A bit in the face compared to Bollywood movies with loads off double meaning jokes and even more direct non veg jokes.

Star Cast :

Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bacchan and John Abraham (Oh n there is a Bobby Deol..although I don't why as he looks dumb in front of John and Baby B)

Rating : 2.5/5

My Take : Enjoyable if u like Karan Johar movies.

I'm real smart!!!!

Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Tests

OK.. for all you people who think I'm just a chatterbox... there is some sense behind the chatter... as the IQ test says... I have superior intelligence!!!

So when I hand around advice take it... A genius is speaking :P :P :P

P.S..... by now it must be apparent... I love bragging!!!

Movie Reviews - Fashion, Roadside Romeo

Roadside Romeo 

A cute movie. Definitely watchable once. The only voice-over I did not like was Kareena. the music is ok ok. I loved the "Indianness" of the film inspite of it being co-produced by Walt Disney.

Music Rating- 1.5/5

Movie Rating- 3/5

Fashion

   A good movie, not up to Page 3 or chandni bar level but good enough. A nice performance by Priyanka Chopra. Kanagna seems to give the same expressions in all movies. One bad point, it is implied that all designers are gay in the movie, which is a generalisation I didn't like. Also the Indian film industry needs to stop typecasting gays as overly feminine versions (Bobby Darling clones) . Awesome music with the tracks a very logical part of the movie.

The main failure of the movie : its length!!! OMG! I spent the last 30 mins waiting for the movie to end and was no longer interested in the story!!!

Music Rating- 4/5

Movie Rating- 2.5/5

Crying in the Rain

I got this as a forward.... not sure who is the author...but i really liked it. So hear it is :

I’ll never let you see
The way my broken heart is hurting me
I’ve got my crying and I know how to hide
All my sorrows and pain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

If I wait for stormy skies
You won’t know the rain from the tears in my eyes
You’ll never know that I still love you so
Only in heart'll remain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

Raindrops falling from heaven
Could never wash away my memories
Since we’re not together
I pray for stormy weather
To hide these tears I hope you’ll never see

Someday when my crying is done
I’m gonna wear a smile and walk in the sun
I may be a fool but till then, darling, you'll never see me complain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

I’ll do my crying in the rain...

The Zoya Factor : Review

This is basically a love story of a Karol Bagh girl with an MBA degree and a job as an Ad exec. The story is decidedly bollywood script like but fun nonetheless. You get involved in Zoya's joys and sorrows within the first two chapters and stay with her till the end. The author seems extremely inspired by cricket and the controveries  of BCCI. The hero seems inspired by Dhoni (are his eyes brown by any chance?). The villian by Jagmohan Dalmiya and some characters seem modeled on Balaji, Bhajji, Pathan and Sreesanth. 

My Verdict :-

Book : The Zoya Factor

Author : Anuja Chauhan

Genre : chick-lit

Rating : 3.5/5

Definitely readable for girls who read romances and like happy endings.

Golmaal Returns

Basic story : saas-bahu serial watcher Ekta (Kareena) always doubts her hubby Ajay Devgan. So he lies about his whereabouts when he doesn't come home one night. This leads to a lot of complications, a murder mystery, blah blah, blah. Shreyas Talpade, an actor with a lot of potential is wasted in a 2 bit role. Arshad Warsi seems more psycho than any of the other characters, which is saying something, Also Arshad...isn't it time you lost some weight??? The 4 heroines are just eye-candy, with no real role. Tushaar Kapoor is the saving grace of the movie. The Golmaal movies are the only place where I like him. I wonder if it is because he needs to keep his mouth shut in the movie? 

My Verdict

Music : 0.5/5 star. not worth hearing, especially as Golmaal had very catchy tunes and the comparison is inevitable.

Movie : 2/5  stars. Watch it only if you can leave your brains outside the movie hall and forget Golmaal.

Why is life is so complicated????

Here's one question tat I hear or say daily... I mean y can't things be simple??? There is a very simple algorithm which should be followed...
1) be born
2) cry for food, sleep and nappy change
3) get toys, go to school, do well in studies and have enough play time too
4) make sure child and parents are matched in ambitions (as in no science versus arts fights)
5) get into any college you want without any merit list fundas
6) study well, enjoy college life, have lots of friends
7) get your dream job
8) meet a special someone, fall in love with them
9) they fall in love with you
10) get married, have children
11) live happily till u die

Now if only life/ destiny/ fate would stick to this simple algo... everything would be so simple!!!!

but no... at the most 2 steps of the above algorithm are followed and that too without any guarantees... Urrgh so annoying!!!

90% of the time parents' ambitions and their child's ambitions don't match
90% of the time you never manage to get into the college or course you want
90% of the time you accept the first decent job offer you get as very rarely are you eligible to apply for your dream company and are worried about getting a job
90% of the time you end up with a different person then the one you dreamed of.

I think we have a mentality of adjusting to circumstances without protesting, without trying to change them and then cribbing about them once its too late. Why? Why can't we say, no! this issue is not negotiable, I won't compromise???
Most westerners do it easily and we then practice reverse snobbery and called them spoilt, soft, etc, etc. . .
I'm not saying they aren't some who are fit to called all this but then some of us have gotten into a habit "adjusting and cribbing" and that is what I am ranting and raving about over here.
Today I have decided to never ever settle for less than what I want because, again, 90% of the time, if I get less than what I want I believe that I only got what I deserved but then who judges this and why???

So from now on I am going to get what I want, all of it, no compromises, no adjustments!!!! And maybe just maybe... life will become simple.... as its the gray scale that makes things complicated for me...so from now on its black and white only!!!

Dostana - Music review

Dostana, starring Baby B, John Abhrham and Priyanka Chopra is the latest offering by Dharma Productions. Its directed by Tarun Mansukhani and the music is by Vishal Shekhar. These guys have once again come up with pretty groovy tracks and romantic melodies that I felt are much better than some of the lame songs from Bachana ae haseeno. 

• Jaane Kyon - A very catchy beat and pretty sweet lyrics, especially for the youth for whom friends often are as important as thier family. Sung by Vishal.
  
• Desi Girl - A number for the djs to belt out in discos, good beats and dancable nice to listen if you are in a mood to shake a leg or tap a foot. Sung by Shankar Mahadevan & Sunidhi Chauhan
  
• Khabar Nahi - A song byVishal, Shreya Ghoshal and Amanat Ali. A soft romantic ballad. Vishal and Shekhar have provided all the in love people a replace song for Khuda Jane.    My favourite song of the album.
  
• Kuch Kum - Sung by Shaan whose the song is pretty good. The typical sad song that is present in any love story. Lyrics are also nice but I was disappointed as I believe Shaan can sing much better than this.
  
• Maa Da Laadla - Sung by Saleem. The crappiest song of the album. My advice Do NOT waste time listening to it!
  
• Shut Up & Bounce - A typical Sunidhi Chahaun number but not very listenable. I could manage listening to it only twice.
  

Overall I would give the album 3 stars out of 5 would have probably given half a star more if Ma da ladla hadn't irritated me so much!

Almost Heaven

Some days back I read a book called Almost Heaven. The book ends with the following conversation :

Son : Father, what is heaven?
Father points to his family and says : this is my heaven
Son : but father my teacher said heaven is in the sky
Father : then lets call this Almost Heaven.

~END~

It got me thinking ... what is my Almost Heaven? Let me warn you.. the list is long and in no particular order :)

• A nap in my mom's lap
• A tub of hot water, a drink and a good book
• The swinging chair in the terrace of my home and a mp3 player with soft music
• A messenger and an out-of-touch friend online
• My college friends, the college "kutta" and lots of gossip
• Pouring rains, a cup of steaming tea and a plate full of garma-garam bhajiya
• A moonlit night, a deserted beach, a close dance and a special someone
• A midnight talk with Aksu, Gappu, Chubby and Sasi
• A houseboat, Allepy backwaters and a tranquil mind
• A journey accompanied by a shoulder to fall asleep on
• A hungry stomach and garam "varan-bhat"
• A mother's tears on finding out that her daughter has got a good job
• The sight of home after months
• Fitting into your high school jeans
• A cup of coffee and a catty session
• Loads of shopping and someone Else's credit card
• A long drive with the wind in my hair and NO TRAFFIC

Peace

I was at peace, 

at peace with heaven,

at peace with the earth

most importantly,

at peace with myself

I was at peace,

at peace with the sea,

at peace with the wind

most importantly,

at peace with life

I found this peace at the edge of a boat

surrounded by friends,

yet alone with my thoughts

the beautiful sea streched out around me,

wind in my hair, on my face

and I thought,This is life!!!!

What-if

I'm one of the worriers in this world... I worry about everything and anything. My worries range from not finding the right ingredients for a dish to losing my loved ones and I keep thinking and analyzing to worrying day in day out... So at times I'm worried about having said the wrong thing to the wrong person. This in fact is one of my most common worries as I have a very big mouth. Had to be to accommodate my large foot. You see I'm cursed with the foot-in-my-mouth disease.

Anyway back to the topic..... So I often say things I shouldn't... And recently I believed I had done one of my bigger blunders...so i kept fretting about it for a really really long time!!! But after a while I realised that though the conversation never ever went the way I wanted it to it was still a relief to get it out... And yes it has made things somewhat awkward for me but the fact is I'll never have to face regrets over "what-ifs" in this regard.

"What-if I had said it?", "What-if I had given a clue?" nope, never gonna have regrets about this. Because I went out and cleared the air, so things didn't work out the way I wished they would have but I believe moving on will now be easier as I will never wonder if there was something I should have done about it. My advice to everyone reading this... if you want something to happen first do everything you can do about it and only then pray to god to help you with some luck :)

Anyway now that I have analysed this, I have decided to never worry about saying things straight up. Whew!!! thankfully, that one less thing for me to worry about!!!!

P.S. : this is for all the over imaginative ppl out dere...(basically my friends) the conversation I had was with my mom!!!!

SCS - Single Child Syndrome

Some days back my roommate used my soap as hers had gotten over. On discovering this I was mildly annoyed and I'm very vocal with my annoyances. She seemed very surprised by this. When i tried to explain the reason by saying that I'm a single child she just gave me a blank look.
made me wonder... haven't people heard of single child syndrome????
So let me list down things typical to a single child. . .
1) Very very possessive about things and people. I'm possessive about my soap, my towel, my blankie, my pillow, my soft toys, my phone, my laptop, etc etc (The list is just too long)
I'm also very possessive about my mom!!!
2) Used to getting their own way.. people phrase this as stubborn, headstrong, decisive, firm, determined and so on
3) Not very quick to make friends
4) Go off into their own space where no one is allowed
5) and many more
However the most common factor is the possessive nature displayed by all single children worldwide!!!

So I tried thinking of why it is so and here is what I came up with....
Situation : I have a teddy bear that I can't go to sleep without. . . now if I had a brother or sister, I'm sure they would have stolen it or snatched it or hidden it from me simply to be perverse (I have oft observed such behaviour amongst siblings of my friends). I'm sure that due to such irrational behaviour I would have become accustomed to thinking of possessions as ours instead of mine. however being a single child this situation never ever arose and I was always the princess of all I surveyed!!!

Does this mean I'm spoilt? Possibly!!! Anyway now that I'm living with friends its very difficult for me to adjust to the idea of communal property and so my seemingly absurd tempers are viewed with total disbelief. This post is an attempt to explain myself to my friends and of course myself :)
I'm a single child and so ruled by all the idiosyncrasies displayed by a typical single child!!!

Choices

Life is sometimes about making choices .... and at other times about adjusting or adapting to choices made by others :)

Ramblings of a lost mind

Why is life so lonely?
I’m surrounded by a crowd
But I’m just a spectator.
I stand aside
And watch myself participate
Laughing at myself,
Teasing others,
But a part of me always feels disassociated

I walk alone in the mob
A couple in their fifties passes by
They are holding hands,
Smiling into each others eyes.
I look at them and feel self pity.
Will I ever find someone?
Who will hold my hand
even after it is damaged by arthritis?
Who will smile into my eyes,
Even though he knows they can never see him
With whom I can communicate without words,
Or will I be left alone in this world?

Life is fickle
Fate even more so
But the most fickle are people
People closest to you.
Some betray you,
Some hurt you
And some leave the world and you along with it

The eternal search for someone seems to never end
But then I ask myself,
Do I really need someone?
Can’t I be happy by myself?
The answer is never consistent
Each time different with ever changing conditions.

Some T-shirt qoutes tat I really liked

I'm not a bad girl
I'm a good girl with an attitude!!!

I love animals...
They're delicious!

Next mood swing: 6 minutes

Princess, having had sufficient experience with princes, seeks
frog (This ones my fave)

Don't Judge Me Based On Your Ignorance

"Smile... it confuses people"

Teach me the rules... and I'll teach you how to break them.

Lead me not into Temptation, I can find it on my own!!!

I would love to change the world but HE wldn't give me the source code

PETA : People for Eating Tasty Animals

I'll be nicer if you give me chocolate.

Sarcasm is the body's natural defense against stupidity.

I hate people who steal my ideas before I think of them.

I'm only half evil

If no one is perfect does that mean I do not exist?

P.E.T.A
People for the Eating of Tasty Animals

you call it slacking i call it dedicated
inactivity

I'm not lazy I'm motivationally challenged!!!

Cute But Kinda Evil

If they don't have chocolate in heaven, I ain't going.

Coffee, chocolate, men . . . Some things are just better rich.

I used to be schizophrenic, but we're OK now.

Warning: I have an attitude and I know how to use it.

Of course I don't look busy...I did it right the first time.

Do NOT start with me. You will NOT win.

All stressed out and no one to choke.

Don't upset me! I'm running out of places to hide the bodies.

Ignorance is bliss. Education is
supreme bliss.Ignorance After Education is the Ultimate Bliss!!!

This is how I feel...

Read this on someone's blog and found it very profound.....


Am talking about everythin likes its so normal
Then why do i feel so out of place..
Its like whats happening sometimes isnt the real thing
Thats the mirror baby, but is that my face

Why am i so confused, whats going on...
This feeling so unreal is driving me insane
will somebody tell me..coz i cant take it nemore,
All i am sure about myself is my name

Can i curl up in your arms and sleep awhile,
I need you most when Im feeling this low,
Lets not wait to do it another time,
this is the only place i feel safest you know..

I say everything is ok with a smile
Then why does it feel like im telling a big lie
If this is what i know im here for
Why is saying it eating me up inside..

I just talk to friends, i call up home,
Just another way of trying not to feel so lone,
I wait for the sun as it rises each morn,
Before i know it, another day has gone.

Can i curl up in your arms and sleep awhile,
I need you most when Im feeling this low,
Lets not wait to do it another time,
this is the only place i feel safest you know..

Yercaud...The poor man's Ooty

The weekend after the Skandgiri trek, me n my new friends went for an impromptu trip to Yercaud. Its called a poor man's Ooty. 7 bikes, 14 people set forth to conquer the NH7 @ 5 a.m Saturday morning. That drive was lovely the highway is awesome to drive on. unfortunately I wasn't driving :(. Anyway we reached Yercaud at about noon. We checked into our hotel and set off to explore the town.
What we discovered was that there was only one decent restaurant there and the service there was slower than a snail walking towards its own grave. we ordered for 4 Long Island Tea and after a wait of about an hour he brings only 3. Meanwhile our host for the day Vikrant asked for water and poor guy, didn't get even after the paid the bill.
We were an optimistic bunch and landed up for breakfast at 9 in the morning again at the same hotel. We left the hotel at 11:30, that is the kind of service we got again. We actually contemplated canceling the breakfast order and ordering lunch directly. after that we vowed to have lunch somewhere else.
Anyway here is some information about Munnar. Not really a place to sightsee but decent enough a place to go with friends, especially on bikes. The ride back got tiring as we started late and reached bangalore around 4 in the morning. Also it rained and we had to take a break as visibility was low.

Skandgiri

On 13th June at 9O' clock 2 of my roomies, me and 11 people I had never met went on a moonlight trek to Skandgiri, a small mountain near Bangalore. We went on bikes, reached Skandgiri at about 2 in the night(as we took a 3 hour dinner break!!!). And then we started climbing the mountain.

Now, the fact is, that although I look pretty fit, I have no stamina, so the uphill climb took all the wind out of my sails! I was happily trekking for about the first hour and a half. After that, I started gasping for breath. Every five minutes, I would tell everyone that I needed a break and that they should go on without me. Of course everyone was very sweet and no one listened. They patiently waited for me to catch my breath and continue.

And I am glad that they talked into climbing all they way, as the view was totally worth it. Also I made 7 new friends that day. It doesn't get better than that! Of course its another story that I had to call in sick for work the next day.

Status Update.. for my friends

This is a status update on my life for my friends

Its been a long time since I blogged and my life has changed a lot during that time! I have left my first love(my first job) and joined a new one. Basically I have switched from Infosys to Yahoo!. Before anyone comments about me being in Yahoo and using Google... I am just checking out the competition ;)

As Yahoo! development center is there in Bangalore, I have moved from Pune to Bangalore. So now I have 3 roommates whom I love and a rented house that I don't. Also a hole is appearing in my pocket due to all the money I spend on travelling home and back.

The silver lining is, I now have a lot of new friends and a job that pays me double the previous one. That's it from Kadambari Times. Goodbye for now!