Blog Closed

This time it is serious… I have started another blog. Anyone who wants to follow me there… send me a mail or post a comment with your personal email address. I may or may not mail the link… bye bye.

 

Happy New Year!!!

Hiya people… 2010 is already here. An astrologer has predicted that November 2010 onwards my life’s troubles will fade and in 2011 life will be great… Obviously, I am happy 2009 has ended… how else will I get to 2011?

I don’t wanted to turn back and look at 2009… it has had its ups and downs… and sometimes I wonder which were more… the ups or downs?

Contd… on 4th Jan’10

I wanted to write this post few days back but HD was here. Everytime I started to type he would come, distract me and take over my attention.

Day 1: I was working when HD returned from his road trip. I had an area meeting with my team to plan for Jan’10. HD caught up on his sleep… visited home… and then met me in Phoenix Mills for the movie- 3 idiots.

Day 2: I was working again… but returned early. I don’t think we did much that day… maybe a little grocery shopping.

Day 3: Finally… My little vacation had begun. I was not sure if my Boss knew I am not working… but that didn’t matter. I have been dying to shop at Lokhandwala… I shopped and shopped and shopped… while HD looked on. He was surprisingly patient but warned me when I asked him to choose between tights which were dark brown and dark blue (the shop didn’t have black).. “Now you are going TOO far”. After 2.5 hours he had reached his limit and we rushed home… Umm, not exactly rushed ‘coz it took us 2.5 hours in the Andheri traffic.

Day 4: HD had an interview in Lower Parel early morning near my office. I caught up on mails and we headed to IMAX Dome at Wadala to catch Avatar. We had to wait 2 hours and there was nothing much to do. The theatre is pretty sad with few entertainment options. The movie sucks too. We headed home for an evening with HD’s friends, dinner and drinks.

Day 5: The plan was to do nothing much on New Year’s…. just a little furniture shopping in Vashi. I had seen cheap and small dining tables at Hypercity but the quality was also low. After dinner at HD’s home we headed back. On the way we came across a good furniture shop… I will buy a swing from there this week.

Day 6: We did nothing… yippie

Day 7: We woke up early to play badminton. It was so much fun. Furniture shopping… We went to the shop where I had bought my cupboard and bought a metal bed with storage, wooden center table and a round glass dining table which was later cancelled and replaced with a wooden dining. Whenever we shop for anything we have to keep in mind my clumsiness. Anything breakable is a No… No. HD made an impulse buy in the form of a sofa cum bed which I had been coveting for quite sometime but the price deterred me. Btw… check out Reliance Living on the top floor of Reliance Digital. The furnishings and furniture are reasonable priced. AB could not believe we finished our home furniture shopping for such low prices.

And then HD left. Sigh!!!

2010 began on a good note… I managed to clear all my debts. I have invested in gold harvest scheme of  Tanishq which matures in Feb. We are quite excited about making a gold purchase… our second one. The first were our rings in Dec’08.

Below are my resolutions for 2010:

• Do not get into debt… of any sort
• Start investments in Feb itself
• Continue investing in gold
• Eat healthy… lose weight in the process
• Read more… much more
• Blog more… much more
• Lose my temper less often
• Yoga or jog almost everyday
• Keep in touch with friends… and family… only those who want to keep in touch with me
• Learn to cook more dishes of various cuisines
• No more accidents or scratches on the car
• Keep adding knick knacks in the house to make it homely and welcoming
• Do not carry work home… work only between 9 am to 6 pm… never beyond

Good night… I need to call HD before he falls asleep.

 

Merry X’Mas!!!

It was a lazy lazy X’Mas.

HD was supposed to come home on 25th from Bangalore… the only catch was- he had not booked tickets… so I was not sure if he planned to fly, take a bus/train or walk to Mumbai. As expected, there were no tickets available on date of journey. He decided to travel to Belgaum from B’glore… and then to Mumbai from there. Instead of arriving at 1 pm on 25th… he reached at 10 pm. Not kidding.. he travelled for 25.5 hrs. I spent the entire day waiting… thinking “Now he will come…now he will come”… I didn’t cook or take a bath (I only bathe when I have to go out… otherwise it seems like such a waste of time) or cook or move from the bean bag. So… that was X’Mas… not that I had any plans.

The next day HD woke up bright and early (6 am) for his road trip with friends to attend another friend’s wedding in Kolhapur… (YES… He passed through Kolhapur while coming to Mumbai). I left for work around 10 am panicking that I would be the last one to reach it. Surprise!!! Surprise!!! My boss had come 15 mins before me. I was diligently working till lunch when he asked me; “What time are you leaving office?”

Me: I don’t know… need to finish this work.. then interview some candidates on the phone

Him: Ok… I was not going to come to office today but since the sales co-ordinators are here… I turned up… will check my mails and leave soon. Your other colleagues are also on leave.

I lost all motivation to work… everyone is on leave… the corporate office is empty… sales targets are done… it is a slow life. I left office and was home by 3 pm. I don’t even know why I bother working on Saturdays. I am sure my boss will soon stop coming to office on Sat.

No plans for New Years… waiting for HD to return so we can make plans.

There is a mosque somewhere around the flat… the loudspeakers blare some prayers early morning at 6 amand evening too. Like HD said; “Close the windows… else we will turn Muslims hearing this every morning”. Not to be outdone some school students recite their Hindu prayers on loudspeakers at 8 am… it seems like a Hindu Muslim war on loudspeakers. Poor Moi is the sufferer. On 25th the car wash opposite the building had a celebration… again, the loudspeakers spewed some Bollywood music. Opening the windows during the day is a torture. Isn’t it bad enough that I have to tolerate traffic sounds without loudspeakers adding to the nuisance? Don’t people need permissions to use them? Whatever happened to noise pollution? Sigh!!!

 

December Chills

I have started taking contraceptive pills… not to prevent contraception… but to counter the hormonal imbalance in my body. The first 10 days were normal and fine. I have been very scared of gaining weight (one of the side effects)… I think I have gained 1 kg already. Now the pills are playing absolute havoc… I wake up pukish… I am tired in the evenings. I would stop taking them altogether but… I need the hormones.

I have been looking for distributors in Thane… hate this part of the job. It is such a pain… 6 months out of 9 were spent looking for a distributor in Rajkot… My Boss got so bugged that he handed the job to me… and I appointed one without his intervention. Some rules to be followed while appointing a distributor:

• Do not tell them the correct margins… like HD told me correctly; “Most dbs join companies without knowing the correct margins. Reality hits them later… by then it is too late”. He should know… he is an expert at db appointment
• Varnish the facts. I tried placing all my cards face up on the table… nobody cared about the truth. Now I am feeding them false dreams without actually committing anything
• I have to woo them… once they join… the power will be in my hands

Did I tell you my company is giving us a 32 inch LCD TV for meeting this year’s target??? HD is very happy… while I couldn’t care less. I have one LCD… what do I do with another one? I don’t want to sell it… and yet… there is no space to keep it. Maybe once HD shifts home he can play PS 2 on it.

Nice!!! 2 LCDs… but no furniture 🙂

Anyways… good night… I am in no mood to work these days… most people are on leave. December is a chill month… targets are done…

 

Kochi

We had a 3 day annual conference in Kochi (Cochin). The flight was at 6.45 am… we arrived Le Meridian Hotel at 11 am. Marketing guys started with their presentations on performance of brands in 2009 and plans for 2010. I was happily sitting at one of the tables behind when my boss joined me. His Boss was trying to shift people to the front table. My Boss grabbed the opportunity for ass licking and took me along to the front table adjacent to where the top management was seated. It was quite embarrassing. After tea break he shifted behind while I was left in front looking like a fool. I avoided and ignored him from that moment onwards.

The hotel is quite tacky… rooms are not so good… loos are bad. It doesn’t seem like a 5 star. The organizer is a Mallu guy who designed a Mallu menu… which was not well taken. Some Kerala special dishes thrown in is fine.. but everything Keralite??? How about some continental?

The conference dragged on till 8.30 pm… give people the mike and they just won’t let go. After dinner we were supposed to gather for prize distribution… drinks and starters (they were ice cold) were served… all regions had prepared performances and were waiting to exhibit them. At 11 pm I left for my room.. prizes, dinner, drinks, performances be damned. The party dragged on till 4 am. Next day the presentations were done by 3 pm after which there was a boat race. I skipped it and caught up on sleep (again). People didn’t enjoy the race too much ‘coz one of the boats overturned and people had to be saved from the dirty filthy water. At 6 pm B called me asking me to come to her room… she had some gossip to share about my boss and me. I didn’t care but went anyway. There was another senior manager sitting in her room which surprised me greatly. I had not seen them together earlier. He narrated the tale of the boat upturning and left after 10 mins. B explained that he had invited himself into her room despite her reluctance. She decided to call me so he would take a hint and leave. At 10 pm I sneaked out of the gathering- just as drinks were being served. There was no way I was going to be around drunk people.

The next day some of my colleagues and seniors nicknamed me ‘Visiting Faculty’ since I never stayed long enough to party. B told me how the same man tried to invite himself to “coffee” to her room again. This time she made her “No” very clear.

I made full use of the conference by sleeping. I wish companies didn’t take us to remote locations with men who are creeps.

The women of corporate office dress so damn well. An event with dress code ‘formal’ means.. black gowns and mini dresses for women. The difference in the level of people in the corporate and regions is very visible.

B and I gossiped a lot… she told me what happens at the parties and I told her about some of the creeps.

I have been so exhausted today… and even know the thought of moving from the bean bag is torture.

 

Off to Cochin

I am off to Cochin for the annual sales conference. I am not sure if I should look forward to it or groan.

On one hand it is a break from work… all I have to do is listen to boring presentations and strategies for 2010 in between sight seeing… on the other… I will have to attend boring parties with no access to excuses like “I have to get home… I live very far”. I am sure I will find ways to sneak out after showing my face to the important people.

Me going to sleep… have to wake up at 4 am… I hate to pack… wish HD was here to pack for me… he is much better and experienced than me at it…

 

He is gone… again

I am kindof getting used to meeting HD 4-5 days in a month. Now the tears come after he has left which is an improvement ‘coz it makes him feel less worse.

He stayed for 3 whole days which is the longest since Diwali. The house looks like a tornado has hit. Some things that I love and hate and miss about him:

• He spends most of the time sleeping… our most conversations begin with… that day when you were asleep… when we went to Goa you slept… you slept when we reached Munnar… will you fall asleep as soon as we reach home? To give an example… he slept all day on Saturday… on Sat night… Sunday afternoon… Sunday night… Sunday morning… Sunday night… Monday afternoon
• He is absent minded… he will exchange lids of 2 different jars. I spend energy on closing the lid properly only to realize that it is the wrong one
• He is absent minded/lazy… I remind him to latch the door once I am gone… then I remind him on gtalk on my phone to latch the door (finally he does it)… to switch on the geyser… and then take a bath… I return to find the geyser is still switched on
• He is absent minded…  He requests me to buy a shaving cream and razor.. he has to shave before leaving. I go through the trouble… remind him to carry it with him so he can shave tomorrow. He assures me he has packed them in his bag… I return home to find them in the exact same spot I left them
• He misses his friends… he is very happy when I decline to accompany him to meet his friends and go shopping instead… he spends a happy hour playing video games (I can understand the obsession with cars… bikes… girls… but video games????)
• He makes me eat pulses/vegetables… I experiment cooking chole even though I am not fan.

Him: I will have 4 chappattis… always remember it… 4 is my limit

I have a bro and know that men’s appetites are very unreliable. I bake 9 chappattis…. 4 for me… 4 for him… 1 extra.

I have 3… he has 6… 🙂 and would have kept going if there was more.

• He loves to cuddle… I wake up early and finish cleaning… he wakes up late… looks for me in the house… hugs me and sleeps beside me… which is sooooooooooooooo cute
• He hates to be nagged… so I ensure I team up with his Mom and give her enough fodder to nag him
• When I go to work he pings me on gtalk on my phone requesting me to come home soon… and sweet talks… I cannot resist it… come home asap… to find him asleep…

Good night people… if you have a spouse sleeping beside you consider yourself lucky. All of us take certain things for granted… but not everyone may have them…

 

Love’s Labour Lost

The other day HD was telling me that we should have met in college. That would have given us more time with each other. I disagreed. I am a strong believer in time. When things come at the right time… they work out well. The right thing at the wrong time will never work out. We met at the right time… when I didnt have any baggage holding me back. The arranged marriage crap was going on which made me a commitment phobic but thats ok.

Like… my job. When I was put in the corporate office without sufficient experience in regional office I knew I would never do justice to the profile no matter how much I try. That profile required field experience. I gave up a cushy corporate life which gave me Saturdays off… access to the CEO and the top marketing guys… comfortable travelling… etc… packed my bags and left for a harder life. The logic being… my future is in the corporate office… this is the only time I can spend in the regional office.

Right time is everything. How else do you explain why something clicks with one person and not with another? Compatibility is one reason… efforts and the willingness is also a factor… so is attraction. Actually, attraction is the most important… if this is lacking it can never succeed.

I was looking at my house from a third person’s perspective and realized it is suitable only for 2 people. There are 2 chairs in the house which are used to hold grocery bags, laptop, purse etc or for sitting while putting on shoes or during pedicure. There is one bean bag in which 2 people can fit comfortably… and well… it is not used for sitting only… there are 2 cushions for resting the head. When anyone drops in (rarely) I have to ensure there is enough seating. I want to invite my ex-colleagues home but don’t have proper seating arrangement or even cups/mugs to serve tea (bought them last week). I like living like this… I can’t imagine living in a home with ALL the furniture… beds… couches… nice curtains.. tables.. etc. I guess I have never lived any other way… discounting the trips home from boarding school… my life has been like this… in Mumbai… then Gurgaon… and back to Mumbai.

Yawn!!! I have to wake up early to pick up HD at 6 am… last time he made me wait for an hour… so not funny… and when I asked him to say; “Say we are even for all the times I made you wait”… he refused… when I threatened to leave him stranded on the Airoli bridge he gave in.

 

Aao cook kare

Tried my hand at cooking Chicken Bhurji… it was a disaster. I can cook vegetables… they can either be fried or boiled… I avoid frying as much as possible but with chicken.. I am not sure. And there was only one recipe available online which did not have timings… anyway, better luck next time.

I don’t experiment on HD ‘coz he is quite fussy about food. I remember the first time I had cooked for him… it was egg bhurji in Mumbai… It turned out to be very salty but he gamely ate it… can’t expect the same now… not that he criticises me… but he will eat junk instead… and I hate to do that to him on the 4 days in a month that he comes home.

I am thinking of moving blogs… don’t groan… I don’t have much to do online…a new blog will keep me busy.

Indians drag their kids everywhere they go. Grocery shopping on Sunday is a nightmare and I avoid it as much as possible. At the hypermarket next to my house there are kids everywhere. Why can’t one parent stay outside with the kids while the other shops? Some of them place their kids in a trolley and shop… even new borns… how weird is that!!!

At Croma today one couple was standing in front of the cash counter and feeding a new born milk from the bottle. Not kidding!!! Let me put that in BOLD. FEEDING MILK FROM THE BOTTLE AT THE CROMA CASH COUNTER BLOCKING PEOPLE’S WAY.

Leaving home on a Sunday is torture… you never know where kids will cross your path. Ok ok… I don’t like kids.. and don’t sympathise with HD ‘coz he couldn’t care either.

The women’s trial rooms in Lifestyle are located in a bad location which beats all logic… you have to cross the lingerie section to reach them. Men generally wait outside trial rooms to give their opinion on the woman’s clothes… they have to wait in the lingerie section which would be embarrassing for most men (not HD though)… and also for women shopping for the lingerie… they have to discuss their bra sizes and types with men around. Why would anyone have the trial rooms there? Beats me.

Anyways… back to Desperate Housewives… good night… Btw, HD is also a fan of the series which is good… common interests when it comes to TV are helpful. Major household fights are caused by this. In yesterday’s episode… a wife killed a husband when he confessed to cheating on her. It shocked HD… which is good.

 

Double Xhausted

Hi… the exhaustion of the 5 days has caught up. I can barely move.

I would reach office at 9-9.30 am.. my boss would turn up at 10 am and the other colleagues anywhere between 10.30-11.30 am. It sucked ‘coz I would skip b’fast and yoga every morning. Colleagues killed time in office by gossiping and taking long ciggie/lunch breaks while I worked. At 5/5.30 pm they would begin work and then stay till late. Initially my Boss arrived in office at 8.30 am and worked till 10 pm… now he can’t wait to leave at 6 pm. Sometimes I feel like I am working in Kolkata.

I had my appraisal today… it was surprisingly good. I expected my Boss to give some negative feedback under the head ‘areas of improvement’ but he was positive… atleast to my face. I don’t know if he has said anything to his Boss behind my back. The rating I get will make things clear. Unfortunately, the increment will happen in June/July’10 and confirmation in Jan’10.

I am in no mood to work tomorrow… will start the day late and wind up early.

Why can’t we have 5 days work week? 6 days is tooooo much. I don’t understand the concept of 5 days work week for corporate office and 6 for regional offices.

Good night. I love the movie … ‘Luck By Chance’… can watch it over and over and over again.