4 years back...

Four years back, this day, I started off my career as a Technical Writer. I still remember how nervous I was! But to my luck, I had two of my colleagues joining along with me then. So I never felt left out. We were a batch of around 15 new joinees - all freshers. Within no time, all of us were good friends. Our training spanned over a period of around a month and then we were sent to our respective departments. Joining the documentation team made me nervous again. But soon, we were able to gel with the team and work. And there my career took off well documenting, learning, and reviewing. I spent the first one and a half year of my career at SunTec. It was in Trivandrum, the place where I spent some of the best years of my life. Well, when I had to leave the place, I was indeed sad. I left behind some really good friends.

Then I came to Bangalore and joined Sasken. The experience here was rather a different one. Lot more of professional and skilled people. What took me by surprise was the 50+ member team, which was very huge compared to the 10 member team at SunTec. I had a tough time remembering all the names. Timings were flexi, writing styles were different, cubicles were welcoming, and I got some dear friends. Within a short period I got adjusted well to the place and found myself adapted to this big team. I enjoyed the time I spent at the Bommanahalli office. Then our office location shifted to the Embassy Golf Links Campus. It was here that some of the good things happened in my life. I got married, took to crochet and other itty-bitty crafts, got into a good project and so on. But slowly things started changing at the office. We started seeing a steep increase in the number of people quitting from the firm. The number dropped down drastically over a short span. Though there were chances and small initiatives for revival I had decided to move on. And that's how HP happened to me.

Its just a week of being at my new office and I am settling down.

Back after a week

I am back after a whole week of sadhyas, travel, and lazy moments. The days were rainy, cool, and lovely. I loved the travels when it was raining. Since it was Onam, we had sadhyas on almost all the days.

I got to stay for two days at my home with my parents, brother, hubby, and Mittu. Got to see my cousin, Raji's daughter, granny, and few more of my relatives down in Kerala. Even got a chance to attend a wedding. That was perhaps the first wedding I attended after our marriage! I am always excited to attend a Keralite Hindu wedding. It will have lots of ladies in lovely silk sarees, lighted lamps, stage decorated with jasmine and rose flowers, a lot of relatives and friends to catch with, and finally a hastily eaten marriage sadhya. Hmm.. and as you guessed, I have put a few more kgs :-(

This time I felt a little bad at having to come back. On all previous visits to Kerala, I had to get a bit worried about the work accumulating as I enjoyed my holidays. But this time it was different. I had quit from Sasken. And hadn't joined HP yet. So I was completely relaxed. It was a tension free vacation.

But now that I am back to Bangalore and have to join HP tomorrow I am getting a bit tensed. New place and new people. Somehow I am a little nervous. Wish me luck...

New Beginning!

A lot of new things are happening in our lives now. We have shifted into a lovely house. It has lots of space, balcony, and a terrace with lots of plants. Mmmm.. do you remember how I had to leave my plants back at the old house? I was really sad then. So here I have some potted lovelies.

Here I can sit in the kitchen and blog (I mean it is not too a congested kitchen), can crochet sitting at the balcony or terrace, and do a lot more. It is a well ventilated and brightly lit house. Has two bedrooms upstairs (does that mean that climbing up and down will help me bring down my weight. I guess not ;-)) Well, I'll update you more on the house later.

I'll be joining my new company next Monday. This Thursday (19th August) was my last working day at Sasken. And something good happened. Re-instated some old lost friendships and left. Really felt good after doing that though I didn't take the initiative ;-) So have a week's gap to start afresh. We'll be traveling today to Kerala today evening to celebrate Onam.

And even hubby has got a new job. He'll joining the new company by mid September. So everything looks like starting new and good.

Looking forward to all good things to come our way and yours too! :-)

Monday News

Its almost 7 pm and I am still at office. Reason - Its raining! :-)

Now staying for some extra time has given me the freedom to browse through my evergrowing list of favourite blogs. And in peace. Almost all have left from the office and it is getting quieter around here.

And once the rains get over, we head home. An hour long journey! Phew! And I didn't tell you right - over the weekend we saw few houses and settled on the one for us for the next (maybe) few years. It is a lovelyyy house. We fell in love with it instantly. But sad part is that we can actually start living in there only by next month. Reason - we are travelling next weekend for Onam :-) So I ll keep you posted.

Seems like the rain is over. We need to head home. Bye for now! :-) Have a lovely evening.

A Week without a home

Its almost a week since we moved out from our old house. And we haven't moved into the new one yet. Reason: We didn't find one! One which we had finalised on, the current tenants took back their word of moving out by the last month end. Result: We end up being HOMELESS. But no, we are not wandering on the streets :-) Hubby's cousin and wife are here in Bangalore itself and they are the guys with whom we usually hang out over the weekends. So for the time being we have moved in there.

Their house is pretty far from our offices. Not too far, but the traffic is at its peak when we have to travel. Hubby has to log in exactly at 9:30 am and that means starting from home atleast an hour before that. That in turn means, waking up atleast an hour before that :-( This is the worst part. Its cool nowadays in the mornings and I don't feel like getting up. But I have to. My office timings are flexi and I used to enjoy it earlier. But nowadays I reach early and leave after almost everyone leaves. Sighhh! Yet, there is one thing I enjoy - travelling with hubby both the ways. Earlier, we used to go in two directions. But now we go the same way and its nice. :-)

We are searching for houses in the meantime and are eagerly waiting to move into a new good one.

Just Like That

Last week we had our family visiting. My bro-in law n sis visited us. They were with us for around 5 days and I tell you it was great fun. There was lot of noise and activities going on in the house. Even my cousin sis also kept coming on and off. But now that they all have left we are left to being the two loners again!

Now I devote a lot of time to my crafts (pspss, that's why my kitchen and room are always a mess and never tidy). My place for crafts is right in front of the television and no wonder the room looks like an attic always. We sit until midnight, watching movies, and me multi-tasking. Cooking is always done in a hurry so that I can return to my sewing and crocheting soon. Somedays I am in so much mood that I keep apart all my craft and turn to cooking, cleaning, and washing. Now that reminds me that my laundry basket is full! :-(

Work at office was a bit hectic till last week. But now it has come back to normal and I feel a lot more relaxed. So altogether, I am enjoying life now and looking forward to our next trip to Kerala. Missing all of them so much. Especially my Mittu! :-)

Fast Forwarding!!!

Well a lot of things are happening now. Shopping, packing, work, invitation, travels, and so many more things. My bedroom is a mess with clothes, books, and bags all around. Things in the kitchen are getting over and nothing new is being bought. All old papers, boxes, and clothes are being discarded. And finally, we are shifting this week. More exciting thing is that I am travelling down home this weekend. So quite a long vacation. But a really hectic one. Still I love anything when I am near my dear ones!

Its a New Year again!!!

Where have I been?

Well, I have been around here only. But was a bit lazy and busy as well. You must be wondering what was there to keep me busy. No, its not the household work this time. This time it was my new addiction - Watching Movies! Seriously I have become a movie addict and a fan of Denzel Washington! :-)

So saying more about the movies I watched, I ll just give you a small list of the names I remember now - The Inside Man, Bone Collector, Taking of Pelham 123, Cast Away, Untraceable, Rescue Dawn, Behind Enemy Lines, Sahara, The Kingdom, Green Mile, and the list goes on. :-) I have got so addicted to movies that I watch sometimes even 2 to 3 at a stretch and get restless when I don't any for a day or two. Heights of addiction I guess!!!

And my crochet also is progressing. It keeps me occupied before I go to bed. I sit and crochet until my fingers ache and I am damn sleepy. It gives my ultimate pleasure to watch the stitches progressing and the yarn taking its shape into what I want. Sometimes I regret for not having started crochet long before itself.

Christmas is around the corner! Just two days away. Hippie... How I used to wait for my Christmas holidays when I was in school and college! Even this time I am going home for a few days :-) And yes, when I say about Christmas, there is always the memory of Secret Santa associated with it. Right from school days, we used to play the Secret Santa. And this time too we played it last week. I was happy gifting a few small gifts wrapped in a gift paper to my friend. Even I got a small gift - a small chess set :-) Looks cute but sad part is that I don't play chess. May be I can start playing :-)

So now off to do my project work :-(

My new friend!

I did mention that I took a new two wheeler in an earlier post. But I didn't tell u anything about the new vehicle rt? Okay, let me tell you. A black Suzuki Access 125!

The vehicle, I rather prefer to call it as the Black Lady. Don't know why but I prefer to. So this new black lady is a lot different than my old friend. She is not slim and sleek light my Kinetic. Rather she is a bit bulky and plump (may be to match my physique ;-)). Though bulky, the weight is not much. This was one thing I was concerned about before buying. If the weight is more than that of my Kinetic, I would take some time to get adjusted to balancing it. But to my surprise, she was more of being "light weight".

It is not even a week since I got her. So we are still new to each other. But we had a small adventure ride a few days back. It rained heavily that day and in the evening when we returned, a stretch of the road was completely under water. And when I say under water, the lady's tires were fully immersed in the water and the mat was wet! I had to do it as I was already late and there was no other way to get home. With lots of apprehensions and fear, we crossed. There were lots of risks involved - the tar was missing at some places, there were pebbles and stones on the way, and worst of all there were pot holes in the road. These were risks because I could not see what was where other than the water. Added to it when the big vehicles came from the opposite side, it was like waves coming off to our side. For a moment I felt I was on a boat ;-) But yes, we managed to the other bank of the road rather safely and without any problems. Thank God! Phew! My nerves were about to burst owing to my tension.

I was telling you about my new black lady rt... Initially we did have some problems or rather mutual understanding was less. If I had to be a bit harsh on my old Kinetic, this lady just senses it on my touch. So I took two days to get adjusted to this spontaneity of her. And once that was over, we became a bit more friendly. In many aspects she is similar to my old Kinetic. She waits patiently for me, understands me, and we have started loving each other ;-)

So that was it about my new lady. Two days more and she will be a week old. Are we planning to celebrate? No, we have to go to office :-)

Blue to Black

If you remember, I had a blue helmet. I had mentioned it in one of previous posts. I didn't actually love it but yeah I had been using it for the last 19 months. I know its a good deal of time. But I didn't have any special attachment with it. It was bought during the initial days when I reached Bangalore. Me and my brother were going somewhere but he had forgotten his helmet. And he had to buy this blue helmet out of an emergency. And when my Kinetic reached Bangalore, the blue helmet became mine.

I never used to lock my helmet. Just used to leave it on the side mirror. When people warned me I used to be overconfident and asked back "Who will take it?" But yes, somebody took it :-(

Last Thursday when I reached the basement to go home, I noticed that my helmet was missing. I was going bonkers! How could I go home. I am sure to be caught by the traffic police. I complained, searched here and there, no use! It was gone. I was actually having no idea what to do. Finally I tied my scarf on and took the backgate way. That way is actually horrible now due to the construction and tarring work going on. It is way too dusty and without helmet in the evenings fireflies come and hit you. I had to take that way. And somehow I managed to reach home.

My brother was waiting at the door to scold me :-( But then he went and brought me a new helmet. A better one actually. It is really a good one and I have started loving it. Its a black, light weight helmet. Now I know for sure, I ll never leave my helmet unlocked. :-)

The Way!

I go to office by this way.

I took this snap once when I went by an autorickshaw on a rainy day. Lovely right?

Both the sides of this stretch of road are like this. Lush green! And the road looks like this.

Though there were some potholes, the road was good. Used less by four-wheelers, and hence less traffic. But now see it.

It might become a better road hopefully :-)

Petrol Prices Hiked!

Yesterday I felt a bit sad for the first time when petrol prices were hiked. Earlier this never used to affect me. While in school, I used to be in the hostel or when I was commuting daily, we had concessions. When in my XII, I used to go on my good, old (brand new then) Kinetic. I never had to worry then also. My father was the bank that time. Then college and first job, I stayed too close, so that I just had to walk a few minutes. When I joined Sasken, we were at the Bommanahalli office, which was just a matter of 4 kms from my house. So, 100 Rs of petrol was lavish enough for my 5 working days and roaming over the weekends. But now things are no longer the same!
Now my office is 14 kms far, that means, 28 kms daily. 200 Rs of petrol is sufficient for just a week! And now they have hiked the price also :-( So bad right? Well, I know nothing about economy, inflation, GDP, GNP, whatever. May be its good for the country. But bad for me now!

Lazy Moments

Sometimes I feel so lazy that even moving a finger seems a tiring job. Last week was like that for me. But I would wake up early. Sit and crochet (the only thing I was not lazy about doing) till I realize that I would be late for office. Then waste a lot of time thinking what to cook. And finally end up cooking up something very easy, but which my brother doesn't like. I do this very confidently because I leave home before he wakes up :-) When that part is over, I get lazy about coming to office. Problem is that our office has shifted to Embassy Golf Links Business Park, a place a bit far from mine. Now I have to travel around 14 kms (one way) and is tiring compared to the 4 kms which I had to travel earlier. Riding my rusty, old two-wheeler all through those bumps and gutters make me feel tired even before starting. And when I reach, no parking space :-@ Feel irritated at times. Before shifting itself everything was counted and listed, like how many vehicles and stuff. But now I have to push in my vehicle somewhere. Thanks to the friendly security guy over there. He helps me with this process everyday. After all those troubles I reach my cubicle, log into my system, check my mails, and realize that my Project Manager at Canada has not responded to my query again. Don't know how many days is it since I sent out that query and two reminder mails also followed. How can people act like this!

Then 8 hours spent browsing and helping other project members I finish my day very lazily. And again that boring journey back. The moment I reach home I start with the crochet. Really don't know when my brother is going to break that hook! Kitchen beckons me but I act as if I am so deeply engaged in my crochet. Finally when I hear the sound of my brother's vehicle, I throw the hooks and yarn apart and run into the kitchen and prepare something very quickly. Then dinner, washing the dishes, and crochet again!

But from last Sunday I am regaining my lost energy. I have started cooking, washing, cleaning, crocheting, reading, travelling, shopping, and everything else which was there on my list earlier. Hope I don't become lazy again.

A man, Everywhere!

Last evening, on my way home I heard a sudden blop and slow hiss. Soon my Kinetic started shaking and I understood that I had a flat tire. Was confused all on a sudden. First of all, I take a bad route - untarred roads, places uninhabited, and smelly drains. But luckily I had the flat tire in front of a two-roomed small building. The first room was a laundry, where I found a young man ironing clothes. I asked him if there was any tire repairing shops nearby and to my surprise there was one at a distance of two-minute walk.

I reached the place and came back with a lad who replaced the flat one with the stepney (spare wheel). He demanded 40 Rs and had 500 Rs with me. I went to laundry man again for the change, which he didn't have. Instead he directed me to the next shop - a small bakery. The first sight, it was not welcoming. A very small shop with no electricity and stuffed with biscuits and packed items, a man sitting on the step and enjoying a smoke, and a place indeed shabby. The shopkeeper was an old, fat man, unshaved and uncombed hair. He was stout and dark and was selling things and speaking in Kannada. To me he didn't seem like a man who knew either Hindi or English. And I, on the other hand, didn't know Kannada :-(

I said, "500... Change". Suddenly he turned to a boy standing next to him and said, "Mone, ee kuttikku anjooru roopakku change kodukku" (Son, give her change for 500 Rs) in Malayalam. I froze. How could I underestimate a Malayalee. They are everywhere you go. Be it the densest populated place or a remote one. I had still not come out of my state of shock, when the boy handed over the notes to me. I took them in the hand, thanked them, smiled, and left.

I don't know whether I was too happy or sad for that man. Mixed feelings indeed! I was happy that I found a Malayalee where I didn't expect to find one and was sad by his shabby appearance. But I must admit one fact - he is earning a living and not begging around in the alien state!

Another Fool's Day!

Here is another Fool's Day and I am missing all those pranks we used to play as kids. Now Fool's Day for me has reduced to another day when your inbox is full of mails.

My first memory of April Fool goes back to the year when I was in my I standard. As usual I reached my classroom and was alerted by my friend (don't remember her name) that there was a dry twig on my hair. I instantly tried to brush it away but there was nothing. She laughed and said "Hey, April Fool". That was my first Fool's Day. Since then each year we used to play silly pranks on friends and family. It used to be the usual simple lies.

Over the years, it turned to more serious pranks. But at one point of time, I used to disregard this day as I do on a Friendship Day, Mother's Day, or others of the sort. I was of the opinion why a special day for things like this. From then on my Fool's Day memories are colourless.

Now I feel we must celebrate it. After all what harm is there in fooling people on one day out of the 365 days (but Ididnt fool anyone today). Well, afterall its just to remember after so many years spent on living a life. Happy Fool's Day!!! :)

Almost an year!

Its almost an year since I reached Banglore, left SunTec, and reached Sasken. :)

One month left for an year of starting blogging too... I checked the date today and found my progress in blogging is very irregular. Too lazy nowadays. :) I see that ppl on my list keep blogging almost daily but I am finding it hard now :(

An year of being lazy and idle. But now I plan to be a bit more organized. No idea how well its gonna work out. Long time since I watched any movies or read a book. Its almost a week since I am having a copy of "Five Point Someone" but have managed to read only a couple of pages. Plan to complete that soon as I have to return it :D And also need to buy a few selected ones. All these years I bought no books. Just borrowed books from the library or friends. But now I feel, I must have my own personal collection!

Well time for dinner!

Another One!

Yes another weekend has come. I am not sure whether I am actually looking forward to it or not. On weekdays I wish for the weekend to arrive quickly. And I plan a lot. But infact nothing happens. And when I turn back - a weekend gone sheer waste! Even today I have lots of plans for this weekend. Let's see what all really work out.

And one more thing. Usually when its Friday, everybody is in a holiday mood and so am I always. But today, dont know what went wrong! I was over enthusiastic. I wanted to finish all those work pending through the whole. And I finally somehow did achieve that ;-) And now what... Just waiting to see how my weekend turns out.

Happy Weekend All!!! :-)

Time again to set goals!!!

Its the time again to set the goals for the next year... Appraisal period starts now. The last day to set our objectives and send it across to the manager is past one week now. But still I am sitting here trying to frame up things. No idea whether late submissions would be rejected. I wouldn't have cared a damn about that had not salary hike been related to this. Unfortunately it is! :(

My first appraisal was when I joined SunTec. I was so confused as to what the process was. Setting goals, framing stories of accomplishments, and what else you can. But finally after the meeting with the Manager and the appraisal grades were released I realized, like all others, do whatever you may, frame whatever you may, you are left to the mercy of your Manager and the interests of the company.

Soon after the appraisals we see dumbass people roaming in brand new cars and holding treats, while hardworking efficient people move to the depressed group and look out for job changes. But somehow we set these objectives and goals in hope. Hopes too high! Lets see what this appraisal has in store for me and the likes around! :)

Different Work Cultures!

We often come across the term 'Work Culture'. For those working directly with the clients abroad, this impacts them the most.

At our office, we work for a North American company and everyday is a new day with lots of learning in the differences of cultures. Last week a trainer had come down from the client location, who will be with us for another few months. He imparts training to us related to the domain as well as the CULTURES.

The first few things I noticed about him - unlike many of us, he is very punctual. Comes in at sharp 9 am and leaves at 6 pm. While most of us come in by 10 to 11 am and leave after 7 pm. He is always in formal clothes, very pleasant, and at his desk for most of the office hours. We, over here wear all what we like from formals to casuals, dark, bright, and florescent, are cranky at times, and finally are not at our desks for most of the time.

Few days back, we had our first training at 10 am. People kept coming in. As usual, I reached in by 10 30 and unluckily was the last! The topic was working with North American counterparts. While concluding the session he was detailing a few circumstances when he had committed mistakes. Finally he said - there's one mistake I did over here. That was to start the session at sharp 10 am. He gave us a awkward smile. I felt the more embarrassed. But something more happened to it. Our PM came in at 11 30 am. She went to his desk and wished him a lovely morning. And her next question was - we are having the session today rt? When is it? I sit next to his cubicle and hearing this question the people in the whole bay froze. He replied smiling - its already over. Perhaps an hour ago!

Phew! That was one embarrassing incident when the whole team seemed irresponsible and stupid.