Tagged !!

Yep.. resurface.. oh yes, tagged.. of course, I honour friendship !
Am now obliged to reveal a bit about me but those out there issuing tall order should realise 25 is a big number !! Nevertheless, here I go..

1. I burn out fast - my blog is the proof. Can't keep at anything for long and run out of steam soon. No, redbull never worked for me..

2. Am a self confessed technology freak. Technology is the necessary evil and is bound to make us feel older than we actually are.. so am fighting the signs or rather attempting...

3. Some patronising friends of mine call me a good photographer which I believe may not be true at all but all the same it brings to light my weird experiments with the lens..

4. Love books yet I can't learn. Reading is fine but studying never was !

5. Children are my weakness. Time is never a constraint and we can cause quite a headache to parents when teaming up..though at the mo am content with playing with others children, giving them back and returning to a neat home !

6. Yes, am a neat freak. A place for everything and everything in it's place or a out-of-control me.. choose your pick.

7. Love the Sun(who doesn't !). It's a pleasure to spend sunny afternoons by Scottish countryside with music, Godiva treats, good book and my SLR for company.

8. I believe my mobile phone is for MY use, so no surprises I take calls when I only wish to..

9. Am "sometimes" opinionated which drives dear ones up the wall. Next time will remind to make them useful by pointing out the cobwebs :o) !

10. Ayn Rand - inspired me. Read her books as a teen which lead to two periods in my life - before AR and after AR

11. Can't help but wonder aloud why we find it so difficult to accept Slumdog Millionaire when Bombay by Mani received nothing but accolades... this statement is at a national level !

12. Am addicted to news. Browsing news websites during breaks, tuning into news channels at home, reading newspaper everyday to work is perceived as boredom by some roommates :o) !

13. Loves travelling ! Can go on and on but am constrained by purse strings :( ! Am not much jet lagged which maybe just goes to reiterate me being a travelling soul..

14. Can be perfectly happy alone. Not many can do this I bet !

15. I believe taking one risk every year. This year, have risked exposing myself on this blog !

16. Don't much believe in luck.. so am secretly hoping to win the lottery without having to ever buy a ticket.

17. Was fairly good with video games at a much younger age but somehow deteriorated. Nintendo Wii on the agenda to help arrest the downslide..

18. Prefer trains to any other mode of transport but with ever increasing yearly fares, am considering cycling to be a healthier option !

19. Never always play fair. Why do the hard work when same comes for lesser work ??

20. I hate lists longer than 20 counts, so I rest this post. Unfair ?? Hey, did you not read the previous line ???

Now comes the even trickier bit.. tagging more and all ! In all (un)fairness I tag thee people - friend & roomie !

No Reservations :)

Here is one before the weekend and the party and the works creep on me... Guys, all working and non-working (including those pretending to) colleagues need a break, so how different can abnormal ME be ?? You got it ! Not far behind at all.. so enjoy this one while I go take myself for a walk soon in Lotus Land :o) ! Nah, green is not an allowed shade on this blog...

A good friend kindly forwarded this link, after having had her fair share of laughter am sure. As an avid reader of laughter columns of Readers Digest, I pass it on to you having myself cracked my side -

ASKING A GIRL OUT - BOLLYWOOD ISHTYLE !!

Expect the Unexpected !

Yeah.. I believe this one to be absolutely true.. !!

All of us wage our own battle(s) of WaterLoo (hehe, I loved coining this one..) everyday and so while on a mission to answer mine, see what I spotted !

Got your mind working like mine :p :p ??

Marketing a Dollar !

Hey, was over at a friend's place the other day and was having a casual chat with her hubby. He has been doing part time MBA from a top notch University and full of new ideas, strong opinions and loads of information from studying a variety of topics - hmmm, am reminded of my school days where something was learned every day to add to my knowledge database - almost history now ;) !

On brushing upon the US economy and weakening Dollar, he handed me a dollar and said, 'In Marketing terms Dollar is still not so weak..it is powerful !' He was quite right and you can see it for yourself below -

Obviously, it's not what you say but how you say what you say that matters ! In the right hands, you can see how far the Dollar can go :o) !

Spotted..

an AD urging everyone makes a holiday getaway...

'Dinner will be served... when the fish decide to bite..'

Now now, I have no intention of dieting while on holiday and am not so mentally sick as to wait for a fish to decide to end its life before I can grab a bite !!

Bah.. humbug !

Whoever said 'penny for your thoughts..' !!

I subscribe to Martin's expert tips in hope of saving a few quid. One of his nerdy notes jumped at me and cheered me up to realize we are all(well, almost ALL) millionaires !! Don't be surprised.. my discovery is for everyone to share..

Here is the nerdy note -
"Being a millionaire doesn’t mean you’re rich. The easy way is to convert £55 into 1,000,000 Iranian Rials or Indonesian Rupiah, or £31 for a million Vietnamese Dong. Sadly Zimbabwe's terrible turmoil has caused hyperinflation, meaning it’d cost only 0.012p for a million of its Dollars."

Yippeee, I could flip a few pennies rather than rack my brains to trick Chris Tarrant into signing the cheque for the magical number..

Day One.. part Three

Speak..Indian language !
Absolutely gobsmacked I blink at the mobile he thrust at me.. The situation was getting a bit too out of hand for my liking..
TTS: Please ask her to come here soon.
You are marked, I tell myself. Resigning myself to the then current circumstances, I speak into the phone,
Hello..?? Helloo ??
The palm tree bathed in sunset screen saver stared at me once again..
"Sorry, looks like the call got disconnected.. we are back to the waiting game !"
TTS seemed certainly far from happy and in no mood for games, understandably.
Yoo-hoo..!! My Gate info flashed on the display board screen and lit up my face.. scram now, says inner voice.
I face TTS to break the news. "Sorry again, but I need to move on. Incidentally am boarding the Los Angeles flight too but the one leaving before Shivani's does.. I would have offered to hand this mobile over to the cabin crew to announce and pass on had we been on the same flight but obviously it does not seem the case ! I need to rush, so wish you Happy Holidays..good bye.."
Reluctantly TTS mumbles safe flight and good vacation in return
Am free !! I start walking towards my Gate with a lil spring in my step.. vacation is happening afterall..

Listen up people, I played my part with all sincerity mean me could muster. Had been on the edge ever since morning when the airline's ground staff approached me to ask if I would be willing to give up my seat for an alternate flight and $1200(commercialism at its confusing heights!) - ah, everything in this world comes with a price tag, so did my vacation..but the tag would make it loud and clear it's priceless ! I was meaning to meet a good friend after a long time..years that might have even convinced us we have gone seperate ways. In the name of friendship, it was imperitive I board that flight.. and leave no stones unturned at that. So off I go..looking for directions to my Gate..

At this point in time, ideally I believe us to be on the same page. Did Shivani make it to Terminal 3 in time ?? Did she manage to locate TTS.. did they both meet ?? Did she unite with her Motorola mobile ?? Na tum jaano na hum..but we are the kind who love happy endings and therefore hope so tad emotionally..

Life is short, sweet AND full of surprises.. so doston, picture abhi bhi baaki hai.. ;) !

Day One.. part Two

Do you know to use a Motorola mobile ??
I must have started looking way beyond my years already or it was the way I dressed - better work on both ! Or simply, he was wearing wrong pair of glasses.
I nod in reply. Flipping open the Motorola V3, I dismiss the palm tree bathed in sunset screen saver to access address book.
Hello..??
I had found, zeroed in and dialled India-Home.
"Hi..uh, this is a call from er, Heathrow Terminal 3, I believe Shivani lost her mobile and am wondering if possibly there is someway we can reach thru to her. She can collect her mobile from the security over here.."
Voice at the other end: I am her sister here. She called to inform us about her lost mobile..she is waiting to board the 11.00AM flight to Los Angeles(uh, am possibly tampering with info here :p)..
I was unsure of what now. "Thanks, I will keep the official here informed and in the meantime if Shivani is to ring you back, do let her know her mobile is safe and can be collected.."
Earnestly, I relay entire conversation to TTS, who now scans the crowd expectantly but to my unease does not budge my side. Am now serious about the tee on my next vacation.
We heard the mobile in question ring, jolting us both. TTS hurriedly flips open the instrument, fumbles with the controls before finally speaking into it..
TTS: Hello..??
TTS: Yes, can you please collect it from me.. meet me inside Terminal 3..
His sense of humour, to me, takes the cake.. Terminal 3 spans 1000's of square feet, lined with many number of duty free shops, with innumerable passengers milling about shopping and waiting for Gate info on their respective flights. I had to intervene on compassion grounds..
"Hey, do you reckon mentioning the Dixons in Terminal 3 as your location could help her perhaps ??"
Could not help but strongly believe I have spoken out aloud to myself.
More minutes pass. I impatiently glance at the Gate information board, pocketing my mp3 - it had somehow lost it's appeal. TTS has not moved places at all, only shifted his legs.
Mobile rings once again but we are not jolted - I had half expected a dozen calls by then !
TTS: Hello.. yes, am still in Terminal 3. Please come and collect your mobile soon.
Looks like TTS is a person who stands by his word - metaphorically and actually too ! It takes all kinds of people to make the world and by now was glad am not Shivani but me !

We both need a break now - reliving such an experience takes courage, energy and a fridge raid ! Come back if you want more..

Day One.. part One.

Ah..don't you love to be on a vacation ?? The luxury of extra sleep, additional dream time, goodbye to cooking, forget those calories are all part of the pamper yourself package teaching you to spend rather than save.

Awaiting my gate information, I was happily tuning into the mp3 when I heard a voice, "Shivani ??"(yeah, obviously I changed the name).. I looked up from my reverie enquiringly at the Terminal 3 Security towering over me. "Indian ??", he continued shooting questions. "Yes, but am not Shivani", I answered thinking if ma had ever thought of such nice ones before calling me names officially :p !
TTS(Towering Terminal Security): Shivani lost her mobile..
Seems Hilary is losing the election. So ??
I stared at him, clueless at why am being fed such classified information.
TTS: Can you speak ??
Excuse me ! One of us is deaf, possibly more, definitely dumb..and it's not ME.
TTS: Can you speak ??
But this time he pointed to the mobile in his hand, driving home the message.
I nodded, "Uh, whom do you want me to speak to ??" Perhaps I should wear a Tee that announces, 'Stay away.. 1st day of vacation' perhaps ??
TTS: finally breaks away from his one liners but launches into rapid sentences.. You can call someone in India, her home. She has reported the mobile as lost and needs to be passed the message it can be collected from me here in Terminal 3.
He missed the point completely..am now sure about his score in History lessons. India does not speak ONE but atleast 22 languages and chances are I might blink and make anyone at Shivani's home blink too ! But khair ek hindustani hi dusre hindustani ke kaam aa sakta hai.. all around the world Indians speak one language - English. I reached out for the mobile.

Ah, caught your curiosity, did I ?? Watch this space for more guys..

Glory be..

Sacrifice.. always thought this to be a powerfully sensitive word until I happened to read this article which proved me wrong and shattered my misconception. The author has made his point, loud and clear and Bips has done it again - hogged the limelight for her unselfish self !

AND to think there are soldiers in the army actually sacrificing their lives but do not get mentioned any place..what a bunch of losers!! Well, such is life I say !

Every dog.... it's day !

Ah, since my Firday posts are meted out with evasive comments, I have changed gears to shift focus onto this weekend as an exception.

Dinner in an Indian restaurant on a weekend in Central London.
Posh.
Dinner in a six time Michelin Star Indian restaurant on a weekend in Central London.
Very posh.
To personally know the sous-chef of the restaurant ??
A distinct advantage over the ordinary and the influential both alike.
To try all the dishes and not having to end up paying cash/Mastercard ??
PRICELESS ;) :p !!

Some snaps graciously produced below to act a Catalyst to the already green shade somebodies reading this post might have now turned..

Ta-ta !

Tempt Me ;) !

Fridays are tricky if you have pending work to attend to ! As the clock moves past 3.00 in the noon, it gets increasingly difficult to do what you are paid for - work ! I tried consoling myself - login from home clear the long To-Do's tomorrow..as if that would ever happen :o), tsk !

Further more, it has been interestingly noted, hunger always strikes when less work is done..though logically it does sound contradicting. Perhaps it's the nothing-else-better-to-do syndrome striking again ! As I contemplated if a trip to the vending machine was really required or it was possible I attend to some work instead, the unopened box of shortbread from my trip a week ago flashes upon the inward eye.. Oh no, not so soon ! One does feel guilty to such a treat, especially with the To-Do list growing from a just then arriving Customer request and the 'healthy diet only' resolution adopted but the previous day popping into mind.

A plan now formed causing a quick ping to be sent to a friendly colleague on the intranet communicator(ah, the luxury brought by technology !), 'Hey.. how about some shortbread ?? Just remembered having left a box on my desk.. fancy some ??' I now tell myself, 'if she says no it's NO to you as well ! Leave the box alone.' but my inner voice feebly protested..'..you have invited a person who skipped her b'fast and made a face about lunch served, she is but a victim !..' I straightened thinking more practice should be attempted to keep one's mind from faltering.

'These are hand baked..so have some more' - conscience prick was making one turn extra nice now. As, I turned back to my desktop with a big chunk in hand to chew, I realized having understood my own question in a better light !

Well, like a friend of mine used to quote Oscar Wilde - I can resist anything but temptation ! :o)

One for the road ??

Not sure if this is the greatest song ever written.. but it certainly made a 5 yr old by the aisle dance non-stop and got me interested(in the song of course !!)

03 - Ye Ishq Hai -...

Old wine in an older bottle ?!

After a nightmare time house hunting(believe me, this one's much tougher than witch-hunting), I zeroed in on an apartment having run out on time.. but that's besides the point..!

As a resident of a country proud of it's place in the prestigious G-8 summit, a reassuring standard of living is expected no doubt in this era of HD plasma screens but was gobsmacked to find such a rusty electric meter after having moved in

No surprises here, it can be operated with coins of only a particular denomination dropped one after the other in the designated coin slot followed by an anti-clockwise twist to the knob which brings about an increment to the visual counter. With no operation manual available handy, had to experiment awhile before bringing those lights alive !!

Let me put your doubts to rest ~ I do really reckon this contraption could well be on it's way to becoming an antique if retained a few extra years.. probably my landlady wishes to include it in her will perhaps.. but that's also besides the point.. !

Sweet Nothings !

Some days am lucky enough to get away with just over 8.5 hours at work. On one such occassion, walking on the station platform with my colleagues, to strategically position ourselves where the last car generally stops, an anecdote was born !

Colleague 1 with concern: So where is SHE(name modified for convenience), it's about time the train approaches !
Colleague 2 lightly adds: Oh, SHE might not make it you know.. SHE prefers to stay back and leave only when her Manager does..
Colleague 3, eyebrows perfectly arched looks at me with a slight bit of gleam suggesting we-might-be-onto-something-here look !
ME, tries to stare straight ahead hardly suppressing the smile already playing around the corner of my lips
Colleague 3 now excited: So how long has this been going on ??
Colleague 1 shaken as if out of her reverie now stammers: Oh ! Uh.. I mean.. well.. actually thats not what I meant.. Er, SHE likes to um, stay back and leave after her Manager does so she can impress.. ah, NO ! She simply leaves only after her Manager does.

Hurriedly makes her way to the approaching train while we follow with a twinkle in our eyes..

Hey, did I tell I hate gossip and work politics.. I am the apolitical kind :p ! Now you are feigning that look of shock, aren't you ?? Well well, what do I have to say now except to borrow my good friend's quote from her blog -

It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit

Tsk ! Tsk !