A glimpse of Leicester

I was watching a comedy show by 'Papa CJ' the other day…it involved his observations and interpretations about British folks and their thought process about India. It was a really funny one and he was successful in bringing many of our common thoughts to the forefront, using just 'words'. But it got me thinking about what the British way of life means to me?
Well, I have been here in England for quite few months now and yet, since I have been working from home all this time, I have got a chance to interact with very few Britishers! My parents feel amazed when I tell them that I don't know who my next door neighbor is…and I somehow can't gear up the courage to go ahead and knock on a door just to say 'Hi there, we haven't met earlier…' and so on. So on week days, my life is pretty restricted to what I see from my full length glass door from our living room.

I often watch the penthouse which is on top of a building,  two rows in front of mine. A couple lives there and I often see them drinking and relaxing in beach chairs on their terrace. This usually happens around 5 PM or so and I keep wondering whether they work - in plain words how do they earn their living. Renting a penthouse is a pretty expensive affair in this area, so my amazement never ceases. This is the same time when I keep waiting for my husband who rarely returns home before 8:30 PM.

Anyway, few weeks back, I saw the guy in the penthouse bring out a wooden table sort of a thing on the terrace. He seemed to be drawing on it. From this distance I wasn't able to make out what he was doing exactly, but the next day onwards my curiosity was curbed when he started cutting the wood with a saw.  He continued on it for most part of the day. Even chilly winds couldn't stop his work. I kept observing him from the warmth of my room. This went on for a few weeks when finally he started painting what he had created. He had built a painting easel or perhaps a kind of a wooden shelf. Since I had been keeping an eye on his work from day 1, I really wanted to go ahead and take a good look at it and perhaps congratulate him. But my practical senses prevailed and I did not do it. What happened in the meanwhile though is that I fell in love with the idea of a penthouse in a not-so-hot country. Full length glass walls on one side is a must and of course a big terrace, which should be decorated with lights, plants and so on…

When I am pretty much done with the decor of my dream pent house, I am shaken out of my trance by none other than Bhangra/Garba beats on a  'dholak'  right in front of my building. Yes of course, it's a weekend and English-Indians are read to get married. Well, there's a wedding venue a couple of buildings from mine and every weekend, the mornings and evenings are reserved for lavish Indian weddings. The groom's family usually display their financial position by the cars they travel in…well, that's what I have come to believe now. In one of the weddings, there was a Rolls Royce which brought in the groom. The Rolls Royce came in a convoy with a couple of other Porsches'. All the 3 cars kept sounding their horns at the same timings to add to the music! They were accompanied with at least 100 other people dancing their way to glory on the Bhangra beats. All of them seemed to have emerged from a Karan Johar set! With their hair tied up in buffos, backless cholis and 5 inch stilletoes, the ladies could have very well been in Bollywood. The men were not left behind with neatly crewed hair, colorful Sherwanis, nagras or suits with red roses adorning their lapels. Once this colorful procession moved ahead, we could see the procession of cars behind. These cars are driven mostly by 'I-cannot-dance' family members of the dancing group. Mercs are common place with Ferraris and Porsches leading the pack. And here my middle class mentality keeps wondering again - what do they do in order to earn so much? 'Business' perhaps is the right answer considering most of the Indian folks here are Gujaratis.

That reminds me of our Gujarati friend in Leicester - well, he's the only one apart from my husband's office colleagues, to makes sure he talks to us everytime we cross streets. Few months back, just after we came here, my husband needed a jacket and we happened to buy one from his shop. He is a Gujarati by birth and has been here for long. His English still remains distinctly accented with Gujarati. He still feels sorry when something bad happens in India and seemed genuinely pleased when we could deliver some first hand news from his homeland. We never thought we will be talking to him again but it turned out that everytime he sees us go past his shop or perhaps somewhere else in Leicester, he waves his hand and comes up with a big broad smile on his face. He asks us whether my husband feels comfortable in the jacket he bought, he reminds us that it was an excellent bargain and after a word or two, does mention that we need different kinds of jackets during different seasons. So in case, we want to check out the new collection, we should definitely visit his shop! And strangely enough, he doesn't appear very pushy at all! Now that's what I call 'doing business' and perhaps this skill explains the expensive Gujarati weddings that we see in Leicester!

Now that I have entirely diverted off from what I started from, let me not further it. Anyway, it's 5 PM and I sit watching the Penthouse couple enjoying their evening drinks. Maybe Mr. Penthouse will start building something new soon.

Behind the Wheels

Why do some small things hurt so bad? It was a simple thing….a ‘friend’ said that he wasn’t confident with me sitting behind the wheel in a rented Toyota Camry. He is not my best friend, but I felt so humiliated that I left the driver’s seat immediately and asked someone else to take it up. As a matter of fact, I could feel my eyes getting moistened and my voice choked! He didn’t want me to feel bad and asked again and again if everything was fine. Nothing was wrong considering the facts - I have never driven alone till date, I hadn’t driven a car in a long time apart from 15 mins yesterday (which was horrible thanks to my lack of practice!). But how will someone learn if he/she is never given the opportunity to learn?! But I guess it had to be done to make sure I left the driver’s seat promptly.
It was nice to see another friend who had learnt driving with me, gained a driver's license after a couple of failed attempts, drive with the same ‘friend’ feeling confident about him.
Yet I felt terrible and had to gulp it all down since my ‘friend’ was not yet so close that I could take the pains to explain my viewpoint to him or let him know that I felt bad.
Why the hell can’t I be good at anything? Why do I always mess up things? Why am I so upset when everything that really matters is in the right place?

Creative Pursuits of an Uncreative Mind

How can someone sit and work without talking??????!!!!!!!!!!!! That too at home!

How can someone keep thinking and not talk???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!Again at home!

I’ll go crazy someday and jump out of my room window! Alas, only in me dreams, cause my room windows are sealed :(

Is someone listening?

Enough is enough! I mean I have to express myself…..if not by talking then by writing.

Took a personality test sometime back which promised to let me know what profession would suit me best. Here goes the results:-

Best Occupational Category

You're a CREATOR

Keywords

Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

2nd Best Occupational Category

You're a PERSUADER

Keywords:

Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive

These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.

There’s nothing that I could agree more with! I always wanted to be in the creative field, that too in an advertising agency. I had read a book about someone who landed up in the rollercoaster journey of an adman’s life. It was unpredictable and challenging. But it helped him in his creative pursuit.

I have even thought about an mba in advertising. But ‘practical’ people scared me the minute they heard of it. We need to be ambitious, cut-throat back-stabbers in order to succeed in this field! Boy, pretty scary I must say, especially when you have a stable job in hand! Not sure if my decision was right or wrong….it’s just that time didn’t wait as usual!

After so many days, this prediction is making me think again. It might be just a coincidence, or a pure matter of luck that they have predicted me as Creative and a Persuader. But it’s just that I like doing creative things, especially anything which requires me to use my aesthetic senses. I like playing with words. And I love persuading people, which is marketing in a way. God gave me the gift of the gab and I never fail to put it to use…lol.

But then going by what I like to do and what I don’t, I really doubt where I would have landed up!

Here’s my liking list for people who are still wondering what I meant by the previous statement…..

1) I love to wrap packages of different shapes and sizes. Wrapping papers are my all time favorite items. Once upon a point of time, I wanted to be the salesgirl in a cloth store where I would get ample opportunity of folding clothes.

2) I love collecting certain items of various types…….nice polythene bags, rubber bands, colored chalks, coins, stamps, different shaped erasers, book marks, glass bottles…………and what not!!! Boy, I could have been a janitor!

3) I love taking attendance of students. I have done that virtually in my imaginary classroom number of times, but never in reality. But the thought of taking attendance or scolding someone who has done some mischief is very alluring. Hope some human rights organization is not reading my blog!

4) I wanted to be an air hostess at some point in school life. My mom had given me a scenario to consider. She asked me to think what I could have done on an airplane in case some guest happened to puke on me! Eeeeeeew! The thought gives me shivers till date. She further mentioned that it would be courtesy to clear up the mess with the smile. My ambition changed soon after.

5) Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai brought glory by winning beauty pageants in 1994. It became very obvious that I wanted to become a beauty queen like them! The glamour, the world talking about you and your beauty…what more do girls want? My ideas were cut short when I stopped growing taller after 153 cms. Had to drop the idea with a sullen faceJ

6) The sweetest ambition I had till date was to become a sweet shop owner. I love sweets and can’t stop once they lure my taste buds! So I had planned to open a sweet shop so that I could have ample sweets in the course of a day without any restriction! Childhood fantasies are so awesome. They are never concerned about fat, fitness or obesity! Sigh!

7) On growing up a little more, I wanted to be a television actress. Somehow never considered myself ‘Bollywood’ material! So being in Bengali serials or Hollywood movies in the future seemed to be a good idea. Okay now, stop winking! As long as it involved intelligent acting, it was fine with me.

8) The life of an actress is very unstable in terms of timings, schedules. It takes time to establish oneself. So opted out of it. Practical me! This time I aimed at becoming a news anchor in the lines of my all time favorite Prannoy Roy and Barkha Dutt! Gave some serious thought and realized that going to a war zone and staying away from family in such circumstances was not my cup of tea. Well, my moving sickness helped in convincing myself that I could never undertake such journeys to mountainous regions.

9) Since my aspirations of becoming a TV journalist or new reader was cut short, I decided to become a newspaper journalist or a lawyer. Both were professions which involved the utilization of grey cells. Both of them would let my creative juices flow. But studying law involved extensive study and memorization. I was always poor in subjects that involved trying to learn by heart. Being a newspaper journalist posed the same dangers that the life of a journalist posed in general. So dumped the ideas.

10) Finally, when I could think of nothing else, I automatically followed the path that every alternate student from my place follows. Got inspired by Dad and decided to become an engineer. I even decided the engineering stream. It would either be electrical since my Dad is an electrical engineer, or Computer Science. Now comes the big question…

WHY COMPUTER SCIENCE?

The answer was very simple.

I chose Computer Science because I loved the colorful icons on the Windows desktop!

I wasn’t aware that it involved intensive programming, at least till you secure a job. After that life becomes easy…it’s all ctrl C and ctrl V. No creativity involved.

I still remember memorizing computer programs in the initial days of my college life! My self-admiration increases every time I think that I actually undertook such a venture! The love of colorful icons had landed me in that hell!

Forget it! Let’s come back to the present where I was planning for my future.

If any of you are aware of any job that has the following attributes, please let me know.

1) Stable compensation. (Read best in the market)

2) 9 to 5 job schedule….Can stretch a couple of times a week, if the work demands.

3) An understanding and responsible manager, who is aware of the work that I do, and is not concerned ONLY about his/her appraisal! Someone who appreciates the work done and encourages creative pursuit irrespective of appraisal parameters!

4) Good team mates. They should not be zombies!

5) Opportunity to work from home, just in case.

6) At least 20-30 days of leave per year apart from national holidays which includes sick leaves etc. Unexhausted leaves should be carried over.

That should be enough for now, I guess. I will add more points if I can think of any.

Please feel to free to contact me at this site if there are any openings.

So long.

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A better place for you and for me

Does cursing a lesser being solve my problem? I am frustrated, utterly butterly frustrated! Is it worth getting dark circles and looking like a panda for a cause not worth it?

Few years back someone taught me to prioritize my life…..all my aspirations, all that I am doing or ought to do. This thought keeps me going always!

I pity folks who get cursed everyday for not being able to do justice to their roles in life. It’s a lovely feeling to be able to laugh without anyone sighing behind your back. The only problem is the lack of fresh air. I feel suffocated sometimes, rather always when I am amidst people who hardly care whether I am alive or dead. All they care about is whether their work is getting done. I pity pathetic people who can’t smile from within with crinkled eyes and with all their teeth out or talk without a hint of sarcasm in their voice. Thankfully, I can do it till now J

Is it worth spending precious time working for some fools who don’t even know me! How do I care whether they could access the application that I work on or not?! No, I do not care in reality.

All that I care about is me and my bank balance at the end of the month. Being a spendthrift, it’s not that I save a lot, but it helps me indulge myself, gives me the confidence and helps me keep a little for the future.

I can’t imagine a month go past without my salary. This thought jerks me up from all fatigue and frustration, makes me mumble all ‘F’ words, and gear up for another suffocating day.

Alas! That’s life. Someone mentioned that ‘job satisfaction’ is elusive. It’s something that’s impossible to achieve. It’s up to us to make any job satisfactory. We can start by loving what we are doing. To be true, I really do not despise my work. On the contrary, I sometimes really like what I do. The problem is that I don’t feel comfortable with the environment. It’s just a frustrated, moody bunch of people all around! The only satisfaction that I have is that I am not part of the herd! And I never wanna be a part of this mess! Is it because the ‘most coveted’ jobs make people want for more and more? Or is it that the visa department makes sure that India is kept flawless by sending all peculiarities abroad…yeah, yeah I know what you are thinking…yes I am one of that lot, and definitely not proud of the fact!

I have been in very strenuous projects before. We have slogged late, day in and day out. But I never felt stifled, in spite of working in a small ODC (It’s an offshore development centre acronym, for all non IT folks). And I know the reason behind it. The simple reason is that my team mates were awesome! I really liked the team spirit that everyone shared. There were senior and junior people in the team, some technically very sound and some technically not so sound. But it hardly mattered. Everyone cared. Everyone respected the fact that everyone else was working as hard as they were. The atmosphere was kept lively by frequent peals of laughter, songs and the work pressure never grew on anyone. I would love be amidst such lovely people again! Kudos to every being who know what life is all about and who know how to make a ‘Better Place for You and For Me’.

Give me some sunshine, give me some rain……..

I want to end my note with a smiley once again L

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWf-eARnf6U

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Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year!

Wish you all loads of love, luck and laughter this new year!

Time for some facts now.

Amir is soooooooooooo cute. Love his elephant like ears! ‘3 Idiots’ is a must watch. It’s hilarious, left us wanting for more. By the way, Madhavan’s moustache was yuck! By all means, Rancho Rocks!

Fact number 2, San Francisco is sooooooooooooo beautiful. Love the roads taking us up and downhill. I am sure it helps burn a lot of calories for people who love walking, apart from being such a treat to the eye!

Those were my updates from the holiday season. I had been to LA and SFO. Nice places with different flavors. Disneyland was awesome. How I wish Mickey Mouse was a living being who I could cuddle now and then J

I walked the Walk of Fame and took the Road to Hollywood J

Universal Studios disappointed me however………it is pretty small with not too many rides. The Simpsons ride was undoubtedly the best. The rest were kind of ok.

And then we were in San Francisco…….I wish I was there for a couple of days more. Will try to visit it once more, and this time will visit Monterey and Carmel, Big Sur, San Hose, San Diego…………..and the list continues.

The greedy traveler is never satisfied.

The bad part is that after every trip, it’s time to go back to the mundane schedule of work -> home -> work again! To worsen it further is the fact that you do not enjoy what you do for a living!

Sit in front of a computer for long hours and learn nothing! Gosh, I am sure there will be loads of people disagreeing with me! But it’s utterly boring! It’s so mechanical, nothing creative in it at all!

So, what’s the solution? It’s very simple. Just do what you want to do.

This open-ended question is the toughest one I have faced till date! What do I exactly want to do? Something creative for sure, but ‘creative’ is a vague term. Even writing a good program can be termed as creative by many. But I still can’t figure out what is it that I would really like to do every day. Help, anyone?

The ultimate aim is to be happy and enjoy life. For that the requirements are my loved ones and definitely money. I plan to be with my loved ones as soon as my bank balance becomes a little stable. And there goes the vicious circle again. For my bank balance to be stable, I need to continue doing what I am doing right now!

Oh My, the minute I get a few free minutes to write what I please, I am back to my cribbing self.

No cribbing for now, because a New Day has come. With new hopes, new aspirations and new dreams, we will tread our paths with a new hope to fulfill our desires……..to live our life to the lees!

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Just Like That

I am back to my blogging seat after so many days! Writing is addictive, I guess. More so when you see your words in print on a beautiful page dedicated wholly to you! Thanks to a very special person for that J

The best part is that it’s free, like so many other good things in life!(And for all those who remembered the MasterCard ad just now, I happen to love the ad too!)

Moreover, no one judges you by what you write. No one appraises you or forces you to write a document to prove how much knowledge you have gathered in the past x months! Isn’t that wonderful? You keep scribbling and for all you know, you might be on a dais with a trophy in your hand someday, explaining to the audience what prompted you to write such a wonderful article!...Okay, now it’s time to get off my unicorn and return to reality!

Back to what I was talking about…..I never felt the inclination to write before. It’s really frustrating at times, believe me! In spite of all the inspiration provided by my Mom and friends……..nah, my only reply was that this ‘God-given capability’ comes to a chosen few! Penning down thoughts is a difficult domain for a practical lady like me! And on top of that, where’s the time to let your creative energy flow, when you are just another rat in the race?

And lo, and behold……there comes a day when the beautiful Manhattan skyline over the Hudson inspires a few thoughts, then a few words and then a few more…

Along comes the thought if these words are worth penning down at all. Back to my own philosophy of life ‘Who cares when you are doing what you want to!’. Does it really matter whether people like what you write in your own page? Nope, it doesn’t. Yet, the hungry heart always craves for praise. It reminds me of a line from a poem I had read in school once upon a time…

“Children are funny things,

they laugh In mirth at others' tears”

Well, I can vouch for the first line…the only thing is that it’s not only children…it’s every one of us, funny us! No comments about the second line though J

(See, this is the best part about writing what you feel. There’s nothing to be learnt from around three hundred words I wrote so far, absolutely nothing substantial, yet it gives me unimaginable pleasure to be able to do what I am doing J )

Bragging done for now, here’s something on a different note.

There are so many inventions yet to be done by man. Yes, I meant women as well! We can capture our looks with a camera, we can capture a movement with a video camera, and we can record our voice with a recorder, but what about our moods? Ten years down the line, is there a way to be able to relive the moment I am living now? Is there a way to exactly feel the way I am feeling?

I want to preserve the moments I love. I want to relish them over and over again. But then, on second thoughts, if we can relive certain moments, then what’s the fun of living life? Life is meant to be unpredictable in all predictable terms. And that’s what makes it so special! Just the faith that we can’t relive a moment makes it all the more precious!

Saluting to every ephemeral moment that takes my breath away………..I live only for cherishing you!

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Some inconsistent words

A weekend well spent…..a couple of days wasted with loads of sleep!

Another 24 hrs gone into waste without any meaningful thing done!

It snowed in New Jersey yesterday. This is the second time I encountered snowfall. The last time when I was in class 5. Boy, that’s a looooooooong time back!

My roomie and I were so excited about it that we quickly jumped into some warm clothes and rushed down. It was so nice with all the Christmas decorations in place. We went to the boardwalk after a long time. We could see people in a usually deserted boardwalk enjoying the first flurries of the season. Keeping in mind my upcoming trip to the West Coast, I had to succumb to my running nose and finally returned to my warm shelter J

It snowed and snowed all night taking little breaks. It was so exciting to see the cars with small snow mounds on their windshields when I went for my driving lesson. It just kept me wanting for more……

It really lights one’s heart to see the beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere you go. Every place is adorned to welcome nature’s glory. The trees shed their remaining traces of yellow, orange, red and brown. Colorful lights take the place of leaves! Wooden reindeers glow in the dark. The red noses turn redder as people rush for their office. It’s like being a part of ‘Christmas Carol’. The countryside houses are dressed up in bells and Christmas trees. The only things I miss are the Christmas carols in the background and a ballroom to dance in……….

Life is a fairytale J I love being in one despite every wrinkle that forms on my forehead as I think of reality. Forget everything; forget where you are and what you are supposed to do!

Relax, smile for all you are, for all you have got and for all who love you and all who you miss……

Put on some melodious music and forget the time. Miss everyone back home, because they are the ones you live for. One who has no one to miss has no one waiting for her. Just live the moment……….just love your life……just feel how blessed you are………that’s all this Holiday season is all about!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a lifetime of joy!

“Christmas time, mistletoe and wine

Children singing Christian rhyme

With logs on the fire and gifts on the tree

A time for rejoicing in all that we see”

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