Musings!

‘Some stories seem so implausible that even as they unfold around us in real life, we refuse to believe them.’ – Natasha Badhwar.  Found her recently.. simply love!!

An apt quote for what has unfolded in recent days!

I have said to a friend, a few times.. ‘hire me please’   But I did not quite expect him to. It was just  hopeful, wishful thinking…

And then, there was this strange belief buried deep in my consciousness that one other guy, who has been a teammate/lead and manager at different times, would ask me to work with him.. someday!! Perplexing somewhat I know.. but still. I felt.. believed rather, that he trusted my abilities…and would call me someday to work with him.

Now, I don’t know which one has come true.. the wishful thinking or the strange belief! A combination of the two maybe

So yeah.. its all still very unbelievable. And, as I stepped into the office today, I realized consciously, for the first time, that my days here are numbered…

I’m thinking.. saying things.. making it all feel more real to me..

S, who sits next to me, plays music on most days. Today, after a long time, a song that I love, came up .. and I said to him ‘I should remember to copy songs from your system before I leave’ . He’s happy and smiles .. ‘I’ll remember you in the afternoons…’ I say.. that is usually when he plays the songs.. and then add ‘Maybe I should start playing the songs in the new office’   Maybe I will!  

And, I will keep a plant on my desk.

I will talk more… even to strangers! Maybe we’ll become friends

With age, I’ve grown confident in starting conversations with complete strangers. . but mostly with women, girls. Now, I’ll start talking to the guys, who are strangers, I mean.

I meant to wear different kinds of clothes once I leave here… more confidence in a different crowd is what I had been thinking   Now, I’m going back to people I know and others who have seen me and are familiar… but what the heck! Everyone evolves.. their wardrobes evolve too   So, I guess I’ll get brave and wear skirts to office.. for starters!!

Wishing me luck

Yayy!

Guess what.. we won the March Animal Craft Challenge at Artsy Craftsy Mom!! Shruti’s email this morning totally made my day  Also, we get a Rs 500/- gift voucher from Itsy Bitsy, the craft store. What fun!

The kids are yet to hear this news.. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled !!

In other news, Ammu and Adi are officially promoted to the 4th and 1st standard respectively!

Ammu has fared well in her last worksheets, a health scare and simple mistakes not withstanding, and her teacher had nice things to say about her. But of course

Adi is the star as usual. His teacher says he’s a very bright child but does not like to repeat anything.. as in he gets bored very quickly. Looks like it will be an uphill task to get him to persist at something, especially if he does not like or is not in the mood. We’ll have to wait n watch

Vacations are in full swing with them playing, playing, fighting, reading, watching TV, fighting, playing, doing math, playing and more playing No summer camps this time. The kids were a little unwell during and after the exams. So we wanted them to relax and have fun at their own pace with no hurried schedules. Also, there are the dance classes which will offer some diversion during the weekends..

In the evenings, I make it a point to take the kids down to the play area. With no one else around, they indulge in their play and I just sit and watch while enjoying the cool breeze. I also managed to teach them to sing Lakdi ki kaathi, which they were eager to learn! Sis accompanies me whenever she’s home and we have a good chat But, with the mosquitoes’ numbers going up, I guess we cant go outdoors much in the evening … and will have to make do with some indoor activity..

Adi is looking forward to go with his baba to Kolkata to see his grandparents. But before that will be a family trip to Mysore for a cousins wedding. With the temperatures soaring and breaking all records, we’ve decided to ditch the silk sarees this time. So, cool cottons it will be

Nothing else planned for the vacations as of now. Hoping to introduce Ammu to different water colour painting techniques when Adi is away at his grandparent’s home. Incidentally, the April theme at Artsy Craftsy Mom is Go Artsy! Hope to have some entries for that one!!

Well, that all for now folks! Tata!!

Zoooooom!

So we have come half way into March!

March.. the month of the cool evening breeze. The one that we used to call as ‘exam gaaLi‘ during our school and college days . The heat of study times would be dissipated by the lovely cool breeze in the evenings, should we come out for a break

The kids are having their final set of tests for this academic year. Enjoying their ‘half days’.. lightweight bags, hot lunches and afternoon naps!! One more week to go and then summer vacations!!! Hum bhi agar bachche hote Sigh!

Work continues to be a bit hectic. Though, I somehow manage to do some reading online when I need to give myself a break . Writing here, has been put on the back burner, as usual. Revisions, school projects and dance classes during weekends have left us with very less time to do any crafty activities.

The kids, of course,  are never deterred by such concerns. Ammu especially! She draws, colours, paints, crafts whatever catches her fancy. Even when she is expected to do her revision. And Adi follows his didi most of the times

The one thing that she loves to make is a phone. She’ll get hold of visiting cards or tags from clothes , paste some paper on it, create the screensaver/wallpaper by drawing or sticking some glittery stuff and draw the other controls and lo! the phone is ready! One for herself and another for thambi If she doesn’t get the card, she just uses paper! There is no count of the number of phones she has made till now…

Hope to catch up on the craft sessions during the vacations

And now, some tidbits..

We’re watching the song ‘Jeele zara’ from Talaash and I sing along, try to ;) Ammu and Adi are considerably impressed! Adi watches me for a while and when the song is over, comes to me and says.. ‘Bomma, when I become big I want to be a singer police’

I ask him what that means and he explains ‘I’ll become a police and I can also sing’ . How cool is that

The day before I ended up going to sis2′s place, which is half the distance to my home, as we had a deliverable and it had got quite late. Yesterday, I went home and when we finally had a moment together, Ammu says ‘Why you didn’t come yesterday? I felt so sad.’ And, then.. ‘But one day is over so fast mamma! It is over by the time I finish counting 60, 3 times!!’

That’s how quick the time is zoooming past!! Wondered what she calculated but was glad that the time had passed quicly enough for her to feel relieved

Leaving you with a flower pic… for a cheerful weekend! Have fun folks!!

Bauhinia flower. Pic taken at Lalbagh

Happy Bandh anyone ?

A holiday was declared due to the nation wide bandh on Wednesday…

I am reading the newspaper while having my cuppa. Adi wakes up and comes to me… climbs onto my lap.

‘Good morning’ I say and he responds ‘Good morning’..

Then, after some silent moments, he turns to me and says ‘Happy Bandh bomma’

So, indeed, the bandh day turned out to be a day of relaxation in the middle of the week. Also, the day when I finally did some decluttering of my closets/wardrobe! It actually happened on an impulse

Sis1 had a holiday too and she came by noon. Chatted, ate, napped together after a long time…

The kids played, ate, played, napped, played, ate… were happy to be left on their own! Of course, they read/studied for a while in the evening but it was mostly play all the way!!

And, not to forget the one piece of news that had cheered me up earlier in the day ‘Hospital waives off maternity charges on birth of girl child’

Tomorrow is a working day in leiu of the happy bandh day. And the kids have school too, for half a day.

All the folks who are not working tomorrow, a very happy weekend. For the rest, hope you have a good day tomorrow and a lovely Sunday

See ya!

Oops! that’s not my number!!

.. then what is!!

It was one terrifying moment!

I was doing an online recharge for my mobile number and I could not remember my mobile number!! I entered a number and as I was doing so.. I sensed that it was not correct. But somehow, I could not recollect my number

Started wondering about how terrifying it must feel when you really start forgetting stuff, may be due to old age or God forbid, some debilitating condition like Alzheimer’s.

Of course there have been many times when I have forgotten a lot of things. But never did my mind go blank about my mobile number. Probably, that’s what made it so startling for me! And, I could not recollect it without looking through my email  Guess, the panic like state prevented my brain from functioning properly

Have you had any such moments which set you thinking ?

Just like that!!

One sure fire way to feel alive is to stretch! Yes.. literally!!

Stretch yourself… either physically or mentally and you’ll feel the difference!! Yesterday, I attended a conference for Software testers, the first conference that I attended in all these years of professional life.

I’d been dilly dallying till the nth moment as I’m not familiar with the area the venue was in and also I did not have company. The weather was not too good, with low pressure in Chennai affecting B’lore too. But I so badly wanted to go.

So, I made up my mind… got help with the directions from a couple of friends and wrote to another one to find if I could do a spot registration. Everything set!!

Woke up early and left home by 7, so that I could reach the venue on time.. its very far from where I stay and I was sure it would take me more than an hour and half to get there. I managed to reach there without any adventure, thanks to the accurate directions!

Am so glad I did it. I kind of stretched myself physically as well as mentally, mostly mentally. Felt so very good

******

The December chill has set in and I’m yet to see the pink that lines the road that I pass through on my way to work. Though I’ve seen the pink splashes in a couple of other places, the trees here are still green.

I remember that they were ‘late’ last year too. And, they’d conspired to turn all pink when I’d been taking an alternate route for a couple of days. How pleasantly surprised I was when I saw the profusion of pink on the entire stretch!!

I’m waiting.

******

I’m a watcher of trees and of the sky and somehow I tend to notice… the beauty, the changes… even within moments. And I have asked myself if that’s kind of weird. But one post by a dear friend made me realize I’m not all alone. The reverence in her words humble me and I feel so glad that I know her.

Yay to the blog world!!

******

On teacher’s day…

Sis 1 started her career as a lecturer in an Engineering college. The opportunity came just by chance. She had never planned on becoming a teacher, nor had ever imagined herself to be one. But she took it up and ended up liking teaching.
Frequently she would crib about how things are in her professional setup, how its a thankless job and how the remuneration is just not worth the effort. Many times she has asked us to find something for her in the corporate world, though not fully comfortable with the idea herself. Each time, we would offer our own insights and comfort her that she is in the right place.

Most of all what strikes me about her profession is the opportunity to make a difference to others lives. And that I think is a big one. She is very committed to her work and is sincere when it comes to helping and guiding students. On more than one occasion, her efforts have been appreciated. Not only by the student, but also by the parents. Such moments give her a huge boost and we all feel very good about this. That at least a few students take the trouble to acknowledge the effort and make time to let their feelings known.

When I hear of such incidents from her, I almost always rue the fact that I never expressed such gratitude or said thanks to the teachers who touched my life and made a difference. I hope to make amends by expressing my thanks to my kids’ teachers and by teaching the kids to express their feelings to people who do make a positive impact on them… however small or big!!

Here’s to all the dedicated teachers who strive to shape up young minds for a better and hopeful tomorrow!!

Happy Teacher’s Day!!!

In hindsight :)

I opened a text file that has the list of known issues I’d documented for the application I test and saw this at the top…

Known issues – something is wrong with me… i’m nuts!!

Dunno when exactly I wrote it down but I must have been really worked up over something. Today, however, it made me smile a huge one

Many terribly upsetting things become so bearable and laughable too.. in hindsight!! So learn to chill and don’t take yourself too seriously… Pause n take a long breath when things seem difficult. Even write it down as I did… you never know when it’ll make you smile or laugh at it

Makes sense to you ?

Thinking out loud…

Is it important or even necessary to teach religion or religious texts in school? I was wondering about this after coming across this piece of news yesterday.

I studied in a school run by the Christian nuns. However, I dont remember having been made to read the Bible, or even parts of it. We used to sing some hymns though. There was never an attempt to impress upon us that Christianity is the best… at least I never felt that way. From what I’ve heard, some schools do make the children read from the Bible. Not sure what goes on in institutions run by Muslims.

For me religion is something that is personal. In the sense, something that guides you in your daily life. Not the rituals and other stuff. You could say, its more about values. What is needed today is that there be more focus on instilling values in the children rather than teach them out of religious scriptures or texts. Reading religious texts they can choose to do when they grow up and find genuine interest in doing so.

Some may argue that instilling values is the aim here too. But why through religion? Values are not specific to religion. Human values can be taught without getting religion/religious texts involved. People with a world view are the need of the hour and of the future … not religious fundamentalists!!

Friday Flowers!

The weekend is here already!

The past week, Adi was down with throat infection and missed school on 2 days. He’s better with medication. But seems like its now Ammu’s turn … coughing a bit and been feverish yesterday night. Its not very bad… but i hope it does not get aggravated. Some medication and rest during the weekend should see her through I hope!! God! I hope she wont have to go through antibiotics…

The happy thing is .. we have a meet coming up tomorrow.. the team mates from the old team. The first team which I worked with in the organization, the team in which I was for the longest time, which gave me a rich experience and some of the most memorable moments and friendships!! Most of them are working in different organizations now.. and we are meeting after a really long time. Thanks to the initiative of the guy who was our PM then

These dainty darlings we gave sis on her b’day They look like roses.. dont they? The stalks are so slender.. couple of flowers fell off even with a slight touch.. left us wondering if we made a good choice. They survived though .. and sis was delighted to receive them

I had seen them for the first time and the florist said they are from Ooty!! Googled some and found that they are called Lisianthus

That’s it for now!

Hope you all have a nice weekend