I know that...

..this is going to be a crazy week at work. My boss and I both go on vacation next week and there will be so much to get done this week. I am sure I will be logging in even during my vacation at least for half hour everyday.

DH may not be accompanying me on the vacation trip to meet my school mates - sigh! I am excited about the trip, to meet the girls after such a long time, but will miss him obviously.

....

Another work trip to Toronto for 2 days - nothing eventful other than a rather turbulent flight landing because of scattered showers in Boston. Luckily didnt snow much in Canada either. It was nice to see and be greeted by all colleagues. Also coincidentally enjoyed the Christmas lunch and was in time to receive the holiday gift card ;)

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A good long shower or bath is never the same if its not your bathroom in your own home. I acknowledge this to myself everytime I come back from a trip and shower at home! I might fall asleep sometimes (even though it rarely happens) if its not my bed, but a shower, naah!

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Madame Uncertainty is trying to creep into my life again - off you go!

There shall be showers of blessing!

There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

Routine

Work from home isn't fun - hopping from one room to the next to work and then hop to the next room after work to catch up with family life. Miss the hustle bustle at work - the gossip, the atmosphere and most importantly the monthly sample bag. Not to mention the time I spend on the phone and chasing people through endless emails and phone calls. After all its the question of ensuring the production line is running.......sigh!

I escaped a trip to Elkhart, Indiana this week, my very kind Boss went instead. But ended up working 14 hours for the last 2 days. Lack of sleep - exhaustion - less said the better about Monday and Tuesday.

I watched Khiladiyon ka Khiladi yesterday - pathetic movie. .....sigh! It had suddenly dawned on me to watch Akshay Kumar's Khiladi series ...bad choice!

.....

When will peace be restored in Mumbai? - everytime the citizens emerge stronger and try to move on with life. But the attacks are just getting out of hand. Not like it should happen to anyone ever - but Mumbai has been attacked so many times.... its scary, painful, frustrating.....CNN America certainly surprised us with the coverage of this attack in the US. Its the 3rd day today and they covered it completely and so did NPR and other Radio stations.

Life goes on - Thanksgiving sale, shopped a bit. Didnt seem like the economy had slowed down one bit - just need to check on the stats and see how the country fared - Thanksgiving spending. 'American Girl' was a surprise store, saw these red bags in everyone's hands and guessed it must be some typical American teenagers store and checked it out finally today. But turns out it is for really young American girls :), it had so many dolls and dresses for dolls etc and there was a whole session to dress the dolls being conducted in the store and the store actually styled the dolls hair as well. And all these little girls were getting their dolls hair styled just like theirs. It was a pretty site to watch:)

Watched 'Dostana' was an okay movie I would say overall - hadnt expected anything high/more from it anyway.

Royally lazying at home - doing nothing!

...this and that ...from the past!

When I was doing my 4th year of Bachelors in NZ I found exactly what I was looking for/to study after schooling in India - SCM it is!. Wonder why I took up Finance as my specialization in B.Com? (Hmm!) Well I was following the herd pretty much - deep down I knew I should have taken Marketing but went for Finance in my final year. Well the options I had for B.Com Professional course was - Finance, Marketing and Insurance. Actually I was looking for some specific Marketing papers and Finance papers and obviously that couldnt happen.

Even before that - after 10th grade I had no choice- for a person who did not want to take up Science or Engineering - the only option in outside colleges used to be CEC - Civics/Economics/Commerce. Luckily, my school had AEC - Accounts/Economics/Commerce (Oh I couldnt bear to do Civics either - maybe if it were History it would have been something to think about definitely! - though it was my best chance to go to a co-education environment) , so I chose AEC with Business Mathematics, English and Computer Science.

All the St Ann's students after 12th who did not take up Engg or Medicine had to go to St Francis - well that was sort of the norm - Bhavans was close to home and co education and an option but no Francis was a better college and in a better location. There 3 more years in Girls college.

Its funny I never thought about it, but until Masters I did not study in a co-educational enviroment.

As my New Years eve plans to meet up my school friends is brewing - school memories coming alive! Nothing has changed - that time it used to be permission. Yes! hours together we would spend on how we will ask parent's permission for night outs and parties and discussing what to wear and now though its no longer permission - the whole "planning" thing with a bunch of mates is just so much fun - we still behave like a bunch of high school girls - excited at every small thing, ...! :) and on that note its exactly been 10 years since I left school!

Thanksgiving!

Looking forward to Thanksgiving break. New Year eve's plans is driving me a bit crazy so decided to stay home for Thanksgiving.

Travel

Yet another work trip, this time Indiana again. Cold. Snow. First time driving experience when snowing for me. Flight delays. Almost the whole day was wasted and took 12 hours to get to Boston from South Bend - yes 3am to almost 3pm. I am never going back to mid-west in winter next time. Or at least not fly into smaller airports.

Environment friendly

Its been 3 weeks without a printer and I am managing my work well. Its a little hard at times but end of the day I am not wasting any paper. I hope I continue this way.

!

When being 'brutally frank' is not part of your personality it should not be forced. Chances are you will be burning bridges along the way!

!

गुज़रा हुआ वक्त भी याद करने पर दुःख ही देता हैं।

Maqbool

The hopeless me watched Maqbool in Youtube today on my laptop. I couldnt find it on Netflix or the Indian stores, so this was it! Obviously I didnt enjoy it as much as I probably could have on a bigger screen. But it was so dark, I knew it was based on Macbeth yet I expected it to be slightly different. I will not get a DVD and watch it again. Needless to say everyone acted pretty well. Lady Macbeth's character is I think one of the most interesting characters to play.

BFF

I caught a glimpse of Paris Hilton's my new BFF. And ----- I have no words! Eliminating a girl week after week to find her true BFF and directing what and how she expects her BFF to be. :)

USA's 44th President is elected (Finally!)

It was an interesting drama to begin with. Kind of lost touch in between with busy routine and then the drama stagnated. I quit following it. Finally yesterday Obama was elected and I dont know why I was kind of feeling a little emotional as well. (I am a very emotional creature but that's besides the point). It was somehow good to see such positive reaction from all corners of the world. Obama is such an inspiration - despite the kind of President he might be labelled to be at the end of his tenure. His journey to white house is admirable and should make Americans proud.

Need some speed!

Sometimes to make the most logical decision we keep evaluating a scenario way too much and thus delay the outcome, which is no longer as profitable as it would have been, had it been implemented sooner.

Halloween weekend etc

Halloween weekend was fun. My husband was very keen to get dressed for Halloween and got himself a scary attire and won the second prize at work even. Later that Friday night; it was nice to catch up with bunch of good friends in CT. These were the same friend's whose apartment we had helped paint when they had bought it few months back. It was nice to see how well they had transformed their home - a real makeover from what it was like when they got it. Rest of the DE gang had also come.

Finally elections results today - Thank God!

Making plans for Thanksgiving weekend next!

!

I am so hopeless!

2 weeks back to kill time - I watched the entire movie - Dil Chahata Hai on Youtube - Thanks to someone who uploaded it!

Excel

Cannot imagine work without MS Excel

bla! bla!

Sometimes its seems like we are living in a 'hyper age'

End of a chapter

My Canadian adventure has come to an end for now; almost. At the end of this journey I am tierd, content, proud, motivated, a bit more experienced, and a bit more grown-up. :)After taking a little over a year long break at home after my wedding was close to heaven. The H1B not happening in the first round was a blessing in disguise, like most things are in life - a surprise package. First time in my life I was cooking, running a household with the man I love, got to spend quality time with inlaws who visited me. Did all the pending things like finishing my thesis, volunteering at Red cross etc etc.

After a year when I was applying for my H1B second time, I realized I had the opportunity to work in Canada. I sent the paper work and there was no looking back I got the first job I applied for. And next thing I know I was working Toronto in freezing temperatures in March 2008. I wanted to work for 6 months and come back , but it got extended additional one month and finally this weekend I moved back for good. I am proud of myself and my husband for experiencing Canada the way we did it. A lot of them tried to rub it in how difficult it is to be away from husband and how they wouldnt ever do it themselves etc etc. I didnt care. I knew it was temporary and I guess P and I have that maturity ; love and understanding and the strength to survive even if it is long distance for a short duration. We were both excited and now fulfilled with my mini adventure.

Though I continue to work for the organization until they find a replacement for me ; so maybe it would be next 1-2 months until I completely transition out. I pretty much bid everyone good bye at Rexdale. It was nice to know that I made a difference to the organization and my absence would be felt. I thought 7 months would be too less for anyone to be missed. But this was such a fast paced environment. That from day 1 it was hands on, nobody had the time to do any training, I just picked up stuff on the go, and contributed in whatever way I could to the team and the organization and it was a great experience over all.

Husband came to pick me up and we drove back all the way from Toronto to Boston. It was a wet day and I was extremely concerned with the driving conditions. It took us good 10 hours over all. Immigration was quick and customs check was not even done.

I plan to take a break again over the winter months, finish up with this job sitting at home.

10/19/08

After having slogged the entire Saturday, I still have some pending things to finish at work. I wanted to finish it today, Sunday. But I dont think I will be able to finish it even today. This week touched 60 hours of work again already. And I thought it would be a short week with the Canadian Thanksgiving last Monday. If there is a lot of work to get done, holidays are a bane.

This and that

City: Not sure what it is about Toronto that is so appealing; something nice about the city over all.

Latest addiction: Starbucks Vanilla Chai Latte

Work load: blowing the roof-top!

पिया बसंती रे

Busy week!

Busy week again. 10/08 The good part was had the second Team building outing. Last time it was Dave & Busters and this time unanimously everyone agreed to go bowling. Had the usual Ice-breaker activity, we had to write down one lie and 2 truths about ourself on a piece of paper and circulate, we then had to pick a random paper (not ours obviously) and guess which team member it belongs to and guess which one was the lie. I did well, and my lie also was guessed correctly by fellow team member I guess after the initial couple of months there is nothing you can keep as a secret with your colleagues, like general stuff about your life. We then also had a quiz on Supply chain by our boss. And finally in bowling even though I didnt do very well. I won a $10 voucher for the person who bowled maximum number of splits. Not bad eh? ;) The only bad thing about the evening was the day at the office was so busy that evening when I got home it was past 10pm and I was exhausted, it took me two days to recover. Its irritating that anything different I do from routine on weekdays I get tierd. I need to do something about it , excercise...!

Dussehra festival passed like Ganesh Chathurthi, with no festivity or basic pooja! Considering how close the former is to my heart and I am not too happy with circumstances that have led to it. Well who am I fooling, last few weeks work has completely taken over. But I am hoping it will get better, like my boss keeps telling , ' there is light at the end of the tunnel' (apparently? :) ;) )

Canadian Thanksgiving on 10/13...

Deja vu ; Bachna ae Haseeno and the Last Lear: movies to watch for the weekend

!

Thought for the day: One does not become more Indian by merely 'living' in India and one does not become less Indian for choosing to live outside India.

One does not lose values, culture, traditions or relationships just because you live overseas. One does not lead a mechanical life surviving merely 'for money'. Some people choose to live that way where ever it is and some dont.

Cold

Its getting cold, colder by the day! Winter is almost here!

:)

..this and that..

Its been a 'wet' week. According to the forecast a few more rainy days ahead.

The fall colors have suddenly adorned the freeways, more prominent just within the last week.

And the American election drama continues - first Presidential debate was entertaining, (period)!

After a couple of friends expressed that perhaps I had lost weight, I thought I should check and indeed have lost 4 pounds!

Naseeruddin Shah starrer -'A Wednesday' was a good change after all the masala movies have been watching.

Work -has completely taken over me! No complaints but I still need to improve on my time management skills and control my weekend-lazy bones!

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

My body has become a haven for bacterial growth ; coming down with one infection after another and currently juggling two types of bacterial infections.

bla bla

Its sometimes hard not to attach 'intentions' to mistakes made by others.

....

Swamped at work....

Work...

There is seriously so much to learn about 'human behavior' and 'Psychology' at work. We can really surprise one another :) For example a new team member (who is still under probation) is absolutely taking liberty on something which one shouldnt be. I am sure it will come to bite the person very soon (if it has not already) - what was that person thinking? LOL

Increasing work load and some such silly behavior is totally keeping the team busy and entertained :)

One thing I realize is that 'group dynamics' is totally under-rated by some folks, when they join new organizations or teams.

Time

Time is flying /galloping /racing ....

Lost

Modesty, Humility and compassion, where art thou?


Some mortals really need you...

Great expectations

Sometimes....

Money can buy love and happiness to a great extent. Its not enough to just be there, to 'be there'. Verbal care and comfort has no value any more, even though thats all you have to give right now.

Dev Anand

में जिंदगी का साथ निभाता चला गया
हर फिकर को धुएँ में उडाता चला गया

बरबादियों का शोक मानना फिजूल था
बरबादियों का जश्न मनाता चला गया
हर फिकर को धुएँ में uda�

जो मिल गया उसी को मुक़द्दर समझ लिया
जो खो गया में उसको भूलता चला गया
हर फिकर को धुएँ में Uda�

ग़म और खुशी में फर्क न महसूस हो जहाँ
में दिल को उस मुकाम पे लाता चला गया
हर फिकर को धुएँ में Uda�






हम हैं राही प्यार के हम से कुछ ना बोलिए
जो भी प्यार से मिला, हम उसी के हो लिए
दर्द भी हमे कबूल चैन भी हमे कबूल
हम ने हर तरह के फूल हार में पिरो लिए
धूप थी नसीब में, धुप में लिया हैं दम
चांदनी मिली तो हम चांदनी में सो लिए
दिल पे आसरा किए, हम तो बस यूं ही जिए
एक कदम पे हस लिए, एक कदम पे रो लिए
राह में पड़े हैं हम कब से आप की कसम
देखिये तो कम से कम बोलिए ना बोलिए

Whats in a name?

I always thought that my preferred name is decently short, not too short - not too long (2 syllables). But people at work in Canada manage to cut it short even further (to one syllable). Thats as far as they can go, luckily, (before people's names start sounding like animal 'cries'). NZ they never did that at work some how. How much short do the names have to get? These days some of the new born kids parents are trying so hard, very hard actually to keep it short, well short & unique actually.

Society cockroach

Discrimination of any kind is ugly, bad and sad. As the world became aware of racial and colour/nationality discriminations being an unhealthy practice, probably we as this generation have improved on that front. But day to day discrimination based on merit, beauty, class still exists not just out on some street, or some news item, but it also haunts well educated and all classes and sections of families and society. As pessimist as I sound, I dont think some forms of discriminations will ever die.

It reminds me of the well enacted scene in 'Hum' by Amitabh Bachchan, who is drunk yet comes to warn his friend and uses an analogy of the cockroach to explain him an issue plaguing this society. There are two types of cockroaches he says, in this world. One that you see in the dirt and one in this society. The real cockroaches can be killed by the sprays, but unfortunately there are no sprays available for society cockroaches.

जाने वोह कैसे लोग थे जिनको .....

हेमंत कुमार:
जाने वोह कैसे लोग थे जिनके प्यार को प्यार मिला
हमने तो जब कलियाँ मांगी काटों का हार मिला

बिछड़ गया हर साथी देकर पल दो पल का साथ
किसको फुरसत है जो थामे दीवाने का हाथ
हमको अपना साया तक अक्सर बेजार मिला
हमने तो जब...

इसको ही जीना कहते हैं तो यूँही जी लेंगे
उफ़ न करेंगे लैब सी लेंगे आंसू पी लेंगे
ग़म से अब घबराना कैसा ग़म सौ बार मिला
हमने तो जब...

Montreal

Spent a day in Montreal for the labor day weekend. The drive from Boston is reasonable and its as close as NY is to the south. Moreover Vermont is a beautiful state to drive past. The weather was good and city was lively and busy. We went and saw the Olympic stadium and the Notre Dam Basilica church, rest of the time strolled on Rue Saint Catherine and Rue Saint Denis. We even tried a couple of Indian restaurants out of curiosity and they were pretty decent. There was a store that sold Nepalese clothes and knick-knacks which I particulary liked on Rue St Denis. Even outside on the way from Notre Dame Basilica church to the water front, there was an Indian store that sold Souvenir stuff that had Indian kurtas and middle eastern clothes which was really good. I was tempted as usual and got myself a kurta and P bought me this Nepali wrap-around skirt as well . The place reminded me of Auckland a bit, though the skyline is better than Auckland but Auckland is over all a bigger place as its the main commerical capital in NZ. The strong French culture truly makes it a "foreign" experience, which I really liked. The people spoke decent English though so it was not difficult at all.

The stroll on the water front also was pretty good. All in all I thought its a fantastic city to spend the weekend, small cosy, yet busy. The people were friendly and very bindas, had a good dressing sense and style too, a place where freedom is I guess personified, so you see all kinds and types of people and places (well though I even felt Toronto is 'freedom' personified). I am waiting to visit Montreal in winter and stroll in the underground city and do some shopping. Cirque du Soleil is the other thing that we didnt do as we didnt have enough time, though it can be seen in any other city, since its base is Montreal, I thought it would add that extra charm.

On Rue St Denis, it so happened that a cyclist squeezed in between 2 cars and waited for the red traffic light to turn green. One car passenger to the left of the cyclist opened the door without seeing the cyclist to get off and hit the cyclist who lost his balance fell on the other car to the right. The car from which a passenger had got off sped as the lights turned green and this car which had suffered a small dent due to the cyclist falling on that car, the driver got off that car and began mercilessly beating the cyclist. I was shocked, P got off to stop that guy, by this time the driver had lifted his cycle and was willing to throw it on that cyclist, a small thin college kid and the driver a middle aged and well built/obese man! Some lady started yelling in french, turned out there was a cop car, 2 cars behind us, for some reason no cop came forward for a few minutes. Our interpretation was he didnt want to go there alone, by the time the cop walked till that car driver and cyclist, 2 other cops joined him, and took them to the side to resolve the matter. Phew! it was such a mood off to see a person being beaten up like that all for a small dent on his Honda SUV, irrespective of whose fault it is.

All work!

Since I got back from my vacation 4 days in a row 14 hours of work. Time is just flying!

bla bla

Sometimes things can seem to go so wrong and yet turn out so right for you. And sometimes things can seem so right yet can totally go wrong. But either way most of the times it seems like it happened for a reason, the rest of the times seems erratic to me - that sporadic or intermittent demand as we would call it my DP world.

To Jamaica and back

Another check on my travel itinerary for life - Jamaica - Montego Bay and Negril; husband and I made a trip for our anniversary. This was the first trip officially we have had since we got married - just the two of us and to celebrate our anniversary. I enjoy spontaneous holidaying and dont particulary like those "very typical" holidaying that people do, religiously spend the first anniversary at Hawaii or Vegas, yep I find it typical and boring. This time I wanted to go to the Rockies and Banff in Canada and relax a day or two in Vancouver. I prefer the active sight seeing places where you can visit musueums, national parks, scenic drives - I basically need continous sight seeing actively, and travel across places, while my husband needs to relax, he just prefers going to one place and back and whatever activties it is do it in that very same place. Added Jamaica, Hawaii are in the bottom of my list of places to see cos the kind of fun I have had at the beach in Goa and Kovalam in India, I simply think nothing can beat that. I love the beach at Goa and thats it, nothing can match my country's beach. Hawaii might have that extra Polynesian culture attaraction, but which I also had the taste of while living in New Zealand, we had people there from all those Polynesian islands and I was even able to recognize Tongan and Samoan languages sometime back ;)

Anyway P won the battle and we picked Jamaica. As usual last minute packing and rushed to the airport. As soon as we landed it just seemed like a rural town in India. The resort by itself reminded me of coastal Karnataka/Kerala. The banana and coconut trees, the sultry weather etc. First day we explored the resort, checked out the options we had on things to do etc. Since it was a package most of the activities were included in our package including food and alcohol. From second day there was no looking back. We did para sailing and jet skiiing and went sailing. Jet skiing I had already done in Goa, but this time my husband himself jet skiied I was the pillion rider so it was a lot of fun, my husband did snorkling, took wind surfing lessons and happily wind surfed on the Caribbean sea while I enjoyed the Jamaican rum to the last drop (Rum punch/Pina Colada et al; I happen to really savor Rum, so I obviously enjoyed myself). Unfortunately I didnt enjoy para sailing at all, I was too scared to have my life hanging on to a rope, however strong it maybe, and I held on to the side straps so tightly, my arms really hurt for a day or two, while my husband didnt enjoy it for a totally opposite reason, he expected it to go higher and be more fun and he thought the guy ripped us off by taking us only for 10 minutes instead of a good half hour. No way I could have been hanging like that for 30 mins praying and scared! And now I wonder if I will ever sky dive or try the hot air balloon, sigh! Snorkling wasnt my thing either, I cannot imagine 'not breathing', I panic - so I didnt want to put myself through it. Maybe the only place I will force myself to give it a try will be Great Barrier Reef when ever it is, if I ever visit OZ.

We had some good veggie options available at all the restaurants at the resort. We especially enjoyed Zucchini cakes and vegetable kebabs. We tried the Thai restaurant at the resort, one of the days was international food special, so there was really good Italian food too. People were really friendly and approachable. Since they won all those medals at the Olympics while we were in Jamaica, it added that extra festivity. I believe a lot of Indians (Indian origin) are well settled in West Indes. The locals told us that all doctors are of Indian origin there. When I went to the spa, this lady looked totally Jamaican but was mentioning how her grand father was Indian and they all believe that Indians are really beautiful and people with mixed (east) Indian race are considered good looking in Jamaica, now that made me surely proud :) In fact at the spa, they totally played Hindustani music while I relaxed and had my massage and it was a great feeling (I enjoy Hindustani you see).

I have to admit 4-5 days on the beach was great fun. I actually lasted without getting antsy in one place for 5 days at a stretch while on a vacation, which is pretty good. The long walks, the sunset by the beach, and the amazingly soft sand (one of the softest sandy beach I have ever been too undoudtedly is in Jamaica). Not to mention I utlized all my beach wear and clothes which were not used for ages. My sample from work of Banana Boat sun block was utilized to the fullest, but yet we did get tanned a bit.

We also went to the Rick's cafe, apparently voted the among the 10 best cafes in the world. The cafe food by itself was ordinary, but the location was deadly! The sunset was absolutely beautiful. The whole setting was very serene to look at yet the place was very lively, with tourists, a local band entertaining guests with Reggae. And I happened to taste the strongest Rum based drink ever here.

Our journey back wasnt as smooth as the flight to Jamaica, unfortunately the plane had some issues and didnt take off at Montego bay, and passengers were all put up in Ritz Carlton, but the whole day was wasted at the airport. US Airways gave us 5 different reasons every hour (mechanical issue/maintenance issue/ a red light that wont turn off/ reconfiguring something - the highlight was when the pilot announced if he could borrow someone's cell phone to call US and get some instructions from the service center at Pittsburgh or somewhere in the US) and finally the airline said we will only leave next day at 8am and we had to leave Ritz at 5:30am the next day to get there in time. Ritz Carlton was absolutely stunning, a huge hotel, but unfortunately I was tierd to enjoy it and since we had to be at the airport early morning we barely did anything that evening. I was kind of unhappy of losing an extra day vacation at work because of this too. Next day morning, we check in as usual at the airport and the 8am becomes 9am and then it becomes 10am. The pilot and crew members arrive just in time before boarding the 10am flight. And you should have seen the reaction, passengers were absolutely bugged. Obviously the crew members knew in advance it would be that late but just cos the airlines didnt want so many passengers having breakfast at the Ritz they made everyone get up so early and caused inconvenience was the conclusion drawn by everyone. Well the dinner was very expensive at Ritz and then the stay for all the 150 passengers, so I can imagine feeding the plane full of passengers again with breakfast was too much for the airline. They however issued us breakfast coupons of $12 each at the airport, so now that rumor was confirmed. Then the reason we were told for delay to 10am is cos Charlotte airport's customs opens only at 2pm. Ah! so the airlines knew this in advance and they just fooled us and kept us waiting since early morning? I didnt care I just wanted to be in US at that point of time. Passengers were swearing, cursing and taking oaths to never visit Jamaica again. Well I dont know if the country is to be blamed for US Airways cheap tricks but I guess people end up remembering the inconvenience more than how much fun past few days of vacation might have been. But the airline did give some travel vouchers to passengers after reaching Charlotte. And that was another drama, they issued it to some passengers, who advised us to go pick it up as well and when we went to the counter, the person tried to pretend there was no such vouchers that were ever given. I pursued and argued and finally he gave it to us. Hopped on to our flight to Boston and was glad to be home.

Back home, there is so much to catch up, work/emails, friends, family, etc etc Back to routine. Now Jamaica feels like as if it were a dream. Yeah Mon! :)

Vande Mataram

Its unstoppable!

I shared something with 2 of my team members trusting it wouldnt leak and also strictly told them not to. Next thing I know the Operations Manager of the plant is talking about that very same thing to the Production Planning Director who comes and tells my boss the Demand Planning director. My boss obviously knows about this but told me about it. I was shocked, and numb for 10 minutes.

The only reason I shared it with them cos they were seniors and kind of close to me and I didnt want it to be a surprise to them when the news came out, more out of basic courtesy and respect as well. I guess I should have known better. They have been there for 10 years now and me not even 10 months. Who would they be close to ? Me or those handful of other chums who have been working with them for all of those 10 years. Doh! what was I thinking? Anyway there's always a first time for everything in life - once bitten twice shy though!

Phew! news indeed travels like wild fire!

Travel talk

I am so surprised the reasons for which Qantas airlines has been in news off late. I guess its reputation has probably deteriorated. It was easily one of the best airlines comparable to Singapore airlines. Last 10 days 3 times it has been in news for some leakage, then a big hole and now apparently a quarter of the jets didnt fly due to some inconsistent record keeping, all leading to emergency landing. I even read that when a jet was sent to be serviced at Malaysia it came back with some 95 odd defects. I guess I am flying so much these days that I am up to date with all this stuff :) Qantas staff also are adding to its woes I guess, even crew members were caught misbehaving.

Singapore airlines has yet again been voted #1. Its been ages since I flew on S'pore airlines, should try to take it sometime during international travel. While Air New Zealand was # 8. I couldnt find any Indian airlines in the rankings.

I am sure even if fuel costs reduced, airlines will continue the hiked cost and charges for checking in baggage! Its so unfair that prices just keep rising due to rising fuel costs but never decrease when fuel costs decrease, anyway like thats gonna happen!

I havent done international travel in a while and I am itching to go somewhere now with my adorable P. Doh! what have I been doing 2 times every month on an average last 5 months, flying up and down between Canada and US? :) Naah! that doesnt feel like international travel at all!

Timepass

I am addicted to the Traveller IQ challenge in Facebook.....I just dont want to stop playing it!

When it rains, it pours!

Thunder storms and lightening to add special effects!

I am a little exhausted today....I wonder at times what is it that I am chasing? a dream? a mirage? whatever it is - does "it" really exist?

Nostalgic...

Irony

A basic water proof/resistant eye liner $17
A basic eye makeup remover $13

Talat Mahmood

It took me a while to get the right / original version of this song, due to differences in spelling :)

Bugged!

They say dont count your eggs before they hatch. Mine hatch, with great difficulty and the chicken go missing.

I end up using some weird analogies as I hate publishing my personal problems - sigh!

Routine

Last few days the Voldemort effect kind of started again. I will ignore and let it pass. Spent the long weekend in Boston (Civic Holiday in Canada). Looking at the bright side, the courteous immigration officer when entering Canada last night made my day. My kind Manager bought us coffee and I really needed it this morning. A person who I had least expected at work openly appreciated my work today. Thank you for that Ms you made my day! :) I am spending more times in meetings now, the sun care season has started and I manage a key sun care customer. So it is going to be extremely busy for me going forward. I realized the other day that as much as I appreciate other industries, I would personally prefer working in the CPG or Food/Beverage industry - basically products that appear more alive to me :) I wonder what its like to work in the Hitech industry - I cannot associate myself with it :), nevertheless I would give it a try when the time is right and if it works out I guess.

New product trial

Aveeno clear complexion floaming cleanser is a must try!

Work trip

Number of women traveling on work is dis-proportionately low to men.

Feet back on the ground...

...Needed the surprise to bring me back to reality!

Woh beete din...

I remember this video used to come so often in some channel called ATN I think or was it Zee....,anyway some years back... Singer: Tanya Singh

As you like it

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
........

William Shakespeare

चाहे जो तुम पूरे दिल से मिलता है वोह मुश्किल से.......

हर घड़ी बदल रही है रूप जिंदगी, छाव है कभी, कभी है धूप जिंदगी, हर पल यहाँ जी भर जियो, जो है समां, कल हो न हो ......

..bla bla...

Is it just me? - I find Katrina Kaif so boring and expression-less. First time I watched Race I didnt even notice her, second time realized she was lousy. I mean there are bad actresses but she is not an actress at all. She should stick to the ramp.

As the count down begins... I have been watching movies, same movies over and over again. I watched Tashan and Salam-e-Ishq and Race second time, I am hopeless :)

....now you know why some of these movies run... ;)

Isnt honesty the best policy?

I dont like my personal belongings to be touched/used in my absence. No this is not an 'only child syndrome' (or is it? ....whatever!). I dont mind when common things are lying outside and people use them when they really need it, its common sense of what can be used and what cannot be. But digging into my drawer and picking things and using - Naaah! I am sure it is that way with most people. Unless they belong to that accepted close circle of people, no way anyone likes aquaintances do that. Naturally when this hapened to me the other day, I had to inform this person I dont like or appreciate it. Obviously this person didnt take it well. I think this person thought I wouldnt notice, but it was too obvious! Was I rude? My mother thinks I should have let-go of it! I didnt try to argue or be 'rude' I just plainly informed the person. This person was definitely hurt. I do feel bad for that, but what about my feelings, I feel total invaded of my privacy - does that have no value? Was there any other way of dealing with this situation?

At work....

At work this morning a couple of colleagues of mine and me were making coffee and someone walked in really bubbly and chirpy. I am not as upbeat these days myself. This other girl was just about complaining of a headache when this bubbly person arrived and eventually left. This girl with the headache cringed, why is she so happy? I said good for her, I wish I was as bubbly this morning too. And this girl blurted, no its not that, she should look around and see how some others may not be having as good a day as her and mellow down a bit..................Hmmm!

The use of bad language at work is really on the rise. The work load is increasing and so is people swearing. I am really surprised at the way people are swearing in this organization! And at school I used to be very quick at picking those commonly used phrases in conversations, now I am really trying hard not to pick those words, but my language in general has changed a bit definitely. Like the way I express myself these days etc.... which is good I guess sound more like a Roman when in Rome eh? :) (I dont mean the accent obviously! doh!)

I hate that there is no free water to drink - one of those water coolers, at work. I dont like drinking water from the tap somehow other than at home. I have to buy water each time I am thirsty from the vending machine, sigh! and as you know water is expensive, it costs even more than gas! I dont know why no one complains in the outside world of cost of water as much? I complained to HR to begin with at work - no use!

Au Revoir NZ

My parents are moving back to India. They had moved to make my life comfortable in NZ when I was studying and working; but now with me in America, they decided to move back. As long as my parents were there I had that association and ties to NZ. Its a very strange feeling, now of being cut off with NZ. Sigh! I definitely feel the bond, but memories of NZ seem very distant, now. In fact the other day when I called customer service in NZ for something, I realized how much I missed the accent and the friendly people. I realized I missed Ellerslie, the Indian ghetto where I stayed on Ballarat Street, University of Auckland, Fonterra, Queens Street. I missed the Harbor front, Stagecoach service, that tasty chow mein at Panmure, St Luke's mall/Dressmart (which seem so very small in size)... I realized I missed a lot of things. Of course and didnt miss a few things especially the crazy weather - rain during winters! Eeeks! :) I am really grateful for the opportunities and the experience the country has provided me. NZ will never be the same as what India is to me, obviously. But NZ has its own special place in my heart.

Time

The clock seems stuck!

... bla bla

A team member at work is leaving. No impact whatsoever on anything or anyone.

Sometimes I wish there were set laws for 'the life'. Everything organized and compiled in a neat book and known to man. Yes boring and predictable with no suspense and surprises. I am in one of those restless moods again and it makes perfect sense to me .....

Ah! but did they say peace prevails where reason rules?

This and That

Surprisingly had a decent Monday today. I shouldnt be saying it out loud for fear of jinxing myself (yeah I seriously believe I can jinx myself ). I am oneof those Monday-haters, for whatever reason I never sleep well Sunday nights and am all grumpy on Monday mornings, dont talk to anyone that much and act as if the whole world is on my head. I get over it post lunch. (Sometimes I wonder why am I so typical?)


I stopped over to buy some juice for myself on the way back from work, the store was out of stock on the brand I wanted. Fine! went to buys some yoghurt, and the employees didnt stock any of those yet. Fineee! I will eat the not-so-good-for-your-health stufff! bought myself choclate glazed donuts!!!

BTW when I was down with cold all weekend this one 'Troggs' song kept me going :)

Public transport

The other day in a really packed bus, a man got in and was standing beside me, minding his own business, reading his book and listening to music. Another man was trying to get past and go further inside the bus and stand there. He didnt have any room to walk in further. And then started his tantrums. He yelled and abused this man for not moving. This poor guy was engrossed in his book/listening to music and didnt see him come. He asked him why he didnt tap him on his shoulder and ask to be excused. That other guy refused to listen and went on and on. Why are people so rude and impatient?, sometimes ready to take their frustrations out at the slightest inconvenience.....

Is it fair?

People will always judge you based on a lot of things, but this is just the limit. So was Priyanka Chopra's complexion the only reason Saif left her? And Neha Dhupia's complexion the only reason he was with her. MOG! I hope not!

g

Cruel, cruel summer :)

Fever and sore throat, even took a half-day off yesterday.

Didnt realize a small bag of Halls is that expensive - 5 bucks for 25 Halls drops! Phew! Well and I never thought I'd talk of increased prices and cost of living either for that matter. 'Something' I'd only expect to hear from Grandparents and parents generation. Well then I guess 'somethings' dont change (?!!)

July 4 th weekend etc.

As if travelling on work isn't enough. I am also travelling to meet friends :) Not a complaint exactly. Had loads of fun this long weekend. Flew into Newark where P came to pick me up and we drove to Wilmington, DE to a friends' place. They were having a pooja at home and the whole gang gathered as usual. Long chats (and being silly), music and dance, BBQ in the park and non stop eating and playing cards all night long would summarize the weekend :) The kids population in our gatherings is on the rise (sigh! I am growing old eh?) The highlight was that we played dumcharades (not sure if thats how its spelt) after a very long time and it was lot of fun and yes it ended in a (friendly) argument, as it usually does (drilling down into some rules of the game ;)

I haven't been a very athletic kid and to be honest my stamina is poor (people who know me will vouch for that). But after looking at some of my friends (well they are few years older to me and thats why all the more ...) I really want to be indefatigable like them. They cooked all night after dancing (marination for BBQ food; I tell you it can be pretty strenous) :) ; hardly slept and organized the whole BBQ and completed the BBQ-ing (standing all day). After coming back home after dinner continously played cards - Phew! Sometimes I wish I could store energy; like a camel stores water :) catch up later with all my sleep after 2-3 days of merrymaking - sigh! I get so cranky without food and sleep ....

Also managed to stop at Oaktree Rd this time on the way back to Newark airport. Hogged Pau Bhaji (the Galaxy guys never disappoint me with Pau Bhaji) and cut mirchi and ended with the meetha paan.

Another thing however small I finally accept is no matter how expensive your shoes are - (good brand/good quality etc I mean) they might still end up giving you a shoe bite! :)

Finally back in Toronto Sunday night and it took me 2 whole days to catch up with all my emails - backlog leads to more backlog - trying to catch up with old emails and you end up not answering the latest.....

Canada Day

I worked today on July 1st Canada day as I chose to take July 4th off instead. The otherwise busy subways and buses were empty today. Makes me wonder why US and Canada dont share the same holidays? Its anyway most of the times a few days apart. I guess they want to maintain their identity - fair enough!

10:30 pm I am finishing pending stuff at work and can hear fireworks outside my apartment window followed by the emergency sirens and in between can hear the flights just before landing and immedeately after take-off. It would be so empty without this noise, I value the presence of mankind around me (atleast most of the times ;) ) :))

Voldemort effect?

I hope it was one off and not series of it. I felt it last couple of days - brought back the lousy 2007 memories. crib! crib!

Anyway spent more time at airports than anywhere last couple of days. My flight from South Bend to Chicago was cancelled and passengers advised to take a bus instead. A 3 hour bus ride, but got to see some parts of Indiana I wouldnt have ever chosen to go and see. The United Airlines employee was unable to rebook me from Chicago to Boston (cos I would miss my connection due to the delay in reaching O'Hare). She said all flights were booked and she would wait list me - yes the next 2 flights to Boston and even to Manchester (NH).

I sat in the bus and called the United customer service and one very kind Indian customer service rep over the phone helped me and booked me with a confirmed seating. It will remain a mystery as to why the employee at South Bend could not do the same! (BTW wonder if United has outsourced their customer service to India, I seem to be getting quite a few Indians over the phone, should ask next time. I am calling United every week these days, following up my mileage rewards etc)

The bus was packed with students from University of Notra Dam returning home for holidays, kept me entertained with their views on religion, food, and so on.

Once I got to Chicago airport, I just had 40 minutes to board the plane once the bus reached the airport. I thought I will skip check in and just carry on and find a zip lock to stuff my liquids. But realized it was easier to check in than go hunting for a ziplock. Learnt my lesson. I always ensured I carried liquids less than 4 oz s that in case of lack of time I neednt check in, never realized I need a ziplock bag too. Realized the flight was late by an hour. Ate dinner, coincidentally a great middle-eastern sandwich - or was I too hungry as I had skipped lunch?

After boarding the plane, the crew member announced that some valve in the fuel tank had to be changed. it delayed by another hour. Finally reached Boston at 12:30 am instead of 8:30pm Friday night.

My return flight Sunday night to Toronto too same story; delayed by 2 hours and finally reached at 12am almost. This is not even half the Voldermort effect I experienced though.....the remaining best left unsaid. I have to move on.

Cross border travel by road and some work travel again

I thought my last bus trip from Toronto to US would be the last one. But it wasnt. This time I was to travel whole week in US on work so decided will spend 2 consecutive weekends in Boston. So I made the trip from Toronto to Boston this time Friday night. Toronto to Niagara/Buffalo - a fairly smooth immigration. BTW I managed to click a couple of pictures. One is the entrance of the immigration officer cells, in which they sit and conduct their check at the border. The other (not so clear picture) is how the trucks crossing the border get scanned. It was interesting to see this small truck carry a piece of scanning equipment that went all around the trucks and scanned them.

Then the bus directly took me to Syracuse from Buffalo (no stop at Rochester - Thank god! and hence no extra Border Patrol officer check either). At Syracuse had a layover of about 1 hour. It was around 2am and the bus to Boston was to arrive at 3am. I relished the Dunkin Donuts coffee to the last drop.

Then an elderly Canadian lady and I started talking. She told me about her life. How she got married at 18 had a kid at 18 and her son got married at 18 and had kids at 19-20 years. How she had eloped to marry an Air Force officer in Michigan and settled in Rhode Island after marriage. And eventually after his death moved back to her home town in Canada (North of Toronto somewhere). It was interesting. This time I also I didnt sleep much. But managed to doze for 5-10 mins about 3-4 times. The break at Albany around 6am was lousy. Mainly cos the bus station as mentioned earlier was dirty (mainly the Restrooms). The driver this time again had issues finding the way - exits and getting back to the freeway. And this time it was a male driver, so obviously he wouldnt ask for directions (the female driver last time, promptly stopped and asked, such an obvious difference in approach :)). I got off at the Newton Bus station, which was very close to home (5 minute drive) and husband came to pick me up.

Relaxed over the weekend completely. Even watched Sarkar Raj. It was a total surprise that Abhishek gets killed. Monday evening I flew to Philadelphia, had a meeting with the customer at Dover in DE. This time I decided to save my company some money and stay with friends at Wilmington instead of Dover Downs. So I drove to the meeting Tuesday morning at Dover. Got back and stayed with another friend (whose house was closer to the Philly airport and I had an early flight to South Bend via Detroit, Wednesday morning).

Wednesday today here I am in Elkhart Indiana, this small town about half hour away from South Bend. So it has been busy travel week. But this time the GPS with the car rental was a huge plus, last time I wasnt too comfortable with it in DE. At South Bend, being a small place, the car rental folks dont carry navigation systems, so luckily I had the Google maps printed to help me.

Have some meetings here and plant tours to attend then again fly back to Boston on Friday via Chicago this time.

Jail return

The other day in the bus, a caucasian man (maybe in his 30's) got up and went to the driver and asked if the next stop is Kipling station (bus terminal). The bus driver said yes. Then he started talking loudly that how he had just got out of the jail and everything has changed so much. For a second there was a silence in the bus. A girl and I exchanged glances, gave that man one look and almost felt uncomfortable. Did he just say Jail - and he was so casual about it? The person started swearing and said how he avoids cops, he hates talking to them and sounded a bit hyper. The driver said calm down and take it easy. Phew!

This just happened in a matter of minute or two. For some reason I get really uncomfortable if I hear (I avoid hearing) anything to do with violence, crime/criminals and people who have completely lost their mental balance. Maybe being too judgemental and even a coward? I really understand its not an easy life for this person, what ever it is he has done, whatever it is he was punished for; but........

DJ

First time I have seen a store - a retail outlet for the brand 'Roots' in Toronto (Eaton Mall) having their very own DJ.

New product trial

I seem to have fallen in love with 2 of J&J products:

1. No more tangles - leave in moisturizer
2.Clean & Clear soft in shower facial

Fine lines

Is there really a fine line between 'showing concern' and 'interference' ?

Is there?

Hero - Early 80's

Betab: Early 80's

Busy week ...

Where do I begin. Last weekend husband and I decided to meet up somewhere in the US for his birthday. I didnt care where. Unfortunately air tickets were too high for my last minute plan to meet him, so I decided to take the Greyhound bus one way and fly back, return to Toronto. Now starts the adventure. I have never travelled alone in an overnight road trip, and that too in a bus. Back home we took overnight buses to Bangalore from Hyd (when we had to make urgent trips) or from Bangalore to Udupi even, but again never travelled alone there even. And here I am also talking cross-country. Phew! Whatever I gathered about the journey online and from an aquaintance I was informed the US immigration is at its worst at Buffalo/Niagara. Well how worse can it get I thought anyway, took the bus from Bay, Street in Toronto. The bus started half hour late and was packed till Niagara. An African descent woman going to Georgia and I started talking and time flew, did not realize when the immigration booths came up. She shared her story, as to how she was going to bring her daughter back in Canada after a divorce etc. Now I was taking the bus to Albany, NY and my husband was suppose to come and pick me up there, we decided we will spend a night there somewhere nearby or drive back to Boston whichever.

Anyway the whole set up was so eerie at the immigration. I dont know what 'image' the American Customs and Immigration wants to create for itself, but they surely are successful in making even an honest person nervous. My immigration went ok, straightforward. Customs too, they made everyone remove their bags from the bus obviously and checked. Somehow they opened everyone's bags/suitcases and skipped me. Thank god! I thought, this time I was carrying dirty laundry back home too (all my formal wear and winter wear that I wouldnt need), I spared him the stink.

Anyway the bus then dropped the passengers of to Buffalo and everyone had to get off and take their respective buses to wherever it is we were going. My bus driver from Buffalo to Albany didnt appear so they had to call a replacement, further delay. Finally we started, we were a bunch of very different people in the bus I must say. A Mexican who kept staring at me for some reason, an African American older lady going to see family who kept smiling at me. A British traveller in his 30's. A student from Tajakistan. A senile old genetleman behind me going to see his son who is now 23 years old, apparently, and was 2 years when he had last seen him (probably another divorce story). This man kept hallucinating and talking to himself the whole night. (Yes! sad and scary, but no sleep for me!). And then a teenage girl or boy, honestly I couldnt make out the sex, dressed in black with all that silver jewellery, looked very wierd and smoked at every busstop non stop, barely in her/his mid teens, looked like one of those satan worshipper/ cult person. And me :) Traveling is indeed interesting, each traveller has a story. And if you sit back and watch/observe people you can almost read their stories...... The bus then took off, and I tried my level best to sleep. But didnt happen, the seat beside me was vacant (2 seater) but not enough for my long legs. Next stop was Rochester, and my lovely bus driver couldnt find the bus stop. A street was cornered off by Police (something had happend as there was debris all over the closed road) so my driver after taking the exit, honked and asked the cop for the bus station which was very close to that street cornered off my the police (it just kept getting wierd) and there we were greeted by Border Patrol personnel. He religiously came and checked each of our passports and even asked a couple of questions to some of the passengers. US citizens and GC holders didnt need to show passports, just picture ids. And how would he recognize them? As long as they speak their accent and are blue-eyed caucasians is it? I thought and rolled my sleepy eyes. Some passenger didnt have his GC so the Officer called the immigration from his cell phone plugged in his last name and some other id that person was carrying and checked his credentials. Oh yes! I was surprised in the detailed and quick inspection once again. This was something new apparently according to a co-passenger who travels up and down via bus on this route. It reminded me of some movie where this happens, (too sleepy to think of the movie, but the immigration at Niagara reminded me of Babel, where the nanny with kids is trying to get back into the US). The bus station and people and the whole setting at Rochester was not pleasing, thank god I dont live there. And pretty much this driver (who I realized was new) needed directions to find the bus stations after taking the exits. And like I can sleep now when I know the driver dosent know the way? Yeah right! :) And then there was this Asian/Chinese passenger who kept complaining when it got cold with the air conditioning, he was my spokesperson, thank god for him, he spared me from requesting the same each time to the driver. He would exactly start complaining to the driver to reduce the air conditioning when I was feeling cold. And then when it would start getting warm and stuffy, complain again to make it cooler. Ok now definitely I cannot sleep.

The next biggest stop was Syracuse. Where more people got in, more young people actually. The bus was full but luckily I still got to keep my seat empty beside me to stretch. Finally I arrived at Albany and was happy to get off and see my husband. P, had to drive 2 hours to be there - started 4 am to be there at 6am to pick me up from Boston. Albany bus station was as deserted as it could be at that hour, thank god husband had arrived before I did. And then P announced we will spend the weekend in some sort of resort. He hadnt mentioned this to me so it was a surprise. Yes, his birthday was the next day, I got there informing him in advance and he surprises me. I guess I am proud in that sense, at the level of our relationship. Instead of a stereo type way of me landing in Boston, giving a surprise and getting a cake ....; you know the whole birthday paraphernalia, I mean? Anyway I tried to sleep as P mentioned it was couple of hours drive (I didnt sleep a wink in the bus).

Finally we got to PA and it was the Poconos, Ceasars resorts. Awwwww! it was so romantic. We had a great weekend there. Simply great - jacuzzi and a pool in our suite, in our very own suite what else to say. P is great at such things, sometimes subtle gestures which make me really happy and blush!! (Indeed small gestures like this are treasure for a life time). He was a very romantic person when I met him when I was 17 and he is still now after almost 10 years ;). We had taken Monday off, so we drove to Boston back after spending couple of nights, listening to some hindi songs of the late 80's and early 90's (who yes all the Maine Pyar kiya times) and I flew back to Toronto Monday night. And then there was delay again due to thunderstorms, I reached 3 hours late. Did you know that the ground staff are not allowed outside during thunderstorms? Union rules apparently, not sure just in Canada and US or everywhere. So my plane was at the gate but we/passengerd had to wait, as we were safe there but couldnt get the staff come out until the storm settles, to let us in. And finally after reaching home I couldnt sleep either, cos it was one of the most horrific thunders I have heard in my life. It was like the world was coming to an end or something (or I would expect that bad rumbling of clouds when something really untoward is happening). Hence had the grumpiest of Tuesday mornings ever.

And since then work! work! work! - presentations, customer issues, production issues, technology issues and this was all amid team building session with our boss and supply chain team 2 nights in a row! ......and this weekend in Toronto more work! Sigh!

Ketchup & me

I can eat Ketchup with practically anything. And especially the Indian Maggi 'Hot & Sweet Tomato chilli sauce' :) - Rice - Pulao/Biryani and Fried rice, Pizza, noodles (Maggi & Chinese), Pasta, Poha and some types of Dosa (Pesarattu), Indian snacks,.....etc

Expect the unexpected

Somehow I always thought that Hillary Clinton would win. Even during the latter half of elections, when it looked like Obama would, still I thought she would make it narrowly. I wasnt following it as closely as I would if I were in the US last 3 months, nevertheless I am surprised!

Acceptance

'You will never 'belong' unless you participate and take ownership' - not sure where I read this!

Therapeutic

Shopping is therapeutic indeed. Went to Eaton mall today, it's good that once you get off at the Dundas station you walk into the mall. After a not-so-impressive Vaughn Mills mall couple of weekends ago, this was a relief. Wanted to visit the 'Mango' store since ages, I wasnt impressed but I can check that off in my list of to-do things. I quite liked the Canadian 'Roots' store. Though limited stuff I liked it overall. A couple of other stores such as Zara and other European brand had better stuff here than in the US I thought. Or maybe since I havent checked the spring collection out in my Natick Mall near home as yet.....

I wonder what it is with shopping and choclate shake and me. I shop better or in better spirits when I am sipping choclate shake - this time it was Baskin Robbins.

A region called South Canara

Dark clouds with sun playing hide and seek in between them, puddles on the streets, smell of firewood, sound of the rain water, brick houses ....remind of South Canara. Suddenly today, miles away in Toronto, sitting in the subway, when it rained and I came across a green patch, and the smell of firewood ,reminded me of my family's place of origin, Udupi.

Some associations and memories - Udupi:

Udupi Shree Krishna, Kuthpadi, Narsimha Swamy temple at my ancestral house, Malpe beach, Gadbad ice cream, the bus ride to Manipal, smell of firewood, piping hot rasam, sound of rain water, Aane Gudde, Mookambika trips, banana chips made in coconut oil, chaklis, jackfruit - chips and vegetable/jeev gujje (never liked the fruit), long beans/alsande, banana leaf-meals, long walks exploring Kuthpadi and and greeting people in konkani/amchigele and kannada. ....... a different kind of a paradise on earth.

Spring rolls!

Had the tastiest veggie spring rolls some days back when P was down here in Toronto. At this place called Spring Rolls. This is the best I have had after Mainland China in HYD, Slurp! (have to mention that Nan King was pretty bad when I visited HYD 2 years back).

Madrasi

Why are some people from the rest of India still so ignorant? I was thinking this whole concept of 'all South Indians being Madrasis' was gone with the last generation and this generation would be more aware of Southern India. Apparently not, I witnessed this ignorance through an aquaintance the other day.

Recharged at Chicago

Almost got a second consecutive long weekend - almost! My husband's good friend's wife's baby shower was in Chicago and it also was a kind of reunion of his batchmates from CBIT - Engineering college. A big bindas group; so was good hanging out. And one of them actually acted in Telugu movies too, so that added some spice. I wish I had taken Memorial day off, greedily went to work taking a morning flight from Chicago and after being with a big group for 3 days; I was antsy and sleepy all day.

This is the second big gettogether we have had after New Years and realized that it was like an Indian wedding setting. Where in all family gather few days prior to the wedding, and due to lack of space to sleep howmuch ever big the house maybe, people pretty much sleep where ever you find space ;) Kids busily running around. Ladies cooking and talking. Television running nonstop songs and Indian movies et al But doing the same things for less smaller occasions than wedding and outside India is something of an achievement to me truly.

Back in Toronto I am recharged for the next few days atleast ;)

Observation

Neither money nor education can neccesarily bring 'class' in a person.

ANTM

Thanks to Youtube followed the whole season of Americas' next top model. Whaaaat? A woman needs her guilty pleasures you know....!

Jinxed!

I am almost convinced now that I am jinxed in one section of my life. Added to it - the unavoidable mankind; some people have reached expert level in the field of jinxing me...and yes dutifully have been trying to avoid them.

Victoria day - Long weekend

My husband came down and we spent a quiet and good long weekend in Toronto for Victoria's day. Went around Toronto downtown and saw even the CN Tower, though somehow I thought we would skip it (done with tall towers and all you know!). But the experience was good. My husband simply loved Toronto as well! We also visited Little India and had some great food and did some window shopping. A couple of stores also made fresh sugar cane juice, sold chaat etc out in the open, India-style. And then spent some time at the Vaughan mall as well.

Totally sleep deprived and distracted at work today!!! Yawnnn!

Know thy self ...

There are genuinely intelligent people, there are not so intelligent but hardworking people, there are average people (who manage!), then not so intelligent people but smart enough to manage with their PR skills and various such permutations and combinations. But whats with totally complacent people? Complacency at work has actualy started annoying me now!

Know thy self mate, its survival of the fittest! I dont think there is anything called 'job security' now, we all know that dont we? sadly 'restructuring' can be just round the corner!

Boston pedestrians

Boston is the only city I have seen so far where the pedestrians are given high priority on the road, and well the drivers actually respect and follow the rule by giving way!

कभी कभी

सब्र का फल मीठा होता है, पर कभी कभी काफी इंतज़ार करने से , फल की मीठास कम हो जाती है ।

Necessity is the mother of invention!

......Oh Yeah!!!

Figured out something today cos I had no choice; however small and insignificant, I avoided doing such things earlier cos I didnt know how to and didnt want to observe and learn.

P, You will be even more proud of me today ;)

Nobody said it was easy!

As banal as it sounds, its true. To empathize is a lot easier than actually going through a situation. I know a person who went through a rough patch and her way of dealing with it was to shut off from the world. Other people criticized, that as much as we empathize and know its hard and tough, this is not the way to react! I thought but would I have reacted differently? maybe yes/maybe not. But I respect that individual's decision. And in the end well we all survive dont we? if we want to live we will endure it, we have no choice. But only the person going through it knows the real pain. Just to say that it depends on how you see things, or its not as bad as it seems and so on and so forth is not totally right. But the fact is our thought-process changes when we are actually going through the same situation. It might seem to you as an impractical way of dealing with hardship or pretty stupid that the person is getting so religious/senti or supersitious.

As much as you want to consider yourself practical and strong, no one can share the pain small or big, but you have to acknowledge to yourself that perhaps if you were actually, actually going through it, you would have also reacted the same way!

The reason I pen this down to re-iterate to myself is cos I reacted to a situation recently by criticizing as well, and realized its not quite right...

Summer transport

Its fun traveling by subway to work (so far) but its not very bright (literally!). I got home by bus today and it felt good to be traveling out in the open, and on land with the warmth of the summer sunshine than the dark (and now I feel slightly gloomy, remember I mentioned earlier I associate subways with 'Law and Order') underground (most of the times except here and there) subway! Bus is a better transport during summers,perhaps.

Blasts! yet again..Jaipur this time

This happens, now and then to remind all of us - of the other part of the world - thats gory! Its frustrating, makes us angry, targeting innocent people for one's causes, beliefs and frustrations, UNACCEPTABLE! The images hurt, deep inside. And then its typically at a religious place or on a holy day or some such concept (pricks even more!). Reminds us of one of the causes of uncertainty in developing nation as India. This could be any of us! Time passes and we survive! (do we have a choice?), we have to move on; and life goes on......

Dear Samay,

Will this ever end?....

Idiosyncrasy?!

Spelling someone's name consistently wrong puts me off! I am sure it does to all. I had to correct someone the other day cos its been 1 1/2 month and it couldnt be a typo for this long, that the person spelt my name wrong.

I have realized I am a little bit obsessed with justifying paragraphs too ;) Makes me terribly uncomfortable to read someone's write-up which is not justified.

My shoes have to be displayed in one line ;)

Possessive with the way things placed in my kitchen, has to be my way :)

...these are a few things at the top of my head

Common cold

Its everywhere, downside of using public transport, you pick all the seasonal sickness.

Salads

I have been usually pretty 'indifferent' towards salads all this while. I enjoyed salad bars when I visited US the first couple of times and then it died. We have our own Indian salads (Kosumbri, raita etc) and was content with it, but somehow never got hooked on to the western salads. But off late since I have been living in Canada I have been enjoying it. Whether the basic green salad or macaroni salad. Currently I am in a state that I can eat red skin potato salad any time of the day and totally get into a potato salad- binge mode. Recently I also had this other salad which I have never had in my life - strawberry salad. I dont know if it has another fancy name, but thats what it was basically strawberries and almond slices and a great sauce! Yumm!

Now that I think of it these past two months I have had salads only from 'Pickle Barrel' - Caesar salad, Honey mustard salad, Mixed green salad and my favorite Greek salad!

Answers I dislike....

If ever anyone asks me where I am from I say I am an Indian first then a Kiwi, who has lived in the US and working in Canada (as long as it can get eh? :)). Then the typical question a fellow Indian asks is where in India do I come from? I say Hyderabad. I am first a Hyderbadi above all (born brought up there and lived for 21 years, so its easy, though I am not an Andhrite and belong to a different state). Well probably thats just me and a few others like me who are that particular with answers to such questions?

The reason I say that is cos I once met this Indian lady (way back in NZ) who was asked her place of origin (it was obvious she was an Indian her looks, accent etc but conversation-sake a fellow-Indian asked her and I am sure she was expecting an Indian city name) and this woman blurts 'I am from Portugal' I was stunned. Are you kidding me? Are you ashamed to claim your an Indian (I say in my mind!)? Just cos I dont know how ever many generations back 5-8? there was some intermingling of the races you disclaim that YOU are an Indian anymore? Phew! I dont get it! And then in Orkut the other day I saw someone's profile who also claimed a descent totally Non-Indian even though for 5 generations atleast I am sure their family has been in India.

This has nothing to do with citizenship, but would someone so openly claim to belong to a totally different race? It so happens the reason for both could be religion-based; the former lady was a Jew (Portugese-Jew connection!) the latter you know

Sleep

A good nights sleep - is so precious!

A speed-breaker

Voluntarily taking a decision is one thing but circumstances pretty much forcing you to make the same decision (leaving you with no other option or other unattractive options), is not easy to digest for an individual. For most people it injures their ego.

I wonder..

Is analyzing others (personality traits) a good thing? Does it really help us to deal with others diplomatically - improve people skills? Or we just end up becoming judgmental and end up typecasting people?

To Philly and back

This time on work I went to Dover, DE. Got off at Philly being the nearest airport and stayed at Dover downs (which had a Casino and a race track, thats why bothered mentioning it). This trip was good in a lot of ways. There is so much to learn; its amazing! Met the customer face to face. This is my second F2F already.

I also managed to sneak away again to Boston and fly to Philly from Boston this time. End up shopping each time I am at Boston. Husband and I have switched to a new brand of clothing and we are totally into it. Its like this phases we go through - and switch brands at the same time both of us and have fun shopping together :)

Awards etc

Couple of days back I finally saw Filmfare awards. I was told Saif and Shah Rukh Khan were funny and I couldnt miss it. And that they were, some of the things they said were hilarious. Person who still left me wondering is Amir Khan! He is an Indian, lives in India, makes movies for the Indian audience, the respect, image etc he has is due to the Indian audience . Yet he does not recognize Indian awards? I mean, I understand that perhaps he thinks the system is not effecient or whatever it is. I dont know his reasons. Had a quick look at that blog in his name and didnt really find anything related to this. But there should atleast be one of the awards he must consider isnt it? Makes me wonder that should Filmfare and other sponsors or whoever it is (the jury?) even consider his movies when rating the best film/actor etc? Why consider someone's work when he doesnt recognize you or your system? Doesent bother to attend those presentations, but instead aims only for Oscars?

And then we saw Tashan last night at a friends place. No comments. Saw U, Me or Hum. As expected Kajol and Ajay Devgan acted well, but definitely something was lacking....

Rip off!

Airlines charging extra for passengers wanting to check in luggage.
Reason: Rising fuel costs.

Sun glasses etc

One of the most important accessories I cannot live without. I lost my Anne Klein glasses at work last week, and yes the day came to a grinding halt for me. But my husband bought me another one this weekend. And I dug my out a brand new Rayban for myself from my closet, its been a year since I got them and I forgot about them.

Made another fun trip to Boston.

Veggie Hotdogs

Toronto/Canada is the first place where I have seen Veggie hotdogs being sold along with the real hotdogs. As a vegetarian, must say I am glad. Still havent got myself to try it - the image of a hotdog being made with meat is still stuck in my head.

Exhaust emissions

I wish they put the exhaust pipes of buses on the roof than at the base of the bus in India like it is here [Canada and other places]. Since we have more people riding two-wheelers and Auto-rickshaw commuters who are exposed to the exhaust emissions directly, it could prevent the smoke blowing right on the face at least.

Forced to eavesdrop!

Some people can be really loud in public. They sit right in the middle, in a subway or bus and talk all their personal issues, and that too so very loud. A few weeks back there was this Indian guy on the bus, talking in Hindi so very loudly. The whole bus could hear it. The rest of them must have been pretty bugged. As a language it made sense to me obviously though it was painfully loud and it was about some cell phone model this guy went on and on about (he didnt make any sense either). But to hear a foriegn language spoken loudly is mostly irritating. Atleast I tend to cringe a little when I hear people talking in a couple of specific languages I dont understand, to be very honest.

Today was ultimate, this really obese lady yelling out on the phone to some Gym instructor that she needs to really excercise and lose weight and, no one in her family should know! Okkkk, (everyone was rolling their eyes, and exchanging glances) who the heck is interested? I dont know if these people are strange or simply have a 'dont-care' attitude or are attention seekers, whichever, but surely the loud discussions are not appreciated.

Kaadhal

I treated myself to a movie Friday night - Kaadhal. I am not into Tamil movies at all or songs for that matter. These days I prefer more fiction than those 'realistic' movies (though I end up watching all types!). Yes! isnt there already a lot going on in the 'real' world to watch them again in movies.

Kaadhal was definitely a must watch. The down-to-earth characters and direction was very good. Some very typical characters you see in real life were depicted so very well - body language and all, its truly commendable. The nagging old lady at Aishwarya's house, the pomp when she gets her first period, can I call it 'small-town-mentality' when neighbours observe every small thing going on and gather when they hear some commotion at a house. What definitely stood apart for me was the mechanic boy (representing the insignificant child labour lot), his street smart expressions were so good (the scene when Muruga leaves to elope and rubs his head affectionately, the boy scared moves back with the fear of being slapped/beaten). The final scene also is a very 'action speaks louder than words'. And to even imagine this is a real story, its actually scary.

To Indy and back

Had my first work trip to Danville, IL plant. Took a flight to Indy and drove down to the plant. I think I saw one of the remote places in Midwest. I might have also been the only Indian at that point of time in that city (I lie, but its very much possible!). Great to be back to the hustle-bustle of Toronto!

Takeaways from the trip:

• Learning is a never ending process (re-emphasis)
• Not everyone is willing to share their knowledge
• I am a city person, I need to see P.E.O.P.L.E walking about, vehicles, stores, some/limited noise and hustle-bustle etc.

Genesis 3:19

I came across this quotation when making notes for a poem in English Literature, god knows when, maybe I was 12 or 13 and it just stuck to me since then.

Remember O man, dust you are and unto dust you shall return

Coincidence? Really?

Sometimes these zodiac predictions seem pretty accurate and so do the characteristics of my zodiac sign describing me whether as a Leo or a Rooster - the positive and negative traits. Is this plain coincidence? All the Leo women and Roosters in this world are more like me?

Yeah right?

Subway

I dont know if this sounds weird but I have always associated subways with two things:
1. The movie 'Ghost' (Demi Moore's)
2. Law and Order series

Now that I am more routinely taking the subway I dont think of the above as much. It is pretty interesting to take the subway gives me ample time to watch, observe different people, their mannerisms etc....

Mundane

Work is keeping pretty busy. Even one day in the two day weekend is spent working now. No complaints. Busier the better. Last weekend I met with my relative in Toronto finally. I met this Uncle of mine after probably 20 years - yes I dont remember him at all, but their family still made me welcome and bonded so well. This is what makes me proud of my family, warm, modest (besides a whole lot of other good things :)) - I have to keep this thing going. And without any hestitation I can say I have only shown that side of me to some chosen people. (I am not perfect you know ;) very choosy :)) ). But sometimes some experiences make you lose trust and I decided to keep distance with certain people who bring out the worst in me......I guess that will differ individual to individual.

BTW my family is so spreadout that we have covered North America pretty well. Once again I have to be proud that the last generation in my family was very enterprising and bold. Forty years back how it would have been in Toronto ?.... I dont even want to think.....

......and the clock keeps ticking!!!

:)

One of my very good friends from school had a baby girl couple of months back and I am so happy that they have named her Ishanvi - the name I suggested! I can almost say I named her eh? :) I somehow loved the name when I heard it; has that traditional Indian touch and yet a bit new/modern.

Observation

They say offence is the best form of defense. I think so is 'self-glorification'.

This and that...

Watched Jodha-Akbar and No Entry this weekend. Jodha-Akbar was ok. Hrithik definitely makes a handsome Akbar and so does Aishwarya as Jodha. Got so used to seeing Jodha in a motherly role. If you have watched Mughal-e-azam atleast 5 times like me, you will know what I mean. Anyway all I did was stare at Aishwarya's costume and jewellery. No entry was a remake of that Telugu movie (Pellam Uru-elthe) I found it ok too. Somehow I manage cracking up at Salman's comedy. Oh yes! someone might think my taste in comedy is bad. But well all I have seen is Judwaa and Biwi No.1 and this one - and I didnt mind him /his comedy in all three. But I am a Hindi movie fanatic so maybe........

First time did my laundry in Canada. I dont know why I am writing it in my blog as if its of any significance. But its perhaps I had this fear of going into the basement alone and doing it - I had this weird feeling about it. (Our home in Boston had an ensuite and I didnt get a chance to go flatting like other Masters students you see!). Why is it always in the basement? Why cant they put it somewhere in between (my building has 4 floors they could have surely squeezed it in somewhere on level 2 or 3)? I always shunned that there would be no phone signal even, it looked stuffy and uncomfortable. But it wasnt too bad for a first timer - necessity I had no choice! :)

Did some reading on Managerial Accounting for my next exam. Somehow I was not too fond of it when I did Bachelors in India. And that block has not yet gone.

And oh yeah its already a month since I moved to Toronto and in this new job!