I hereby declare my return to the blogging world after almost a month. Past one month has been crazy, at work and as well at home. Project deliverables, a trip to Goa, some more deliverables, recruitment at NSIT, Rakshabandhan...you can get an idea of how busy I have been for the past 30 days or so. Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand. This post is a detailed account of something that happened during my trip to Goa, which catapulted me to instant fame in the office. Well, not exactly me, but one of my accessories. I know the post is quite delayed, as I have been harping about this incident to anyone who would hear, ever since I got back. But, what to do, I am a busy body.
Coming back to the main subject, the post has been titled 'A Cinderella Story' because it involves an ordinary girl, a pair of pretty stilettos belonging to her, and what all happens one day at 12 midnight. As you all might have guessed by now, the ordinary girl is yours truly, and the pretty stilettos are a pair of really smart and comfortable party shoes I have. I know the suspense is building up regarding the events that took place at 12 AM. But, for you to understand them fully, I need to rewind a little bit, starting with telling everyone the reason why I was in Goa.
Our company had taken all the employees for a three day leisure trip to Goa, from 6 to 8 August, to celebrate a successful year. So, we arrived in Goa at around two in the afternoon, and reached our resort one and a half hour after that. A party was held on the night of our arrival, complete with a DJ, alcohol, snacks, and lots of food. I assume everybody knows that I absolutely love dancing. By dancing I do not mean giving solo performances or stuff (I would die of nervousness and the audience would die of boredom and being witness to some ridiculous dancing..:P). I like dancing when there's a DJ and a crowded floor, so that I am not the center of attention and can groove to the beats of the music without the fear of anyone noticing me. That's exactly what was happening on the party too. I arrived at 9 PM, and without giving any thought to food or drinks I was instantly on the dance floor, dancing away non-stop for nearly three hours. At around 11.45 PM, I realized that due to continuous dancing and jumping while wearing heels, my feet had ulcers, which were hurting a lot. So, I stepped off the floor for 30 seconds, quickly removed my shoes and resumed dancing.
At precisely 12 AM, I heard my name being called loudly. Everyone on the floor had stopped dancing suddenly and I felt some people nudging me and forcing me look towards my right. As I looked up, there I saw, in the middle of a crowd of over 50 drunk and sweaty dancers, my left shoe held high in someones hand. Guys and girls who had seen me remove my shoes were shrieking loudly and asking me in excited tones, "That's your shoe na??? Oh My God..WOW!!!!" On the other hand, I was unable to understand their excitement, and was extremely irritated by the fact that some employee, after being drunk, found it amusing to dance with my shoe. As I made my way through the swaying and stinking crowd and came face to face with the one who was dancing enthusiastically with my shoe, oblivious to the stares of everyone around him, I could not believe my eyes. He was the MANAGING DIRECTOR of my company!!! The very prim and proper, dignified and sophisticated boss!!! Here he was, in front of me, obviously sloshed, dancing, then staggering, and trying not to fall off the dance floor. Before I could come to terms with the scene in front of my eyes, he started doing something else. He went from person to person, started dancing with them, and then hit them on their head with the shoe. The people, being loyal employees, laughed, enjoyed and took immense pride in the fact that the boss was hitting them with a dirty shoe, right on the top of their heads.
After 15 minutes of drama, he finally let go my shoe. In reality, he threw it away somewhere in the room, and only my friend was able to find it for me. After that night, I, along with my shoes, became a sort of celebrity. Wherever I went, people would start asking me about the incident and then ask for a peep at the extremely priveledged shoe, which was touched by the MD himself..:). Even back in office, it took a long time for the story to die down. I suddenly became popular in a very unconventional way. But, I have no complaints, since I got my fifteen minutes of fame because of my shoes..:) In respect to the shoes, I keep them wrapped up in a special cloth and wear them on very very special occasions.
Moral of the story: Take spacial care of your shoes. You never know when they might make you famous.
Ciao..
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
You know it's a bad day when....
I have been meaning to write this post for quite a few days, but was unable to do so due to lack of time. So, as I wait for my PL to finish the review of my project and send it off to the client, I have some time on my hands, and what better to do than post something.
As you all must have guessed from the title, this post is about one of those days when everything seems to go wrong for you and you feel totally helpless and frustrated by the turn of events. The trend with these kind of 'bad days' are that they usually occur on weekdays and you instinctively know when a day will be rotten. For example getting stuck in an early morning traffic jam, reaching late to office, too much work pressure with the manager breathing down your neck, and so on and so forth. I have had my share of these type of horrible days. But, what I am going to write about here is a Saturday gone so bad that I actually wished I was in office. Weird right!!
It was Friday night and as always I was extremely happy as I planned for Saturday. My plans were like this: Wake up at 10.00 in the morning, start watching TV at 10.30 and continue till 2.00 PM, have lunch, watch a movie on the laptop, and take an afternoon nap. Wake up at 6.00 in the evening and do nothing till 7.00, then switch on the TV again and keep on watching it till it's time for dad to come home. Pretty simple with nothing jazzy. But as Saturday arrived, I just knew something was not right and as it turned out, I was right. It was an idiotic day, so much that I formed a list of all the happenings of that day. Here goes my list:
You know it's a bay day when...
1. You wake up at 7.00 in the morning on the weekend, that too on Saturday (despite the fact that you slept at 3.00 in the night after watching two movies), and are unable to go back to sleep.
2. As soon as you step out of your room, your dad starts rattling out numerous instructions and thing-to-do which force you to put your own plans on hold for the day.
3. You suddenly get a call from a relative telling you that he is arriving within half an hour with two of his friends, whom you have never met and have never even heard about. Worse, you are alone at home with just your younger sister for company and as you gaze around while talking on the phone, you realize that your house is in an utter and complete mess.
4. You are forced to do work like cleaning, dusting, folding the sheets etc. all by yourself, to make the house presentable for strangers, as your mother refuses to come home early from work and your dad is too busy to even listen to your problems.
5. It suddenly starts pouring cats and dogs outside, and since the electricity infrastructure in Delhi is so completely useless, there is a short-circuit in the sub-station right opposite your house. As a result, you are not able to switch on any lights, fans and other electrical and electronic equipment, because as soon as you switch on even one light you hear a loud bang from the sub-station along with a lot of fluctuation. Basically, you sit in the dark for hours just staring out of the house, doing nothing, when you could have done so much.
6. You cannot find anything to eat in the house and are forced to have Maggi for breakfast.
7. As soon as you start feeling really sleepy, your guests arrive and you have to be the soul of courtesy and hospitality inspite of the fact that your eyelids are drooping and you are trying damn hard to stifle your yawns.
8. You actually feel like going to office and work on a Saturday!!!
Well, what do you think? Isn't is the ideal day to be categorised under the list of 'Bad Days'? Do tell me about some of your interestingly horrible days too.
Chao !!
As you all must have guessed from the title, this post is about one of those days when everything seems to go wrong for you and you feel totally helpless and frustrated by the turn of events. The trend with these kind of 'bad days' are that they usually occur on weekdays and you instinctively know when a day will be rotten. For example getting stuck in an early morning traffic jam, reaching late to office, too much work pressure with the manager breathing down your neck, and so on and so forth. I have had my share of these type of horrible days. But, what I am going to write about here is a Saturday gone so bad that I actually wished I was in office. Weird right!!
It was Friday night and as always I was extremely happy as I planned for Saturday. My plans were like this: Wake up at 10.00 in the morning, start watching TV at 10.30 and continue till 2.00 PM, have lunch, watch a movie on the laptop, and take an afternoon nap. Wake up at 6.00 in the evening and do nothing till 7.00, then switch on the TV again and keep on watching it till it's time for dad to come home. Pretty simple with nothing jazzy. But as Saturday arrived, I just knew something was not right and as it turned out, I was right. It was an idiotic day, so much that I formed a list of all the happenings of that day. Here goes my list:
You know it's a bay day when...
1. You wake up at 7.00 in the morning on the weekend, that too on Saturday (despite the fact that you slept at 3.00 in the night after watching two movies), and are unable to go back to sleep.
2. As soon as you step out of your room, your dad starts rattling out numerous instructions and thing-to-do which force you to put your own plans on hold for the day.
3. You suddenly get a call from a relative telling you that he is arriving within half an hour with two of his friends, whom you have never met and have never even heard about. Worse, you are alone at home with just your younger sister for company and as you gaze around while talking on the phone, you realize that your house is in an utter and complete mess.
4. You are forced to do work like cleaning, dusting, folding the sheets etc. all by yourself, to make the house presentable for strangers, as your mother refuses to come home early from work and your dad is too busy to even listen to your problems.
5. It suddenly starts pouring cats and dogs outside, and since the electricity infrastructure in Delhi is so completely useless, there is a short-circuit in the sub-station right opposite your house. As a result, you are not able to switch on any lights, fans and other electrical and electronic equipment, because as soon as you switch on even one light you hear a loud bang from the sub-station along with a lot of fluctuation. Basically, you sit in the dark for hours just staring out of the house, doing nothing, when you could have done so much.
6. You cannot find anything to eat in the house and are forced to have Maggi for breakfast.
7. As soon as you start feeling really sleepy, your guests arrive and you have to be the soul of courtesy and hospitality inspite of the fact that your eyelids are drooping and you are trying damn hard to stifle your yawns.
8. You actually feel like going to office and work on a Saturday!!!
Well, what do you think? Isn't is the ideal day to be categorised under the list of 'Bad Days'? Do tell me about some of your interestingly horrible days too.
Chao !!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Guests..need I say more
In this post, the word guests refers to people who come and stay at one's place for a few days, weeks or in some cases, months. Guests, love them or hate them, but you DEFINITELY can't ignore. Everyone who knows me also knows that my house is teeming with guests all year round. Relatives, friends, relatives of relatives, friends of relatives, relatives of friends, friends of friends, well you can find almost all kinds of guests at my place. Sometimes we are entertaining two or three different sets of people (who don't even know each other) at the same time.
Each person will agree with the fact that having guests can be pretty irritating or frustrating at times. You always have to be courteous, polite and smiling around them. Also, there is almost no privacy for you in your own house.
I have seen so many different types of guests at my place that I have broadly classified them into two categories, type of guests I love and the type of guests I hate. I have further divided the people lying in these categories into sub-categories. So, here goes my list.
Guests I Love Having Around
1. Guests who are non-demanding and become a part of your family: These kind of guests are the best to have. They have absolutely no demands with regards to eating, sleeping, clothing etc. Instead, they look after your house, even cook for you when you are at work and you can rely upon them in case of any problems. They blend into the family and become family members so much that you actually feel SAD when they leave.
2. Guests who come for a short stay and leave on time: Short stay guests are the most fun loving kind. You know that they are at your place for only a day or two, so you spend that time indulging them by going out for dinners, or ordering food from outside, going sight seeing with them etc. By the time you start getting bored or your stomach is unable to digest oily and greasy food from outside, it's time for them to leave.
3. Guests who bring nice gifts for you: Yeah yeah..I know what you all must be thinking, how selfish of her to like people just on the basis of what they get for her. But, seriously I am sure that there are many more of my kind, and everyone at some point or the other has been biased towards people who gave them good presents. It's just that when someone gives you an expensive present, it just compensates for the trouble you go through to make them feel comfortable.
Guests I just cannot stand having at my place
1. Guests who come unannounced to give you a 'surprise': I just don't understand the concept of landing on someone's doorstep with heavy luggage and his/her entire family, without any kind of intimation, to stay at somebody's place for 'a few days' and expecting them to be thrilled and happily surprised !!! Example - you are out for a movie and dinner with your folks on a Saturday night and get a call from your relative, who asks about your whereabouts. You are blissfully unaware of the reason behind the question. When you reach home, you find the same person sitting on the stairs outside your house. When you look shocked, he smiles sheepishly and says, "It is Saturday night so I thought you will be home and wanted to give you a surprise." More shock..How can a person be foolish enough to think that on a Saturday night we will most definitely be at home. If it was a Monday night or a Tuesday night or any other weekday night, a person can be sure that we will be home, but Saturday night!! I think that there are only two reasons that someone would arrive unannounced - first, he/she has not heard of a phone, e-mail, letter or a postcard, or, secondly, the person knows he is disliked by the hosts and would not be invited if he informed beforehand so he/she just pops up suddenly. Living in this technologically advanced generation, the former reason seems highly unlikely, so I bet that it almost every time the latter.
2. Guests who think the world revolves around them: These are the kinds of guests I despise the most. They have a big superiority complex and are the most egoistic. They treat the hosts like slaves or servants and expect them to obey all their whims and fancies. You have to give up your room for them. Not only the room, you have to empty your closet, study table and almirahs and shift all your stuff either in your sibling's or your parents' room. On top of that they require an exclusive bathroom for themselves which is out of bounds for everyone else in the house. Last but not the least, they pretend to be more busy than the president of the USA and want everything on time, for example breakfast at 8 am, fruits at 10 am, lunch at 12 pm, tea at 4 pm, dinner at 7 pm and so on. You actually dread staying at home and find excuses to go out and even spend extra time in office just to avoid them. Also, surprisingly, these guests are the ones that stay the longest.
3. Clingy guests: These are definitely the most irritating species of guests. They are too affectionate and loving for your comfort. They will want to sleep with you in your room whether you like or not and irrespective of whether there is space. After waking up in the morning, the first thing they'll do is give you a tight hug and a peck on the cheek. They also have a habit of going wherever you go within the house. In other words, they expect you to spend your every waking, and even sleeping hour with them. You get really frustrated if you've had a horrible day and they refuse to leave your side. You've spent 10-11 hours working in the office and three hours travelling and by the time you reach home you are drained and exhausted and just want some peace. But no, first these people will hug you like they are meeting you after ages, then hover around you like bees around a flower. You have no choice but to act all smiley and chirpy around them, as if you have spent the whole day in a spa and a beauty parlour.
This post has already become quite long, but there's so much to write about guests that I could go on forever.
Off to spend time with another guest
Chao!
I have seen so many different types of guests at my place that I have broadly classified them into two categories, type of guests I love and the type of guests I hate. I have further divided the people lying in these categories into sub-categories. So, here goes my list.
Guests I Love Having Around
1. Guests who are non-demanding and become a part of your family: These kind of guests are the best to have. They have absolutely no demands with regards to eating, sleeping, clothing etc. Instead, they look after your house, even cook for you when you are at work and you can rely upon them in case of any problems. They blend into the family and become family members so much that you actually feel SAD when they leave.
2. Guests who come for a short stay and leave on time: Short stay guests are the most fun loving kind. You know that they are at your place for only a day or two, so you spend that time indulging them by going out for dinners, or ordering food from outside, going sight seeing with them etc. By the time you start getting bored or your stomach is unable to digest oily and greasy food from outside, it's time for them to leave.
3. Guests who bring nice gifts for you: Yeah yeah..I know what you all must be thinking, how selfish of her to like people just on the basis of what they get for her. But, seriously I am sure that there are many more of my kind, and everyone at some point or the other has been biased towards people who gave them good presents. It's just that when someone gives you an expensive present, it just compensates for the trouble you go through to make them feel comfortable.
Guests I just cannot stand having at my place
1. Guests who come unannounced to give you a 'surprise': I just don't understand the concept of landing on someone's doorstep with heavy luggage and his/her entire family, without any kind of intimation, to stay at somebody's place for 'a few days' and expecting them to be thrilled and happily surprised !!! Example - you are out for a movie and dinner with your folks on a Saturday night and get a call from your relative, who asks about your whereabouts. You are blissfully unaware of the reason behind the question. When you reach home, you find the same person sitting on the stairs outside your house. When you look shocked, he smiles sheepishly and says, "It is Saturday night so I thought you will be home and wanted to give you a surprise." More shock..How can a person be foolish enough to think that on a Saturday night we will most definitely be at home. If it was a Monday night or a Tuesday night or any other weekday night, a person can be sure that we will be home, but Saturday night!! I think that there are only two reasons that someone would arrive unannounced - first, he/she has not heard of a phone, e-mail, letter or a postcard, or, secondly, the person knows he is disliked by the hosts and would not be invited if he informed beforehand so he/she just pops up suddenly. Living in this technologically advanced generation, the former reason seems highly unlikely, so I bet that it almost every time the latter.
2. Guests who think the world revolves around them: These are the kinds of guests I despise the most. They have a big superiority complex and are the most egoistic. They treat the hosts like slaves or servants and expect them to obey all their whims and fancies. You have to give up your room for them. Not only the room, you have to empty your closet, study table and almirahs and shift all your stuff either in your sibling's or your parents' room. On top of that they require an exclusive bathroom for themselves which is out of bounds for everyone else in the house. Last but not the least, they pretend to be more busy than the president of the USA and want everything on time, for example breakfast at 8 am, fruits at 10 am, lunch at 12 pm, tea at 4 pm, dinner at 7 pm and so on. You actually dread staying at home and find excuses to go out and even spend extra time in office just to avoid them. Also, surprisingly, these guests are the ones that stay the longest.
3. Clingy guests: These are definitely the most irritating species of guests. They are too affectionate and loving for your comfort. They will want to sleep with you in your room whether you like or not and irrespective of whether there is space. After waking up in the morning, the first thing they'll do is give you a tight hug and a peck on the cheek. They also have a habit of going wherever you go within the house. In other words, they expect you to spend your every waking, and even sleeping hour with them. You get really frustrated if you've had a horrible day and they refuse to leave your side. You've spent 10-11 hours working in the office and three hours travelling and by the time you reach home you are drained and exhausted and just want some peace. But no, first these people will hug you like they are meeting you after ages, then hover around you like bees around a flower. You have no choice but to act all smiley and chirpy around them, as if you have spent the whole day in a spa and a beauty parlour.
This post has already become quite long, but there's so much to write about guests that I could go on forever.
Off to spend time with another guest
Chao!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tip tip Barsa Pani....
Looks like the monsoons have finally arrived in Delhi to give us some respite from the heat. The amount of rains that we are getting are probably just 10% of the actual amount, but the Met department is announcing the arrival of monsoons through all means, except maybe shouting from rooftops. Well, I don't blame them. The poor chaps finally got one prediction right in god knows how many years. So it's only natural that they are super excited.
Like every resident of Delhi, I was also extremely happy and relieved to hear the rain drops falling outside my house on Sunday. It rained for more than 5 hours on Sunday night, and continued to rain on and off throughout the week. But, what happens after it rains? Everybody knows the answer to this question because the situations faced by the people are not a one time thing, but an annual occurrence. Traffic jams, water logging, pot holes etc. Each year, right before the monsoon season sets in, we hear the MCD personnel declaring confidently in print media and even in front of news channels that WE ARE READY FOR THE MONSOONS!!! It seems as if they are challenging the gods to Bring 'em on. So, I would like to question the readiness of the MCD, and the Delhi government by putting forward a few questions about the state of affairs.
Q1. Is Delhi still living in the Dark Ages, or is it just by sheer coincidence that we are probably the only country, I guess in the whole world, that has not heard about drainage systems? What did I just hear, that Delhi has a drainage system!!! Then why, after just minimal amount of rain do our roads give the impression that its been raining for days? There is water logging on every road, in every underpass, even in the metro stations, and in the subways!!
Q2. What material is used to build the Delhi roads? As far as I remember, the most common raw materials used are coal tar and gravel. But, it looks like the authorities here use sand to construct roads. How else can we explain the emergence of new pot holes, bumps, and gaddhas on the roads, immediately after the showers? After all, it's not like it's raining pebbles or bricks, it's mere water that's coming down from the sky. I fail to understand, how can weightless drops of H2O have the power to break things like stones?
Q3. Dudes, what is the deal with monsoons and digging? Why is it that as soon as the weather officials announce the arrival of the rains, we suddenly see a spike (a significant growth) in the amount of digging going on in virtually every part of the city? It maybe argued that it's the work being done for the upcoming Commonwealth games, but that is just this year. What about all the previous times when the same thing has happened? The monsoons stay in Delhi for hardly 2-3 months. You have rest of the 10 months to carry out maintenance work, or just dig for fun. Then why this season?? What sadistic pleasure do you get by watching people wade through keechad, and muddy water?
I know there are no answers for these questions, but what's the harm in asking them?
Ciao
Like every resident of Delhi, I was also extremely happy and relieved to hear the rain drops falling outside my house on Sunday. It rained for more than 5 hours on Sunday night, and continued to rain on and off throughout the week. But, what happens after it rains? Everybody knows the answer to this question because the situations faced by the people are not a one time thing, but an annual occurrence. Traffic jams, water logging, pot holes etc. Each year, right before the monsoon season sets in, we hear the MCD personnel declaring confidently in print media and even in front of news channels that WE ARE READY FOR THE MONSOONS!!! It seems as if they are challenging the gods to Bring 'em on. So, I would like to question the readiness of the MCD, and the Delhi government by putting forward a few questions about the state of affairs.
Q1. Is Delhi still living in the Dark Ages, or is it just by sheer coincidence that we are probably the only country, I guess in the whole world, that has not heard about drainage systems? What did I just hear, that Delhi has a drainage system!!! Then why, after just minimal amount of rain do our roads give the impression that its been raining for days? There is water logging on every road, in every underpass, even in the metro stations, and in the subways!!
Q2. What material is used to build the Delhi roads? As far as I remember, the most common raw materials used are coal tar and gravel. But, it looks like the authorities here use sand to construct roads. How else can we explain the emergence of new pot holes, bumps, and gaddhas on the roads, immediately after the showers? After all, it's not like it's raining pebbles or bricks, it's mere water that's coming down from the sky. I fail to understand, how can weightless drops of H2O have the power to break things like stones?
Q3. Dudes, what is the deal with monsoons and digging? Why is it that as soon as the weather officials announce the arrival of the rains, we suddenly see a spike (a significant growth) in the amount of digging going on in virtually every part of the city? It maybe argued that it's the work being done for the upcoming Commonwealth games, but that is just this year. What about all the previous times when the same thing has happened? The monsoons stay in Delhi for hardly 2-3 months. You have rest of the 10 months to carry out maintenance work, or just dig for fun. Then why this season?? What sadistic pleasure do you get by watching people wade through keechad, and muddy water?
I know there are no answers for these questions, but what's the harm in asking them?
Ciao
Saturday, July 3, 2010
My Rotten Luck..
So, Brazil is out of the FIFA World Cup. This unexpected and unfortunate event shattered the dream of millions of people all over the world (of seeing this team lifting the cup), including yours truly. Let me clarify that I am not a die hard fan of Brazil, in fact I am not as passionate about foot ball, as some of the people I know. But, I am following this world cup, well because of the hype it has generated and because some of the games are really hard core. The reason that I am pissed off is that I had a lot riding on Brazil's win.
Initially, I was supporting Argentina and more recently, Germany (after their amazing win over England). Then our MD made this grand announcement that if Argentina lifted the WC on 11th July, the next day, that is,12th July would be a holiday for the entire office. So, I was back on Argentina's side, praying fervently for its win. This Friday, the equations changed again. The MD took back his initial decision, as it was considered to be unfair by some employees (if only we could get their names, I am sure a lot of people would like to give them an earful) and 12th july was declared as a normal working day. Instead, another offer was made by him.
This time all of us had to choose a team each, out of the eight quarter finalists, that each one of us was supporting and thought would win the finals. Whichever team won the final, all the people supporting that team will be given an off on any day of that week !!! As expected, at the mention of a holiday, everyone sharpened their brains, brought out their analytical skills (we are Analysts after all) and started a focussed analysis of every team. Hours were spent on discussions, meetings, statistical comparisons and what not. We had ample information to create a 100 slider presentation on the subject. On top of that, was the betting going on in the office, and as money was also involved, the stakes were even higher. Majority of us, who were not very well versed in the nuances of the game, reached out to a certain individual who is considered to be a database of FIFA WC 2010. He remembers every goal, every yellow/red card given, every match result, every injury, basically just about everything. So naturally, we all were relying on his gyaan of the game to earn us a holiday and loads of money.
After a lot of explanations, reasoning and logic, it was concluded that Brazil was the safest bet. It was playing against Netherlands in the quarters, which was considered a relatively weaker team. What a blunder we all made by underestimating this team, I now realize. Anyway, all of us were 110% confident that Brazil would proceed to the semis without much effort. In the semis it would be playing against either Uruguay or Ghana, whoever won the 2nd quarter final. These two team s were considered even weaker than Netherlands. So, it was confirmed that Brazil's position was fixed in the top 2. Going by other statistics and research we all said our prayers, thanked that person for showing us the light, and opted for Brazil. I, being a risk taker, even placed bets on Brazil. Thus, began the wait for the clock to strike 7.20 pm, and the match to begin.
The first half, as witnessed by everyone, was great with Brazil dominating the game. The second half ruined everything, since Netherlands played as if they were the world's number 1 team and Brazil, on the other hand, could not do anything to save themselves and lost. My weekend was destroyed, my chhutti gone, and my money lost..sniff..:'( What do I call this if not my rotten luck. Who would have imagined that a team like Brazil, which had lost only 1 game out of their 16 previous world cup games, to lose and that too against a team like Netherlands !!!!
As I end this post, I look at the watch. It's 7.13 pm, only seven minutes to go before Argentina vs. Germany. I would love to see Germany win this game, because being a sadist, I will be able to derive some pleasure out of the misery of all those in office who support Argentina (I know that along with Brazil, the Argentinian team was the hot favourite among the people)
Signing Off,
Sad and Depressed
Initially, I was supporting Argentina and more recently, Germany (after their amazing win over England). Then our MD made this grand announcement that if Argentina lifted the WC on 11th July, the next day, that is,12th July would be a holiday for the entire office. So, I was back on Argentina's side, praying fervently for its win. This Friday, the equations changed again. The MD took back his initial decision, as it was considered to be unfair by some employees (if only we could get their names, I am sure a lot of people would like to give them an earful) and 12th july was declared as a normal working day. Instead, another offer was made by him.
This time all of us had to choose a team each, out of the eight quarter finalists, that each one of us was supporting and thought would win the finals. Whichever team won the final, all the people supporting that team will be given an off on any day of that week !!! As expected, at the mention of a holiday, everyone sharpened their brains, brought out their analytical skills (we are Analysts after all) and started a focussed analysis of every team. Hours were spent on discussions, meetings, statistical comparisons and what not. We had ample information to create a 100 slider presentation on the subject. On top of that, was the betting going on in the office, and as money was also involved, the stakes were even higher. Majority of us, who were not very well versed in the nuances of the game, reached out to a certain individual who is considered to be a database of FIFA WC 2010. He remembers every goal, every yellow/red card given, every match result, every injury, basically just about everything. So naturally, we all were relying on his gyaan of the game to earn us a holiday and loads of money.
After a lot of explanations, reasoning and logic, it was concluded that Brazil was the safest bet. It was playing against Netherlands in the quarters, which was considered a relatively weaker team. What a blunder we all made by underestimating this team, I now realize. Anyway, all of us were 110% confident that Brazil would proceed to the semis without much effort. In the semis it would be playing against either Uruguay or Ghana, whoever won the 2nd quarter final. These two team s were considered even weaker than Netherlands. So, it was confirmed that Brazil's position was fixed in the top 2. Going by other statistics and research we all said our prayers, thanked that person for showing us the light, and opted for Brazil. I, being a risk taker, even placed bets on Brazil. Thus, began the wait for the clock to strike 7.20 pm, and the match to begin.
The first half, as witnessed by everyone, was great with Brazil dominating the game. The second half ruined everything, since Netherlands played as if they were the world's number 1 team and Brazil, on the other hand, could not do anything to save themselves and lost. My weekend was destroyed, my chhutti gone, and my money lost..sniff..:'( What do I call this if not my rotten luck. Who would have imagined that a team like Brazil, which had lost only 1 game out of their 16 previous world cup games, to lose and that too against a team like Netherlands !!!!
As I end this post, I look at the watch. It's 7.13 pm, only seven minutes to go before Argentina vs. Germany. I would love to see Germany win this game, because being a sadist, I will be able to derive some pleasure out of the misery of all those in office who support Argentina (I know that along with Brazil, the Argentinian team was the hot favourite among the people)
Signing Off,
Sad and Depressed
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Sapnon se Tapke, Reality mein Atke...
I just returned from a 5 day trip to God's own country, Kerela. Those days were simply magical with no office, no deadlines, and no early morning race against time to get ready and catch the 7.40 am vali metro for Noida. There was complete peace of mind along with lush green hills, mesmerizing backwaters and musical sound of the sea. On top of all that was the fabulous weather of the place.
Well, this post is not about the trip, but what happens when it is over and you are back home. In my case, the fear of going home, that feeling of dread reared its ugly head (I know the phrase is not apt but I really like it and wanted to use it somewhere) on our last evening in Kerela. The words Delhi, office, metro, projects, heat and unpacking were buzzing in my head constantly and making me feel giddy. My heart beat must be racing at over 120 beats/min. It felt as if it was my last evening as a free soul and I would be trapped in a torturous dungeon from the next day. Inevitably, the day to fly back home was here. I seriously don't understand the concept of time. When you are working or studying, basically doing anything else except chilling out, time seems to move at a pace slower than a tortoise's or a snail's. But when you are on a holiday or home on weekends, it just flies by faster than the speed of light. Why is that?
Anyway, coming back to the original topic at hand. So, our flight was at 6.15 in the morning and the resort where we were staying was 30 kms. from the airport. Hence, we had to wake up at an ungodly hour of 3.30 am to be able to catch the plane !! As soon as I woke up I sensed that something was wrong. I could'nt put a finger on what it was, but I knew that something was not right. After rubbing my eyes and clearing out the drowsiness from my head I understood. I had a pain in my left shoulder and was also feeling dizzy. I groaned, "Here it starts again !!"
See, here's the thing with me. In my school days, whether it was the last day of summer vacations, winter vacations, other holidays, or Sunday evenings, I would suddenly assume that I had developed one illness or the other. Mostly, it used to be a stomach ache. In college, ummm..in college it was nothing because, you know, you can take an off without any reason and no one will question you. As far as missed lectures are concerned, who cares !! You can always get notes photocopied from friends..:) But, as soon as I started working, this cycle started again.
Every Sunday evening and Monday morning I feel as if I have fever, or a stomach ache or more recently, a spondalysis attack. It always turns out to be a false thing and that really sucks. So, the day I got back from the trip, I felt that my pulse was too fast, and my forehead was quite hot. Also, I used to rotate my neck and shoulders after every 10 minutes or so since it seemed to me that my shoulder pain had aggravated into something more chronic. In reality, nothing had happened. My body was burning due to Delhi's heat and my shoulder had been exposed to direct air from the AC for 6 hours and was just a little stiff. So, my brain declared me 100% fit to resume the mundane routine of my life.
Hence, on Thursday morning, as I woke up once again to the reality of my life, my mind could think of only one song - Mera sundar sapna toot gaya....sniff :'-(
P.S: It's Saturday evening, so I have 24 hours before I start feeling unwell again..:)
Well, this post is not about the trip, but what happens when it is over and you are back home. In my case, the fear of going home, that feeling of dread reared its ugly head (I know the phrase is not apt but I really like it and wanted to use it somewhere) on our last evening in Kerela. The words Delhi, office, metro, projects, heat and unpacking were buzzing in my head constantly and making me feel giddy. My heart beat must be racing at over 120 beats/min. It felt as if it was my last evening as a free soul and I would be trapped in a torturous dungeon from the next day. Inevitably, the day to fly back home was here. I seriously don't understand the concept of time. When you are working or studying, basically doing anything else except chilling out, time seems to move at a pace slower than a tortoise's or a snail's. But when you are on a holiday or home on weekends, it just flies by faster than the speed of light. Why is that?
Anyway, coming back to the original topic at hand. So, our flight was at 6.15 in the morning and the resort where we were staying was 30 kms. from the airport. Hence, we had to wake up at an ungodly hour of 3.30 am to be able to catch the plane !! As soon as I woke up I sensed that something was wrong. I could'nt put a finger on what it was, but I knew that something was not right. After rubbing my eyes and clearing out the drowsiness from my head I understood. I had a pain in my left shoulder and was also feeling dizzy. I groaned, "Here it starts again !!"
See, here's the thing with me. In my school days, whether it was the last day of summer vacations, winter vacations, other holidays, or Sunday evenings, I would suddenly assume that I had developed one illness or the other. Mostly, it used to be a stomach ache. In college, ummm..in college it was nothing because, you know, you can take an off without any reason and no one will question you. As far as missed lectures are concerned, who cares !! You can always get notes photocopied from friends..:) But, as soon as I started working, this cycle started again.
Every Sunday evening and Monday morning I feel as if I have fever, or a stomach ache or more recently, a spondalysis attack. It always turns out to be a false thing and that really sucks. So, the day I got back from the trip, I felt that my pulse was too fast, and my forehead was quite hot. Also, I used to rotate my neck and shoulders after every 10 minutes or so since it seemed to me that my shoulder pain had aggravated into something more chronic. In reality, nothing had happened. My body was burning due to Delhi's heat and my shoulder had been exposed to direct air from the AC for 6 hours and was just a little stiff. So, my brain declared me 100% fit to resume the mundane routine of my life.
Hence, on Thursday morning, as I woke up once again to the reality of my life, my mind could think of only one song - Mera sundar sapna toot gaya....sniff :'-(
P.S: It's Saturday evening, so I have 24 hours before I start feeling unwell again..:)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
I AM BACK..:)
After 5 months of procrastination and laziness I am finally here with my new post. I must say it was not without a lot of coaxing and pushing by my friends. But nonetheless they convinced me to write (type) again. So, here goes..
Love, it is a four letter word with very deep emotions. Everything that one does in his or her life bottles down to this single word. Every person's actions, decisions and thoughts have love as the central theme. Whether it is love for your family, love for money, love for power, love for a guy, love for a girl or just about anything.
In movies, we mostly witness love stories between two people. Be it hollywood, bollywood, tollywood or any other wood, these stories are an integral part of cinema. Here is a scene from a typical hollywood romantic movie:
Boy meets girl, girl meets boy. More often than not it is hate at first sight. They have completely different perspectives in life and fight like bitter enemies. The girl is searching for the man of her dreams and wants a secure future with marriage, children and a loving husband. The guy is wary of commitment and his life is a string of many one-night stands and numerous love affairs. Slowly, from enemies they turn into friends and finally fall in love. The way their love is depicted on screen makes me tingle (don't take it the wrong way, no double meaning intended). The lovely dates, the pampering and the pleasure of each other's company..sigh..They work hard from morning to evening, then in the night lie together on the sofa with arms around each other and discuss about their day and try to get to know each other better.
Even after being in love there are things they don't know about each other. When they are at work both of them concentrate on that. The guy and the girl have different groups of friends with who they hang out separately once in a while.
Cut to real life. I totally fail to understand modern day love and romance. Instead of making me sigh, it gets on my nerves and makes me irritated. It starts out the usual way, boy meets girl and girl meets boy and they become friends. After that, WHOA..its becomes friggin crazy. The guy and the girl start texting (SMSing) each other every day. They still go out with their group of friends. From one message a day it slowly goes up to 2,000 messages in a day. Then one day, suddenly lightning strikes and ther realize that they are in love !!!!! Uhh..I am a little lost here..how can you fall in love through SMSes ?? Anyway, after this realization it becomes completely insane. They stick to each other as if someone put feviquick on them and pressed hard (Feviquick, chutki mein chipkaye). They start ditching their friends, start cancelling plans at the last minute and keep secrets from them. On fine day they just stop hanging out with them. In other words, those two become so dependent upon each other and so engrossed together that they lose their individuality. One won't go anywhere or do anything without the other.
When, by some reason the couple is not together, then they are talking on the phone. For instance, the guy and the girl work at different places. They reach their respective offices, start their PCs, put their mobile headphones in their ears and start talking. They talk throughout the day until the time they meet each other again. Uggghhh!!! I so completely hate that !! A girl constantly whispering endearments into the telephone and then laughing her silly laugh. What exactly is there to say that takes up the whole day or is it a way of keeping tabs on each other ??? I complete my telephonic conversations with my best friends in 45 minutes tops. None of the two concentrate on the work nor do they make friends at their workplace and THEY DON'T LET THEIR COLLEAGUES WORK IN PEACE EITHER !!!
As per the movie Jab We Met,"Jab do log pyar mein hote hain toh kuch sahi galat nahin hota." I am sorry but I beg to differ. Ditching your friends, neglecting your work and constantly keep the mobile networks jammed is WRONG !!!!
If this is what love is, then I am happy to be single because I can't give up my independence for someone and I can't lose my friends for that someone. Also, I really do not have the stamina to talk on the phone for 24X7 !!
Love, it is a four letter word with very deep emotions. Everything that one does in his or her life bottles down to this single word. Every person's actions, decisions and thoughts have love as the central theme. Whether it is love for your family, love for money, love for power, love for a guy, love for a girl or just about anything.
In movies, we mostly witness love stories between two people. Be it hollywood, bollywood, tollywood or any other wood, these stories are an integral part of cinema. Here is a scene from a typical hollywood romantic movie:
Boy meets girl, girl meets boy. More often than not it is hate at first sight. They have completely different perspectives in life and fight like bitter enemies. The girl is searching for the man of her dreams and wants a secure future with marriage, children and a loving husband. The guy is wary of commitment and his life is a string of many one-night stands and numerous love affairs. Slowly, from enemies they turn into friends and finally fall in love. The way their love is depicted on screen makes me tingle (don't take it the wrong way, no double meaning intended). The lovely dates, the pampering and the pleasure of each other's company..sigh..They work hard from morning to evening, then in the night lie together on the sofa with arms around each other and discuss about their day and try to get to know each other better.
Even after being in love there are things they don't know about each other. When they are at work both of them concentrate on that. The guy and the girl have different groups of friends with who they hang out separately once in a while.
Cut to real life. I totally fail to understand modern day love and romance. Instead of making me sigh, it gets on my nerves and makes me irritated. It starts out the usual way, boy meets girl and girl meets boy and they become friends. After that, WHOA..its becomes friggin crazy. The guy and the girl start texting (SMSing) each other every day. They still go out with their group of friends. From one message a day it slowly goes up to 2,000 messages in a day. Then one day, suddenly lightning strikes and ther realize that they are in love !!!!! Uhh..I am a little lost here..how can you fall in love through SMSes ?? Anyway, after this realization it becomes completely insane. They stick to each other as if someone put feviquick on them and pressed hard (Feviquick, chutki mein chipkaye). They start ditching their friends, start cancelling plans at the last minute and keep secrets from them. On fine day they just stop hanging out with them. In other words, those two become so dependent upon each other and so engrossed together that they lose their individuality. One won't go anywhere or do anything without the other.
When, by some reason the couple is not together, then they are talking on the phone. For instance, the guy and the girl work at different places. They reach their respective offices, start their PCs, put their mobile headphones in their ears and start talking. They talk throughout the day until the time they meet each other again. Uggghhh!!! I so completely hate that !! A girl constantly whispering endearments into the telephone and then laughing her silly laugh. What exactly is there to say that takes up the whole day or is it a way of keeping tabs on each other ??? I complete my telephonic conversations with my best friends in 45 minutes tops. None of the two concentrate on the work nor do they make friends at their workplace and THEY DON'T LET THEIR COLLEAGUES WORK IN PEACE EITHER !!!
As per the movie Jab We Met,"Jab do log pyar mein hote hain toh kuch sahi galat nahin hota." I am sorry but I beg to differ. Ditching your friends, neglecting your work and constantly keep the mobile networks jammed is WRONG !!!!
If this is what love is, then I am happy to be single because I can't give up my independence for someone and I can't lose my friends for that someone. Also, I really do not have the stamina to talk on the phone for 24X7 !!
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