Aaj mere yaar ki shadi hai

I am at a marriage.. Of my schoolfriends. The girl sat next to me for 9th and 10th.. And guy sat in front of me in the 10th class.
Yes, it started there.. And I never knew till my friend told me herself 2 years later.. They have gone through a lot over the last 12 years.. She is an engineer now and he is a doctor. We kept in touch, lost the contact, and are connected back agin. Over the years, I got to know about her father's prolonged hospitalization and demise, his continued support to her inspite of his studies getting affected. Her job in Mumbai, his studies in Pune. His parents opposed, they convinced.. She lost her mother few months back after their engagement .
And today when I see them together, its all so worth. I would have missed this occassion, if it was not her brother- who convinced me I should be here when I called to say sorry- and my colleague who took over all work responsibilities and let me leave office.
I am happy I am here to wish them all the best as they start a new inning of their life..

Diplomacy

How interestingly do we behave,isnt it? When it comes to presenting something to our bosses, everyone tries to keep it precise and avoids creation of further questions.. Be it a regulat team member presenting to his Team Lead or Project Manager or a team of TLs/PMs presenting to the Senior Management.. But are the bosses that dumb?

Life comes at you fast!!

Life doesnt stop for you.. Its a known fact.. Before one project has ended, another has already gone critical.. As I am still coping up with sorrow of leaving the first project, I get called for finalizing the case studies for both the days of the weekend..
No, I dont ask for a slower life.. Till I am able to keep up the speed.
When I say Life's a race.. I want to run for myself.. Not to win over someone else.. Its a race.. Not a competition :)

Optimism

Is it possible to be optimistic all the time ?

I used to get frustrated over lot of things at a point of time in life. Then a friend showed me, getting frustrated is taking me nowhere.. the situation remains the same, the people remain the same and I also stay in the same place.. There is only one difference, I have grown bitter and angry and it does not affect anyone else.

I had to check my emotions and words - continuously - to stay away from frustrations in adverse situations, keep thinking to find a way because there is always a way out. and it has helped me so far..

God, As I enter the world of indefinite, please help me keep my optimism, come what may.. and when I start losing it, I will remind you of this Blog prayer :)

Ethics

Ethics
Thats the current buzzword I am hearing..
Its such a touchy thing that I cant write about it !

O re manva

O re manva tu to bavra hai
tu hi jane tu kya sochta hai
tu hi jane tu kya sochta hai baavre
kyu dikhaye sapne tu sote jaagte
jo barse sapne boond boond
naino ko moond moond
kaise main chalu, dekh na saku,
Anjaane raaste......

too good...

Updates

When I had heard of Twitter first, I used to think "Why the hell do people want to send out their updates all the day long?"

And now ? I find it de-stressing to change my Facebook Status to reflect my thoughts at the moment and read people commenting on it .. It keeps me cheerful although my life has gone topsy-turvywith work and studies :)

Currently looking for Mobile Apps that will help me blog..

(And you thought there was some change from my life :) )

Slipping away

I am talking of friends.. dont we all encounter the slipping ?

School Friends, College Friends, Training friends, Location friends, Commute friends, Neighbourhood friends, Team friends, et al..

I am not talking of acquaintances.. I am talking about friends, whom we are pretty close with and share our lives with them .. and after a point of time the contact breaks.. for no specific reason.. how much ever you try to put things back.. it never comes together again ..

I wrote earlier about not being able to connect with friends after long time.. I guess its the same thing.. After a point of time, you stop being able to connect.. But it surely hurts when you see someone slipping away and having no rhyme or reason for it..

I read this post again .. I guess its soo very true..

Chak de!

Have you ever heard a running commentary of any sport ? How the commentators put the picture up through their words..their excitement and sorrow .. the anxiety and the relief .. They try to do the 100% communication from the only channel of Voice !

It was the Men's Hockey Semi Finals in CWG. I accidentally had tuned into the sarkari FM station 107.1 which was giving out the commentary .. It was the time of Penalty shootout which was to resolve the tie-breaker score 3-3 of India and England. 5 Shootouts and as each player attempting at the shot and the goalies taking pressure at each minute, the commentators in Hindi and English were so animated that they brought the stadium in front of the eyes.. and when the team India won - the English commentator went crazy with happiness !!!

It has been a good season of sports at CWG.. though it had not started on the right note due to the hungry, insatiated politicians - the sportspeople have been brave and courageous enough to battle all the odds and excel at their sport ! There hasnt been enough facilities or money or expert coaching but these guys have been fabulous !!

Kudos to Team India ! how many gold, silver or bronze medals you get is not important, Its important that you have excelled and have been better than all of your prior achievements !! Wish you get all the recognition you deserve !!

CWG ends tomorrow, but there are the Asian Games coming up ! All the best !!

Have we lost sensitivity ?

Random incidents .. dont know what to make out.. have we lost our sensitivity ?

An little incident on one of the mornings last week where a a father aged around 35-40 and his son aged around 8-10 were waiting for the son's school bus. The father did not seem happy with waiting part and seemed restless. The place where I saw this is a intersection of two roads and these guys were on middle of one of the two roads. An old man who was hard of hearing and had a hearing aid in his ear , probably was unable speak as well. He went to this father son duo, held the son with arm and took him to side of the road and actioned him to say "Stand here, there are vehicles on the road, take care" Mr. Father , unfazed, unaffected, did not give another thought to it. for a moment till the old man went away, the son stood at the side, Father didnt, and then the son was back in the middle of the road with his father !

First Class compartment in Mumbai Local, not a rush hour but all seats were full and a handful standing. A lady, working or collegian (twacha se umar ka pata nahi chalta) was being touched by the child on shoulder of a lady who looked a little lower middle class and probably got into a wrong compartment.. This suave lady tells the other "Hey please move to that side, please move a little" (NO, Its not a translated sentence). The other lady lost and just said "huh? ?" She wasnt able to understand English at all.. Our suave lady said the same thing in english again.. and got the same response.. Seeing the conversation not going towards communication, I translated for the sake of the lost lady.. and then she moved a little away :) No I did not get any thanks from anyone .. but thats not the point.. Dint the suave lady know hindi ? cant she have done it herself ? I still wonder ..

Interesting thought

Just wanted to put it down..

Dahi-handi s are so contemporary to Corporates ..

Originally started by the great management guru - Shri Krishna.. An attempt to get people to work in a team towards a single Goal - Butter , which was good for their health. The team consisted of multiple skilled people - strong Balram, physically challenged Pendya and other differently abled cowherd friends. They made an human pyramid to reach the pot of expectations set by the Gopika's..

Now ? the politicians put out cranes to hoist the pot of Money. Pull it up higher and higher as the human pyramids start building.. and there are a lot of various teams putting together the pyramids.. competing with each other..

A very interesting thought came to my mind as I watched one of the cranes.. Doesnt it get any more closer to Current world corporates ?

Today, all companies are competing in equally cut-throat competition. Putting their teams under pressure to win the pot of money.. the teams have different skill-levels, work in multiple layers -some take lot of physical pressure and some take the higher risk - the mental pressure..

And the customers i.e. the organizers of the show - they keep increasing the height of their expectations, and the pot of money doesnt match the efforts or cover the risk as well ..

Just wondering, do our Govinda teams also need to get into contemporary mood and look for Innovative strategies to hit the prize instead working it out the traditional way ??

I hope all Govindas have been safe today and no one has got hurt..

August... yet again!

So August of 2010 is slipping away .. August has been very special month for me :) I posted this in 2008 and 2009.. Thought it wont have many surprises this time around.. But the month proves me wrong :)

I got a looong bout of fever.. 5 days !! I am still recovering from it .. I know for a normal person is this is news ? But for me, yes.. I dint get it for a very long time..

and another thing happened to me is the admission to premier B-school for a year long Management certification course.

As a few more days of this month are left, lets see whats more yet to come..

Its good to be sick

.. when your sickness and leave due to the sickness helps you get out of a sticky political situation :)

Bear & Bunny

A bear and a bunny,

Had plenty of money,

They went to the store,

For carrots and honey..

When the bear and the bunny,

Asked, "Carrots and honey!"

The man in the store,Cried,

“Where is your money?”

How strange, and how funny!

They really had money

—And that’s how they bought,

Their carrots and honey !

( Liked this rhyme, hence posted :))

Will call you later....

Have you heard it ?

"Hey, I am a bit tied up, will call you later , ok?"

"Hello.. hello.. I am not able to hear you well, its very noisy here, Will call you later, ok?"

"Hey, I am getting another call, I will call you later, aaramse baat karte hai "

And how many times does this "later" comes in reality ??

(Yeah, I am mad at my very close friends for doing this to me .. and I know they dont read my blog.. just my way to vent out !!)

Wax museum

Visited a Celebrity Wax Museum , here in India.. Its located at Versoli near Lonavala.

Though the wax figures are few, they are good .

There is A R Rehman and theres Michael Jackson, Mahatma Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Sai baba and Satya Sai Baba, Mother Teresa and Amritanandamayi Amma !!

There are a lot of Kerali politicos, which we werent much familiar, yet I do like the efforts been put in to build in these wax models! Way to go Mr. Sunil Kandalloor!

Interview

Got a chance to give an interview after nearly 6 years.. and I was scared terribly!!

The interview didnt go much well and I am not sure if they will shortlist me :(. Any ways I got to see a lot of people and their reactions..

It was an interview for an Executive Management certification programme for a very reputed Management institute. As per schedule 30 of us were supposed to be interviewed in the span of 4 hours - 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. Everyone was present at 8:30 am.. Note that all the candidates had minimum 5 years of Experience , actually much more than that.. So there was a variety of dress code followed.. from Crisp suit and tie to simply formals with tie to only formals to smart casuals as well !!! Did that make a difference ? No idea !

As everyone was called in for verification of certificates-10th, 12th, Degree and Experience - I was thinking Why do we need such an assortment ? Unless you are 10th pass, you cannot go for 12th.. Without initial 12th / Diploma, You cannot go for a degree.. Also in a degree, unless you clear all semesters, you wont get a convocation certificate - Then why scrutinize ALL of it.. :)

Anyways, the action of one candidate prior to Interview which prompted me to post was interesting.. He was waiting for his name to be called ( I know that this guy has 15 years of experience) . Till that happened, he was chanting some prayer to himself and to end it he also did a sort of namaskar with one hand, touched his ears and brushed off his actions as if he had not done anything!! :) Not that it was inappropriate , but it was amusing to see !!

Few others were reading newspapers nervously, discussing about the accreditation of the course and value of it.. More others just leafing through their ceritificates, some more browsing emails on their smartphones or even playing games and me- I was trying to stifle my yawns, holding up my sleepy bouts (Due to the lack of sleep on previous two days) and trying to keep awake every time the certificate scrutinizer called some name. I had 2 min naps as well to freshen myself up.

Now I feel, there may some other person on that group who might blog about me, who knows !

Mobile Raddiwala !!!

Yeah.. Our regular raddiwala has gone mobile..

Its very simple, we call him on his mobile number, he comes home with an electronic scale , weighs the raddi (old newspapers) , pays you the amount and takes away the raddi..

Kya baat hai !! Life ekdum Fassht ho gaya hai !!

Constant Change

Change is the only constant, isnt it ?

But then why do we see some people changed and yet some more as never changed ?

I guess we accept changes we like and then dont find any change .. and when are not able to accept it we quip ' How much has this changed !!'

(Written with nothing particular in mind and BTW this is my 100th post !!)

Rain Rain

It rained today.. heavily near my office, bit scantily near my home..

The newspaperwala where I buy my paper said to me on friday, "You people carry this umbrella hence it doesnt rain.. " So I dint carry it today.. And truly it rained ..

Been a long time since I enjoyed it .. in US Monsoon season doesnt exist. It rains every few days. Guess it does have a pattern, but surely not a season. Dont remember many incidents when we were caught unawares by rain, or dint get a chance for the superstition like mentioned above :P

When it rained, never got much drenched.. barring a few occassions.. After all, could not afford to fall sick. So seeing it raining today I was overwhelmed !!

Rain Rain, Come again.. If you dont like, I wont take an umbrella again !

Mobile Camera

Some things amaze us and they are in our daily life.. The best way to pick it up for Memory storage is the Mobile Camera.. Here are some of my recent pic(k)s...

Nandi Bail

Dont have a english translation for this . In Maharashtra, they decorate a bull and get him out to places. He is supposed to have supernatural powers and can answer questions in Yes and No..

I was amazed to see this one just near my home while going to office.

Innovation at a roadside Bhajiwali

I liked this little battery providing light to the road-si

de vegetable seller.

If you can see carefully, there is a rechargeable battery down there and two sticks giving the light an elevation.

Mast white light me sabje dekho aur le lo !!

A Bad Jam.. Traffic Jam ..

In traffic jam. people get crazy and get into the wrong lane to try to get ahead of the stream, jamming it hard for the oncoming vehicles!

I am so afraid of this, that I am still learning to drive in India :(

And the Latest One all the way from Goa.. in Madgaon Market.

I tried reading it, but I failed to read it in first attempt. It needed some logical building to read a typical Indian Name "Venkatesh Acharekar" (I am still wondering its Acharekar, Azrekar or Ajdekar). The Portugese had a typical way of spelling and it shows in Goa where all Indian names have been spelled differently. There's one "Caxinata" which is equivalent to "Kashinath".

Dunno how they would have spelled my name.

Letter

When I was in Hostel during my engg. days, I once dint talk to my parents for sometime just because they dint send a letter with my parcel ..

During my Onsite assignment in US, I normally talked to my parents every alternate day. Yet I always asked for a letter with any parcel they sent for me :) Just 2 personal words.. But written by someone..

Today I received a gift - a purse - from a close friend overseas and very unexpectedly. The first thing I checked was is there a letter with it ? I was so disappointed as there wasnt one ..

A letter is such an important thing.. I read today in one of the columns in a Marathi newspaper..trying to translate a part that I remember from my morning quick skim..

Letters have grown so old fashioned these days. Its easier and faster to get in touch with phone and email. But does it give the same happiness of refreshing your memory when you read an old yellowing letter than an email on milk-white screen ? Does an email give the personal touch felt by a letter ?

As I am writing I realize I have heard about the amazing power of a letter just few days back.

In the year 1996 (start thoda filmy hai but ok) I had written letters to all my first and second cousins from my paternal side, all those who we know in our family tree and sent a rakhi with it.. We had then brought together our 8 brothers and 6 sisters. Last month during my brother's marriage, my aunt- one of those 8's mom- mentioned the letter. She said it was that letter that brought them closer to the family.. She still has that letter about which I had forgotten till then. :) Today all of the brothers are in touch with me (touchwood !) though they may not be in touch with each other (sad part, but true).. The point is those letters and their impact !

Though all of above is true, have I stopped writing ? I can blog as it is typing but can I write on a piece of paper ? Can I write letters and then can receive more and get less disappointed ?

Tag

I dont pick up tags much, thought theres no harm :)

Things you have done during your lifetime:
() Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school (or college)
(X) Watched someone die
() Been to Canada
() Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
() Been to Australia or New Zealand
() Been to Europe
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
() Swam in the ocean(floated:))
() Seen the Sequoias and/or Redwoods
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
() Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
(X) Hiked up a mountain
() Paid for a meal with coins only
() Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
() Made prank phone calls
() Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
() Danced in the rain-naked
() Been skinny dipping in a pool or a hot tub (Creek)
() Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
() Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
() Been deep sea fishing
() Driven across the United States
() Been in a hot air balloon
() Been sky diving
() Gone snowmobiling
(X) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
() Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
() Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
() Camped in the Mountains
() Camped on the Beach
() Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X)Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
() Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
() Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(X) Been in a rain forest
() Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
(X) Ridden on an elephant
() Swam with dolphins
() Been to the Olympics
() Walked on the Great Wall of China
() Saw and heard a glacier calf
() Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been para sailing
(X) Been snow-skiing
() Been to Westminster Abbey

तो

असतो तो आसपास , इतरांसारखा. फार वेगळा नाही वाटंत. कोणाचा लक्ष सुद्धा जात नाही आणि कोणी ओळख पण दाखवत नाही
ग्रीष्म आला की मात्र याला धुमारे फुटतात आणि हळु हळु आपण त्याला बघू लागतो - कारण आपल्या लक्षात आलेलं असतं की अंगाची लाही लाही करणार्या वैशाख वणव्यातुन तावुन सुलाखून , सुर्यालाही लाजवणारी लाली पहरून आश्चर्यचकित करणारा हा गुलमोहर असतो

I realise its friday when..

.. when my mom wakes me up saying "Just today, tomorrow is a holiday for you"

.. when guys in my company bus dabble in bright colors like red and red and black

.. when one of my married colleague who lives in a joint family gets in a "oh no its friday" mode (dreading her weekend workload)

.. when I have to get my team to fill timesheets and ensure they have completed it

.. when I return back near home and our Istriwala (Laundry) shop is closed :P (Friday is their weekly off)

and then I realise that I can sit up late tonight and chat with my friends

Teacher and Ex

Some words never go together.. Like teacher and Ex.. have you ever heard someone , even yourself saying "I met my ex-Teacher today"? No ways.. Teachers never go Ex. It doesnt sound at all good.
This came up when I was talking about my Classical dance teacher. I left it aorund 15 years ago. But when I said, my ex-teacher has performed in a live programme, I did not like the word myself..
And then all teachers started crowding my memories..

I still remember sitting near my Jr KG teacher's chair. After completing whatever she had asked us to, I was caught doing a mischief :P. I dont remember her name though.

Then there was our Gracy Teacher for Sr. KG. She was such a sweetheart. I dont remember what she taught us, but I do remember the pleasant way she used to talk to us. Even if she always talked in English and I was too young, I knew I understood everything. On the day I forgot to take my Schoolbag, she had hugged me and quietened my tears. On the day I wore a Uniform Shirt-pant like boys, she had told me very sweetly that if you are a girl you should wear Pinafore and that it looks good on me. She passed away last month. I last met her some 3-4 years back and I feel there should have been another chance.. She was one teacher I remember who was never in any controversies, never heard any complaint or cross word about her. She remembered every student's name whichever class you are in. Gracy Teacher- May you rest in peace and I will never forget you.

Then there was my Marathi teacher who has been mentioned here.

Then Vrinda teacher, Beola Teacher, Pereira Teacher, Naik Teacher .. thats till standard 4th when we had only 1 teacher for all subjects.

From 5th-7th, teachers changed subject-wise. Vasantha teacher, Meenal teacher, Jyoti Teacher, Padmaja Teacher..

The in Final years of school, we had Sekar teacher, Bhalerao Teacher, Jignasa Teacher and the unforgettables Bhat Teacher & Bhat Sir.

Teachers after this stage were more professionals and less personally involved.

But I should mention, our Hostel Warden ARP sir, who loved us but always scolded us for lot of disciplinary goof-ups :P. Also Our IT Dept. Head and our Local Guardian in college - Prof R C Thool and his wife Thool Madam.. He is a gem of a person and always provided us with every facility and kept us free from the College Bureaucracy red tapes.

Its been a loong loong time since I met or contacted many of them. Hope this post starts a thread of communication!

There have been a lot more teachers teaching a lot at every walk of life.. I have just mentioned the Academia here :)

Time test

I believe Time test is the bestest (wanted to make it Best test, fir plan change).

I mean Time tells you, who wants to keep in touch with you and who doesnt. Becos for acquaintances , or forgotten friends, we wouldnt prioritize our time.
So also as time goes, we analyze our friendship more objectively, and if we think the other person is not worth your time, then out the person is from memory frames and "time"frames..

Yeah, I am a bit cross with a friend who doesnt have time to talk / chat / meet. But I felt like writing more becos I just chatted with 2 friends of mine - One was my roomie in college days and other cubicle mate in the first 2 years of my first Job. I was soo unable to connect for more than 2 minutes with them. While there is this another friend(who was originally a friend's sister, but turned out to be closer than the original friend :P), I can connect with her pretty fast, and we keep chattering for hours together-even if late nights. I guess its a part of life..

I do beleive time can distinguish a friend for you. No matter after how long are you meeting/talking/chatting, you can still pick up the thread of communication. You dont look for topics to talk with a good friend, they just keep flowing..

Dumbo

Sometimes I feel I am such a dumbo.. I havent been a fan of some genre of music.. i dont even know the right pronunciation of that word "genre".. People younger than me have taste for a specific "genre" .
Some of my colleagues are pursuing post graduations, doing weekend classes and what not.. even though I wanted to, I never ended up pursuing it with so much fervour.
There are other colleagues who have jumped ship so many times that with half experience than me, they are now earning nearly equal package. I havent ever given a thought. :) not that I have any particular reason..
There are these young people who are aware and conscious about the various career options they have and also have clear ideas on what they want. I have simply drifted along my way so far.. never had a clue about available opportunities or have fought for any particular thing..
There so many others that do a lot of things to improve their health. I dont find the find the motivation inside me.
(Not that I have not got it externally, but by experience, external motivation can push me only for a limited amount of time, I lose interest in a short span and end up having side effects)

The point remains, am I so much a dumb person ?

Is it just me?

Sometimes, do we all feel like bound by obligations that we cannot break or is it just me ?

Sometimes, we are compelled to take a decision professionally but emotionally its difficult conveying to the concerned person. Or is it just me facing this situation?

There is this colleague of mine, who has seen me over last 3 years. I have changed drastically in my behaviour over these years. I had a very hot temper and I used get frustrated angry with people who would not understand my view. Time and a lot of efforts has taught me to calm down and react after thinking. But for this colleague of mine, I guess she always has my old image in her mind when she speaks to me and so the conversation sometimes goes a little awry.. To avoid friction, I minimize interaction with her. I guess I am doing wrong by keeping the interaction to minimum, I am not giving a chance to her to adjust her perspectives.. But yet I feel, Does that happen to everyone or just me ?

I am not wondering why does that happen only to me .. But just wondering if I am normal or I just think too much about everything.. I guess as per my quote earlier, these things must also have a reason.. Need to brood over it to find out.

Enjoy !

How to deal with frustration

This is something I googled for "how to deal with frustration" It sounds good to me. Link is "http://www.life-with-confidence.com/frustration.html

The emotion you’re feeling is “Frustration”.
With a capital “F”. Maybe even add in some anger because you’ve been working really hard towards your goal or on a project and it just isn’t working. Or you feel like you’re stuck in a dead-end job and can’t find another one. And you may not even really know why. All you know is that you seem to be stuck and no matter how hard you try, you don’t seem to get anywhere. You’re just spinning your wheels in the mud and all you feel is pure frustration. Sound familiar?

This is the point where a lot of people will just say, “I Quit” and give up. Before you do though, here’s 8 ways you can blast through any frustration:

1. Ask Yourself, “What Is Working in This Situation?”
Even if feels like nothing is working, look closely and you will probably find at least something that is going right. So, that’s good. You’ve found something that’s working. Now, how do you improve it? By asking this question, you’ve taken yourself out of the negative mindset of “it’s hopeless” and are back to focusing on the positive.

There's something that’s working and that will give you a clue of what direction to focus on. You may find that even if your previous issues come up you’ll be able to resolve them in the process of concentrating on your improvements.

2. Keep an Accomplishments Log
Write down everything you accomplish in a log. If you do it in a monthly format you will be able to see all that you have accomplished in just one month. You may be surprised by how much you have done. If you realize there’s not much on the list, it may open your eyes to the fact that you may be procrastinating more than working or that you are using too much of your energy going in too many directions and that you need to focus more. Hopefully, you will have lots of items on your list then you can see that even though it may not feel like it, you are moving forwards. The log will also help to highlight where you were the most effective and where you need to work harder.

3. Focus On What You Want to Happen
Go back to the big picture. What is the desired outcome? Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in one problem and trying to solve it that we forget what we were originally trying to accomplish. Try not to ask yourself, “Why did this happen?” Asking questions like that will keep you rooted in the past. It doesn’t offer a solution to the problem. The important thing is knowing the answer to the following two questions:
- What do you want to happen differently this time?”
- What do you need to do in order to get there?

4. Remove the “Noise” and Simplify
When you’re trying to solve a problem, you can get so wrapped up in trying to find a solution that you add unnecessary clutter, noise, and tasks to a project because you thought they “might” be a solution.

Working on this website, I get bombarded by offer after offer of “easy ways to run your website”, “get more traffic”, “make more money” etc. They’re just noise though and usually a waste of my time even reading them. These people are just trying to make money off of me. They have no interest in whether I succeed or not. When people are frustrated by how slow the hard work process is taking, they get tempted by these “here’s what you’ve been missing” and “I’ll make it easy for you” offers. Usually, it ends up that if you do get tempted by the offers you discover 6 months down the road that if you had just stuck with your first plan and just kept working at it, you’d be a lot further ahead by now. Not to mention richer from not having spent money on the Get Rich Quick schemes. Believe in yourself. Simplify and go back to the basics. Determine what is really necessary and remove everything else. Anything that takes your time and effort that isn’t adding value, should be eliminated.

5. Multiple Solutions
You always have options. You just need to brainstorm and figure them out. Tell yourself you need to come up with 8 possible options to what you’re dealing with. Just knowing that you have lots of options will help to make you feel better. You won’t feel like you are trapped in one negative situation. From your list, figure out the best direction and go for it.

6. Take Action
When you get into serious frustration with a problem, you tend not to want to work on it anymore. It’s hard, it’s frustrating, and you’re not getting anywhere. So, anything to avoid having to be in that situation may be far more attractive. Procrastination may start to set in. If you can keep taking steps forwards, you will probably make it past this temporary hump. As Thomas Edison said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up” and “Surprises and reverses can serve as an incentive for great accomplishment.”

The other thing that can happen is that you start to spend a lot of time worrying. Worrying is a definite way of energy and does not move you in a forwards direction. Only taking action will. Once you start moving forwards again, you will most likely find that you worried for no reason.

7. Visualize a Positive Outcome to the Situation
A lot of times you can get stuck on focusing on what you don’t want to happen or fearing the absolute worst thing that could happen. The top athletes of the world will imagine themselves competing flawlessly over and over again. There is no room for failure in their minds. This is what you need to focus on as well. See yourself achieving your desired outcome. What will it look like? What will it feel like? What will you say? How will you feel? Take the time to visualize it and really feel it. It will inspire you to keep moving forwards.

8. Stay Positive
Things are usually not as bad as they first appear. Sometimes, things seem much worse simply because we’re tired or mentally drained. Taking a break and remembering to keep your sense of humour can also help. This time of frustration will pass. A positive mind is far more open to solutions and answers than a negative one that thinks it’s just “hopeless” and thinks “what’s the use?” A closed mind will not be able to see the possible solutions when they do come along. Stay positive.

As with any problem, the solution is to figure out what your options are, decide on a plan, focus, and then take action. By using the above 8 steps, you should find that you’re running into fewer problems and feeling less frustration. Instead, you may find that you’re running into opportunities and you know exactly how to take advantage of them.

Few quotes

Quotes that I have developed ..

There is no better motivating factor than TINA factor .. (There Is No Alternative)

Nothing ever goes wrong.. as everything happens for a reason :) (Variant of All that happens , happens for the best)

Tip

How much tip do we pay when we go to Restaurants ?

In US, even if we went to a restaurant with Buffet, for more than 6 people a gratuity (Tip in other words) of 15% of the bill amount. And they served only the Rotis and one Tandoori chicken at the table. Plates, Cutlery, Food you should bring out from the Buffet Table.

Back in India, even for A la carte, where you get separate set of plates and cutlery for starters, main course and dessert set and cleared , food served in plates, continuous supply of water, clean up of table after every course, Finger bowls, mostly everything at your service .. what do we pay in addition to the bill as a tip ?

I have seen more than one occasions where the tip paid was less than 1% of the bill. In actuality, the wages of an American Waiter and that for an Indian one would differ radically..

When I added a tip of nearly 8% ( an amount to round it off to nearest 100) , I got surprised eyes and opened door as I left .. :)

I only had to keep the payment away from the eyes of my Mom .. but thats fine.. I can explain her ..

Recording Light

So here are the Assignment photos from my Photography.. I got an A+ in the course.. I have to see how much I can take this further....

Note: As a composition written in an exam doesnt have literary value, dont look for too much of artistic value here :)

The bird

Office Canteen.. lunch time.

All tables packed and people tracking empty spaces by keen eyes.

Suddenly, in a corner there is a loud noise. A pigeon attempted suicide at one of the Big exhaust fans spluttering its tail and a side of feathers on 2-3 tables near the fan. People move from their seats. Some leave off the food , rest move a little away.

Someone washes hands, gets the water for the bird, picks it up and puts it away in a place where no one would stomp on it. He keeps the water bowl near the fowl so to help it.

The 3 tables in vicinity of the Suicide spot are empty, cleaned up by the canteen staff.

A new bunch of people enters the canteen, loves the sight of empty place at peak hour and rushes in to occupy the place.

Life returns to as usual!

Zamana badal gaya hai!

Have you seen dogs running behind people carrying Milk or bread ?

Today I was surprised when I saw a dog gnawing at a man's hand carrying packets of ... Do you want to guess ? .... gutkha !!!!!!!!

They say the country is going to dogs.. but where are the dogs going ?

Farm'pur'

Visited our farm at Badlapur.. Just 30-35 kms away from home.. Pics from my Mobile cam

Happy Holi (?)

So my Amma wanted me home for Holi.. Me too as it had been 3 years since I had the Puran-polis she makes.. So I had initially refused the invitations to Pune - one by my would-be-Bhabhi and one from my Best Friend. To add to reasons, I had my Photography class on Saturday evening and Sunday 8 am to 5 pm. So I was very vocal about not getting any time to be in Pune..

Then another dear friend calls up to tell me that she is coming to Pune from Delhi with her 8-month-old daughter, Pari. So I get all enthused to take the trip .. My Amma was dejected, but understood that I had to make the trip. So to cheer her up, I promise to get back on Monday evening to have the Puran-poli.

So I leave my home on Sunday morning 7 am with 2 days stuff packed in my back-pack , Get late for the regular train, yet manage to catch it. Then I reach the class, where it starts a whole 15-min late.. then in the first break we head to a farther restaurant-just for the sake of the delight of a friend's taste buds- and again get late to get back to the class. Again the break is extended for another 15 mins. Then again after the class ends at 12:45, as pre-decided, we are supposed to head to Atria Mall for a demo of Macro lenses at Canon Image lounge. So have lunch, rush rush to Worli.. reach later than the decided time 2 pm :D and again the actual demo starts later .. The delays happening were very unlikely as our Sir normally starts right on time. But it was a different day. I could slip away from there at 4 .. reached the bus stand at 4:15, got a ticket for Shivneri -the last one for the 4:30 bus - and started my travel.

After a good ride and a rickshaw "ride" to my friend's place , when I reached my Best friend's place, I was welcomed by a tired face.. where normally I am welcomed with Open arms, but this trip was different :( After an hour and half, my Delhi friend arrived with her sleeping kid :( .. we had dinner together and then she left for her sister's place.. My best friend-already sleepy- slept in next 10 mins. and me restless with my stomach-ache that had started before I left Dadar, could not sleep for another hour.

Next morning, I woke up at 6:45 without a beckon at the time when my first daily alarm goes off, even though I had silenced it the earlier night. As we got freshened up by 9, I called up my Delhi friend to check if she was up and ready to meet again. But she was sleeping with her kid, so left a message to call up once she wakes up. Another friend from Navi Mumbai, started at 10 to meet this Delhi friend. But we did not any call till 12. My best friend and her husband with other few friends of theirs went to play Holi and I - due to my allergies - was left to surf TV channels. after a set of photo shoots, another set of phone calls and discussions, My best friend, her husband and me were cooking lunch for us three at 2 pm. By the time we had our lunch at 3 pm, the Navi Mumbai friend arrived, Then my dear Delhi friend had arrived. so when I started planning to move around 4 to start for Mumbai, she was asking me to stay.. Finally I could start at 5:30 pm.. So as to get a better reaching time we went to Swargate. But found full crowd, complete chaos, and a constant redirecting Govt. employees and piece of information. All the buses till 8 pm were reserved fully. Another phone call and found someone at the ticket line at Pune station.. So rushed to Pune Station just in time for the bus. 6:55 pm I had started back for Mumbai.

Story doesn't end here, I get down at Vashi Plaza, try to get a NMMT for Dombivli and I get after another 20 min wait. As soon as I settle down in a seat, the bus starts sputtering and making nasty noises.. so its taken to a Bus depot. Another wait for 15 mins and we are transferred to another bus. By the time I reach home, I still have my stomach-ache, its 11:20pm, pretty late for dinner. Yet my parents are waiting for me, putting out the dinner. I eat only the Puran-poli as promised although my stomach says no ..

And now I am blogging? To write about the trip that was so unsatisfying.. All the efforts and trouble to see my friends, who were not so enthused to see me :( .. To express my sorrow on not making it a point to meet my would-be-Bhabhi and making her (& I guess my Brother as well) mad at me.. To let my friends know that I couldn't tell them that it hurt me.. To note that next time my mother doesn't like it, I shouldn't go anywhere..

The moral of the story : Mom's always the best. and make sure your priorities are set right !

This is fun..

I just posted on my facebook status "Entering a new World..' and I start getting questions "Of?", "Left your job?" "Nice, Nice" and what not..

I dont know what people are thinking.. But I am feeling like people are building castles on their own!

And me, I am just hoping that this new world entry isnt Jinxed..

As such its not so new.. I guess I was just skimming near it so far and now have decided to take it up seriously.. Just wish me luck with my Photography class .. :)