Notes to myself

A quick recap of the weekend:

Got house cleaned up for parents' arrival (for good! :) :( :) ), bathroom still remains to be cleaned, covered with a thin layer of dust. Help lady refuses after washing the hall upstairs. Switched on the motor, fuse   (blew up? gone? what?). Uncle repaired fuse, motor still refuses to work - not a great way to welcome your parents back. Decided to make one last fruitless trip to the passport office - was fruitless indeed. Gave up and gave in, gave passport to uncle who will get an agent to do something about the renewal. Decided to go shopping for niece. Ended up splurging on clothes for niece, the mother, the aunts. Acc. to Immu, 'Dayal's uthake lalee'. It's an anticlimax when you buy gifts for people and they make you feel guilty instead. However, on a sidenote, I have also realized that my love for shopping is manifesting itself in strange ways: Since I feel too guilty after buying stuff for myself, I am now spending on others (but there was a sale too! FORTY PERCENT OFF and everything I picked up was WOW!). Okay, I think maybe like Shopaholic, dresses are calling me to buy them and I can't refuse! Anyway, it was a great shopping trip. Came home, showed off shopping to Immu, but it didn't end up making me feel very great :/ Some things are just weird...

There was a barbecue party in the night, and then the PAX stayed up talking for a while. Then Immu and I spent (wasted, really) some time over Facebook. That girl is an addict.

Had made plans with J for the next day, but for a number of reasons I called up J and cancelled. Thought she would kill me, but we're friends for a reason - she said: I was half-thinking of cancelling myself! Next time, J. The PAX then decided that we didn't know when we'd get a chance to go out together again, so the two married women and me single girl ( :D ) went off to Pizza Hut and had an awzum time. Ultimate temptation cheesy bite pizza is highly recommended. Must say, you also need to be in fun company. More PAX pictures were taken and a lot of fun was had.

Had a good time catching up with people I haven't spoken to in a long time too. And some cryie conversations. Sigh. 

And back in office today... Monday's are so depressing. I want to go back to school again :|

Heeh :D

I got them last week. This is a very bad quality photo. But aren't they beautiful? I don't even know if I can walk in them. I feel like I bought jewellery :D

Ring out the old...

2009 - In my mostly plain vanilla life, you mostly fit in. There were some new things - the 'turnaround' (that still makes me wince), the new phone (whose many amazing features I love but mostly have no time for), among some others, but mostly it was the year of waiting. Even on the 31st, I wondered how come we weren't still suspended a long way off from 2010, a state that my brain has been in for a long time. 2010 will also bring with itself a fair share of waiting, but it's more bearable now, and more exciting, insha allah.

The 'Management' took some pity on us and decided to give us a holiday on Thursday, giving us a total of four days off. The previous weekend was a long weekend too and with no work to be done, I was quite surprised to find myself fidgeting thanks to all the time I had on my hands. So I went ahead and dug up the crochet kit that I got from Walmart and learned a few stitches. Yeah, I surprised myself too.

These four days seemed to fly by and Monday's almost here. Sigh. It felt like winter break in school. My manager's face seems blurry to my memory and considering that I've been working with another team on a consulting project, regular work seems miles away.

Went out on all three days except today. Grandmom wanted to buy the latest addition to the family some gifts, so went to Ameerpet and then a toy store at Abids. The next day, having spent the whole day finishing off my first David Baldacci (borrowed because I dont like spending money on thrillers, but totally enjoyed it), went with Xobia to Landmark and fell in love - hook, line and sinker. I always end up buying a book whenever I go to Crossword, and the other day I convinced myself that it was okay to buy the membership card and did. (I think I just love adding plastic to my wallet, it makes me feel cool or something). Realized what a big mistake I'd made when I saw the sheer number of books that Landmarks stocks. Just standing around, I saw a book that I'd been planning to buy for sometime and the sequel to the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'. I only watched the movie but loved it, so decided to buy the sequel, and am halfway through and completely bowled over by the writing. It's not brilliant, but it's a true girl/woman book. (Calling it chicklit would be a little degrading methinks). I'm still offended that it was stocked in the teen fiction section! Hmmf. Did some fabulous shopping at Shilparamam the next day. Loved showing it off.

Tis time to go to ze bed and sloop. Happy New Year! January 1st was more on the lines of Crappy New Year for me, holding the promise of many rantings at relatives and friends and futile government office trips for the year ahead, but things have been getting better. Immu'll be getting married soon, or at least engaged. And things seem to have turned out for the good, alhamdulillah. As much as I hated the line and its occurences in the movie, I'll have to say: all is well.

The Black and Blue Bravery Award

Attending a team meeting - Check

Listening to your manager talking about working a minimum of 60 hours a week - Check

Realizing the business plan entails all staff to give up their lives for the company - Check

Being too murderous to care about what your boss is saying - Check

Challenging your boss on a statement - Check

Being asked by your boss to stay back after the meeting - Check

Being reprimanded on your disinterest during meetings - Check

Spending your lunchtime ranting about the meeting - Check

Having a headache - Check

Will I have a Brufen? - No

Sniff

I see people's blogs being updated ever so often, and I miss the days I used to have the luxury of doing that. Miss you bloggie.

The bwas and whees of the past few weeks

Hello, har war you?

I'm in office still, call on the ERP just ended. Told teammate 'Yaar, my brain has shut down', and he said, 'Tumhara toh sirf shut down hi hua hai, mera toh crash hogaya hai!' We spent the entire day on research, re-research and sensitivity analyses. Grah. But I must say, it's better than being brainnumb after repetitive, stoopid work.

A laaaaht of stuff happened the past few weeks. Yes, I gave up on the Nablopomo. You must've noticed the 'Inna lillahi...'. Lost two relatives in the span of a week. One was a month old, another was 80, the great-grandmother of the baby who passed away. I heard the mother cry, 'Mummy, mere bachche ko lekar chale gaye' and heard my grandmom cry 'Koi bhai-behen nai rahe'...

At work, things got crazy with me taking up a project that people tried to scare me from taking up and I was scared to take it up too, turned out it wasn't a big deal at all. Then last week, I got pushed into working with another team that I didn't want to because it seemed terribly boring and fretted and sighed about it, and today I hear, I'm not on that project anymore. On the mid-year front, things went pretty smoothly too, except for the part where I was congratulated on my 'turnaround', I didn't know if I was supposed to be excited or offended. Still, it was good to know. Nothing to be too complacent about though, as soon after I pulled an argentyne. I've learned by now to say - c'est la vie. Which reminds me, there was much excitement in between about Zurich and what not, but now I'm not so sure. We shell see how that plays out.

And there was the weekend with the engagement and the birthday. Oh, and the microwave. I surprisegifted the grandparents house the microwave, sneaking in the carton at dawn. And like I just told you about the unpredictability of life, people in the house started freaking out looking at unlabeled, plain brown carton and paranoia came sweeping in through the door, the grandfather shouting at everybody that the box must be taken out of the house, 'Who knows who got it here? Who knows what could be in it? What if the police come and ask us, why it's here?' I was outside then, having the time of my life and I got a frantic call from the cousins who knew about it, screaming 'PLEASE TELL THEM YOU GOT IT OR WE'RE TELLING!' So, I gave them the go-ahead and just when the box was being thrown out of the house, Immu told the grandmom and she finally got the box opened.

This weekend I shopped for self and cousins and sister (well only a dress (yes, Blister)) but they loved it, and I got awesome shoes and clothes and I was on a shopaholicky high, but then started feeling guilty too. No mo shopping for me for sometime now.

That's all for now. I ghoobhai.

Beauty

I found this off some random blog-surfing from here and thought it was very beautiful and profound.

Rules to live by:


1) Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're sleepy enuff.

2) Be good to people who have been good to you. Be good to people unless they give you a reason to be mean to them. Be firm, but be kind.

3) Say 'No' as much as you say 'Yes'.

4) When you find something you admire in people, tell them about it. Even if it looks like flattery.

5) When you find something you detest in people, tell them about it. Only if you think it'll help them.

6) Before you say anything, ask yourself, 'is it true? is it kind? is it necessary?' if the answer to all three questions is not yes, then keep it to yourself.

7) Dont make up your mind about people the first time you meet them. Make up your mind only after the tenth time.

8) Keep looking till you find someone who will love you for what you really are. When you find that person, dont let go.

9) It is possible to be successful without being competitive. Its perfectly alright that you're not a competitive person. You will succeed.

10) Spend as much time with yourself as you do with other people.

11) Watch atleast one sunrise/sunset per week.

12) Read those books which give you pleasure. Read those books which will teach you something. Read those books which help you make that leap into the extraordinary.

13) Memorise poetry if you must. Its not a waste of time.

14) Write your thoughts down. It helps.

15) Watch movies and listen to music. Everyday do one thing which is exclusively for yourself.

16) Go for plays and art exhibitions. Especially if you have to do it all by yourself.

17) Make friends without giving a thought to their clothes, their accent, their politics.

18) Learn. Learn. Learn. Without it you will not help anyone.

19) True friends stab you in the front. Let them. Forgive them.

20) Say 'sorry', but only when you're wrong. Not becoz you think it will help things.

21) Do things that will challenge you. Stick to them till you finish them. Seek help if you flounder.

22) Ask for directions when you need them. But its also alright to get lost sometimes.

23) Ask questions even if it makes you look dumb. People like feeling smart, they'll tell you the answer and you'll gain something.

24) Take good care of your pets.

25) Dance. Sing. Even if its terrible to watch and hear. Floss once every week.


PS: Will be back soon.

Today in brief

Wake up late

Go to work

Availability briefing gets reversed

Senior dumps more work

Work

Senior dumps more work

Work

Work

Work

Work...

:(

Wake me up when November ends.

sigh

Midyear reviews, growing up, relationships, nil work-life balance, stomach upsets and allergies... Why is life so complicated?