As the NEW YEAR ushers in!

At the very outset a very very Happy, Prosperous and exciting New Year to everybody, especially to my blog pals

Well 2009 had seen me traveling a lot to some of the most beautiful places in India….The year began on a a little sad note of recession hitting the market and things going from bad to worse…..But here is what one of the Australian company’s CEO had to say about India: “Since saving and planning for future is in the blood of Indians, although recession is witnessing many countries’ economy going really unstable, India is just experiencing a slowdown”. I was so glad to hear that. When people around the globe still talk about India as a developing country it is really fantastic to hear such comments and especially in the lean times.

About the traveling part, it has always excited me! To explore new places has a different thrill altogether……I traveled most to God’s own country as it is very rightly said. Every time I visited Kerala, it gave me a different thrill and joy. God’s creation has surpassed all the man made monuments that are astounding, amazing and all the possible adjectives added.

As the new year which marks the beginning of this decade has an attraction for me.  While there are lots of plans to be executed this year, cant forget the most funny and weird things that happened in the last year. To begin with the groom hunt for me began at home, but then I was and am given the liberty to find a life partner for myself with a few typical parents type conditions apply which is acceptable. The grooms that came to see me, Oh my God I would say were weird, funny, crazy, horrible etc.  There were some really great moments that I witnessed, getting promoted out of turn at workplace,  Iron Maiden’s concert, when my friend came down to Bangalore & spent 4 days exclusively with me, my best friend became an uncle to an angel little baby girl, got my first blog award etc….

The greatest loss to the music industry was the death of legendary MJ…

Well I did miss out on updating my blog in the last two months of the year, and I am going to make up for it…How can I end this post without thanking all my blog pals for regularly visiting my blog and leaving behind comments. It wouldnt be possible for me to continue blogging with out all your support.

tHIs iS iT – MJ

For all you MJ  fans, ‘This is it’ has finally hit the stands today and is available for purchase.

THIS IS IT was originally the concert where MJ would step on stage one last time to enthrall and mesmerize his fans. But just three weeks before his concert he passed away. It is a documentary in honor of MJ which is a compilation of his interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his last concert to be held in London.

I am sure this would be  great for all the MJ fans across the globe to treasure his memory for life. Well MJ will always live in our hearts and is immortal.

Sweet Angels

Innocence in their eyes,

Naughtiness in their smile,

Love in their babbling noise,

Irritation and unsaid pain in their loud cry,

It can only be defined as “Sweet little Angels sent from heaven.

Though we may be grown ups and crossed that age of innocence, madness, fun, playfulness etc, we are still child at heart. I completed a year of blogging last week and was thinking of birth in various forms. So I thought of  writing a post dedicating to three of my cute little nieces and nephew.

Cute little 3 months old Ishaana on her naming ceremony

Naughty 1 year 6 months old naughty Karthik tied to the staircase so that he doesn’t run away while his mum is in the kitchen

Sweet 6 years old Saakshi with her mommy

All of them are adorable and cute kids who are such addicts that you can’t leave them

Innovation at its Worst!

“We believe in CUSTOMER  SATISFACTION & VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY”, such a bull**** statement! Everyone experiments new technology and loves innovation which is meant to break the monotony. But then is innovation always Eureka? Not really. I have a few examples to site where innovation has been disastrous and a pain in the A** for customers.

ICICI Bank…..I think they leave no stone unturned to dissatisfy their customers. They can make a normal happy customer so irate that the customer will never want to ever use their service….Yes being one such customer I can tell how horribly behaved and untrained the employees of ICICI Bank are. This is like a horrible topping on a already flavorless cake. ICICI  bank almost a year ago introduce a system, where one could deposit money on their own using a machine. Well  it is a good way to be unique and ease the process but it turned out to be completely  torturous  and  irritating. Reasons -

• The process to deposit cash  are very complicated and not at all user friendly
• The machine is not standardize, which means every branch has a machine which looks different and functions differently
• The sensor in the machine is extremely sensitive, due to which if the notes doesn’t is not taken in at 1 go, it comes out some 5-6 times before the entire amount is deposited. And sometimes it just doesn’t accept the notes and then we have to manually deposit it waiting for the token number to be announced and then deposit the cash..Double waste of time
• The executive who is suppose to guide/help us deposit the cash in case of a problem themselves are so irritated that they dont’ have the patience and behave rudely with the customers

Once I was waiting in the queue and there was this old anty ahead of me. She was unable to use the machine and the rep over there was so rude that he asked her to deposit the cash traditionally. I was so pissed that I went to the manager and complained and made the rep apologise and help that old anty deposit the cash….But till today that machine does not work well and continues to give trouble…

“I CARRY SPEED” is the tag line of Tata Photon Plus. I am so sure they were a finger tip short from using the tag line “I Live Speed”…..That little black data card seemed as if it was devil’s horn ruining my sweet angelic laptop. It is  far from ‘Speed’. The idea of carrying a net connection anywhere and everywhere is great, but it loses its USP if it does not perform, i.e  speed….Its features are Upto 3.1 Mbps Downlink speed . Actual internet speed will depend on multiple factors like time of the day, number of simultaneous users, web page accessed, etc. I was so dissatisfied and irritated with it that I could’nt use it for more that 1 month.

Diwali wishes from Obama

Thanks Obama for the wonderful wishes….Well his speech was more like something read or rather mugged from a text book and vomited it in front of the camera. But I would still say, thanks Obama for being the first  U.S. President who has wished all the Indians who celebrate this festival of light, just awaiting to hear from you next on Holi.

Nobel….Really?

When people were just getting over the hype about Obama being the US President, he has yet another reason to make headlines all over the world….Every news paper, online portal, news wire and television bombarded its audience with news flashing about Obama winning the Nobel prize for “Peace”.

My reaction was, “Oh really? Did he just not complete 9 months of his Presidentship? Well his remaining tenure is 4 years and 3 months and what I am wondering is, what is the next thing which will make headlines about Obama?” He won Nobel for Nuclear Disarmament and Multilateralism. Isn’t it too early for his tenure?

Obama was greatly surprised and deeply humbled and says that he would accept this award as a “call to action” to confront the global challenges of the 21st century.

When war becomes peace,

When concepts and realities are turned upside down,

When fiction becomes truth and truth becomes fiction.

When a global military agenda is heralded as a humanitarian endeavor,

When the killing of civilians is upheld as “collateral damage”,

When those who resist the US-NATO led invasion of their homeland are categorized as “insurgents” or “terrorists”.

When preemptive nuclear war is upheld as self defense.

When advanced torture and “interrogation” techniques are routinely used to “protect peacekeeping operations”,

When tactical nuclear weapons are heralded by the Pentagon as “harmless to the surrounding civilian population”

When three quarters of US personal federal income tax revenues are allocated to financing what is euphemistically referred to as “national defense”

When the Commander in Chief of the largest military force on planet earth is presented as a global peace-maker,

When the Lie becomes the Truth –

Courtesy- Michel Chossudovsky

Even if I am being cynical, my point is Nobel laureate is given to someone who has achieved/contributed and not just proposed…..He is definitely not in the league of Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter Jr, Aung San Suu Kyi, Dalali Lama and many such great people who have contributed towards causes which have brought about a revolution globally and made this world ‘A Global Village’.

As if his election campaign was not hype enough that he had to be bestowed with the Nobel Prize…and for what? For proposing Nuclear disarmament…..Then why not our humble PM Manmohan Singh who extended his hand of friendship towards Pakistan?

May be Obama just got lucky!

sHakirA…..sHe wOLf

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll well known as Shakira, a Lebanese Spanish and Italian mix is a heart throb who has made it big in the Latin American genre of music…How I love her sway her body! Born on the 2nd of February, this aquarian damsel is a multi- talented artist who penned songs and poems at the tender age of 8 years.

Who hasn’t fallen in love with the whenever wherever gal…She is amazingly flexible and has immense talent….What I love about her is that she puts in 100 percent of her talent, not just showing her skin….Like a true artist she uses all her talent which is fabulous! Shakira’s first english album Laundry service was an international success and gave her overnight fame…. She has adopted many genres which includes folk, mainstream pop and to a certain extent rock. Most of her songs are about her being a surviver and being alive,  self introspection and analysis. Adding a Grammy to her kitty, this talented lady has not looked back since then…

sHe wOLf

This is her first album in electro pop…The vedio is amazing , of course all praises to our belly dancer. Her expressions and enacting of a she wolf who is caged and is in rage is amazing. Well for all you people who havent yet seen or heard the song, here’s the vedio.

tAggalacious aGain!

Ava tagged me …..interesting way to know someone

8 tv shows I like ….

• Planets funniest animals
• Man vs Wild
• Walk the talk
• MTV fully bakwaas
• VH1 rock
• Sex & the city
• Channel V Lola Kutty show
• Boogie Woogie

8  Favorite places to eat

• 13th FLoor- Starters & Ambiance
• Juke BOx -Sizzlers
• Indijoe – Buffet
• Barbecue Nation – Barbecue
• TGIF – Everything
• Prems – Pasts & Sizzlers (Pune)
• Vohaumans – Cheese omlet – (Pune)
• The Rogue Elephant – Pasta

8 things that happened yesterday

• I was dazed and was suffering from spoonerism as I couldn’t catch up with enough sleep
• The air hostess had to wake me up when we landed as I was fast asleep when the flight landed in Bangalore & I asked her how long will it take to land
• Fought with the rickshaw fellow coz he decided to leave me stranded in the middle of the traffic and had to make my way to home while it was pouring
• Spoke to someone  special for long
• Slept @ 8.45 pm & woke up directly @ 6.30 am this morning
• My dog learned to shake hands finally, so he was thrilled to see me back home after a day and give a shake hand to me
• Gifted my mum the purse I bought for her from Mumbai
• Had Earl great tea for the first time yesterday

8 things I look forward to

• A great weekend with someone special
• Partying @ my friends place
• Cooking food during the weekend
• Success of my events @ Opus, the next week
• Prospective client agreeing to work with us basis my communication strategy proposal
• Appraisal & Promotion
• Watching Dil bole hadippa
• Going to Delhi for my next event

8 things I love about Winter

• The mist in the early morning hours
• Dew drops on flowers & leaves
• Cozing in my quilt
• The warm rays of sun
• Wearing lovely jackets
• Having a variety of fruits and green vegetables
• Beautiful early Sunsets
• Feeling cold and wanting to feel warm

8 things on my wish list

• To own a Audi A4/ or any of the new versions in 5 years from now
• To go on a date with Will Smith
• Perform with Metallica, Aerosmith Iron Maiden on one of their live performance concerts
• Honeymoon in Miami/Hawii/Andaman
• To go to Goa in the next 6 months
• To buy a diamond ring for myself in a year’s time
• Have 3-4 breeds od dogs @ home (which my mum will never allow
• To sit next to a pilot in mirage
• To meet all the rock stars @ least once

8 things I am passionate about

• Dancing
• Singing
• Music
• Animals
• Food/Cooking
• Sports
• Writing
• Shopping

8 Word/Phrases I use often

• Ya rite
• What the hell
• Oh Fish
• Its for me to know and you to guess
• What I was wondering was…
• Well I suppose….
• M so lovin this
• Shut up ya….

8 things I have learnt from my past

• Everything happens for a good reason
• You don’t lie, you just don’t reveal the truth
• Live a guilt free life
• Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it is the moments that take your breath away
• Its just one lifetime, so live it to the best!
• Mistakes are the best, coz they teach you a lot
• No question is every dumb(this is what I keep telling my juniors
• Stupid is what stupid does (Remember Forrest Gump

8 places I want to Go or see or visit

• Goa
• Kerala
• Maldives
• Miami
• Hawaii
• Andaman/Nicobar
• Singapore
• Paris

8 things I currently need or want

• Someone to come & meet me
• A cute little kitten
• Discovery digital project
• Designer saree from Soch
• Levis jeans
• My stolen cell phone
• A 2 wheeler
• My hair to grow long till my waist, like really fast

8 People to tag

• Spike ( I know he has been tagged but can’t miss him
• Varun
• Madhavi
• Shanu
• Samkit
• Nikhil
• Chiranjib
• Shivya

Well I did enjoy this one…Thanks Ava for tagging me

tHIs pLACe iS jINXEd!!!

A non believer in vastu or superstitions, I am more of a  Karma (deeds) believer.

We moved to a new office with an amazing location, where our office faces the lake and we are surrounded with greenery which makes the location lovely. But then from the time we moved into the new office, weird things have started occurring to each team member and the team.  Initially we were like, its just another incident and it does happen to people.  But then in a span of 1 month some very strange incidents have taken place & I have started to wonder what is it?

Started with my events going completely flop( which is very unlikely). Then my cell crashed, after that I lost my wallet, I fell in the bathroom of my new home the very first night and hurt my back real bad, then my documents go missing, and then the latest one in the kitty, someone flicked my 1 month 15 days old cell phone from my purse when I was standing in the parking lot of my office waiting for the rain to stop pouring to go home. Well I seriously have started feeling that there’s something jinxed about this office!

sTereoTypeS…..

Individuals that we are and the unique identity that each one of has, we live with our own set of thoughts and principals in life. But we still fall in some or the other category of people! Let me throw some light when I say ‘category of people’…Music lovers, Art admirer, avid bloggers , sports & adventure enthusiasts etc…And some where or the other deep inside we are judges and critics as well……We judge people as if we are perfectionists, we criticize movies, views, technology, book under the pretext of reviewing or analyzing them. Of course we are educated enough and have the exposure, understanding and intelligence/brains to decide what’s good, bad or worse!

This is what we are in the web 2.0 era. But then there was a time when we had to abide by the societal norms, a set of right and wrong things, a certain parameter which defined good or evil, virtuous or iniquitous….A few instances…

• till some 10 years ago, it was believed that kids who stood 1st to 3rd in the class were intelligent and would go on to have bright future
• Only doctors, engineers, teachers were supposedly the best profession one could land up in
• For a woman the best career option was being a teacher, as she could take care of the family and also contribute to the finance
• Love marriage was not acceptable
• talking about sex was a taboo and so was live-in-relationship
• Married life can only be successful or blissful if you marry the person of your religion and caste

Well if I have to list down the things, they would go on and on. I have come across many people or instances where people who have not fallen into the above mentioned category have done really well in life…I know of few of my classmates, friends, seniors and juniors in school and colleges who always excelled in class and today are either married and are homemakers or have landed in sad jobs. A few years back I had this thing stuck in my mind, guys who smoke, do drugs or booze are ‘bad guys’, I shouldn’t be friends with them. But then when I shed that mindset and mingled with guys who indulge in all of it din’t make them any less worthy as human beings…Its just that at times we are thick and want to believe what we think is correct because we are conditioned to believe or think that way!

Another category of stereotypes is guys who are flirts, playboys…”I hate it when a guy calls a girl who has not given him her number” was my funda.  Many girls like me jump to this conclusion that a flirtatious guy can never be committed. True to a great extent! And I also have an instance to quote…A friend of mine got a call in such a way and the guy turned out to be a complete jack A**…..And I also have a friend who is married to a guy who apparently was a playboy and today he is the most loyal and dotting hubby a girl would want.

Well there are many such inhibitions that we need to shed. Many times I wonder why are there certain things we know are not logical, but yet to please may be our parents, people or the society follow it!