Friday, June 29, 2012

The boss

This week I met up with my ex-manager from SJ. He was visiting on work. He is a really great guy and I've mentioned him multiple times on this blog. It was great seeing him after nearly 1.5 years. Caught up with general stuff, how Bangalore is working out for us, kids, daycare, schools etc :)

Yesterday he was leaving for Hyd, I was thinking of calling him all the while and guess what, he called on his way to the airport to say bye. That is the kind of nice guy he is :) He did not really have to, yet he did.

On a side note, this week was performance evaluation week at work. My manager said all of my engineers gave positive, happy reviews/feedback for me :) I was glad. And thought of this guy. I used to admire his management style, how it was always easy to work with him, you could always go talk to him about anything and he'd listen and be genuinely interested in helping you. I always try to follow his style - between him at work and Subhash at home, they totally moderated me and my approach to everything in life :) I will always be thankful for that :)

When we were leaving the US, the fact that I will have to now report to someone else after being with that team for three whole years was the only thing that bothered me a lot, and for quite a while after I moved - that says it all actually :)

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Emergency

So none of the mainstream media guys had the spine to cover Emergency - the darkest chapter in the history of India as this generation knows it. Yesterday was when it was imposed in 1975 - 37 years ago.

We deserve the lot we get anyways.

Here is one of the articles I liked - I want to ask all my blog followers to go follow this guy - he exposes the media lies like no one else.

Sangma Slaps Karan The Tool Thapar

There is an ad in TV which goes "Bhai itna sannata kyon hai" (Why is it so quiet here).

I am reminded of it. 

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A lovely lovely Saturday evening

Had an appointment for the son's haircut at 4.30 this evening. Subhash was visiting some friends so I was looking forward to an evening out with the son :)

We got ready pretty much on schedule when the water tanker showed up and we got delayed by some 20 minutes because of that. Finally we made it to Leela around 5.

I took the appointment with the usual guy and the son was the epitome of maturity:) He sat there quietly while the guy went about his job - he wanted to give the son a funky haircut - I said anything is OK so long as it is short, so he trimmed and cut and in the end also gelled his hair!

Then we went to the coffee shop there, ordered a baguette and a Tiramisu. The son actually surprised me by eating almost all of the Tiramisu till when I told him that his Dad was back home and he got up from his chair all ready to go home and meet Dad (he was missing him since morning). We paid, walked to the valet and waited for the car, got in and stopped by my tailor's on the way back and got home by 7. In general did all nice grown up stuff on our evening out.

Sometimes I wonder was this the kid that was barely fitting in my arms not so very long ago :)

I look forward to this grown up time with the son alone always - he is truly my new BFF ;)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Lots of small things

I got a comment on the last post on how I manage without any support. I got the kind before too, and I confess it makes me feel good - like I am doing something that is worth asking about ;)

I should admit though, that I used to feel bitter about it in the beginning. Having to manage a one month old infant with no one to give advice or share experience was daunting and very intimidating especially since this was my first-born. We grew up together literally - me and my son - and I learnt a lot of things the tough way and at the extreme lows I used to give in to a little self pity too. But I hate self-pity and so invariably always tried to bounce back. And what do I have for that today - a son who adores me and is a total mamma's boy. No matter who else is around, his face lights up like nothing else can when he sees me and sometimes I feel, just for that, the whole thing was worth it ;)

Then my Dad said he was trying to post a comment on this previous blog in Facebook and was not able to and just sent it to me in an email - here is an extract that is relevant to the last comment -

You have a beautiful mind and heart. Your sense of time management is excellent and worth emulating. Keep up the goodness for posterity. May God bless you

And then my father in law had sent me this sometime back

 I am proud & happy to say that you are a gem of a woman in the present society. Managing the office, home, kid etc quite comfortably and happily. Your planning is perfect. Facing all the challenges bravely and coming out successfully by God's grace from time to time. Keep it up. Hats off to you.

So there, I indulged in a little show-off and back-patting ;) I haven't really taken permission from both Dads before posting this - but I am sure they won't mind :)

So I guess apparently I am good at managing time and maybe that is the answer to how I've been through the last three years. I confess I don't think I work very hard but everyone around me - the husband, dad, father in law, mother in law (when she was around), mom and recently even my sister - keeps saying it and it does leave me puzzled. Maybe it is a case of not feeling the pinch if you enjoy what you do? I don't know ;) I love managing my house, I love my job and I have this "I want to do everything" zest and ohh, I also love my work-outs ;)

Yesterday my mother-in-law's monthly ceremony went well - and I realized one thing - the only direct mother-in-law -- daughter-in-law relationship I will ever be in again is when I have my own daughter-in-law! I confess I felt a little nervous on how I would be then - of course that is donkey's years away and all that. But still, I hope I manage well :)

Monday, June 18, 2012

The week that was

This past week was very eventful. My parents visited for a week along with my cousin from Hyderabad. Then, my father in law left Hyderabad and arrived in the US safe and sound.  So it was a bustling week.

Now it is back to an empty house with just the three of us..

One thing to check off as a highlight, at least from my vantage point, was that I was finally able to cut my mom a break in 30 odd years from doing any housework. Although I could not completely keep her out of the kitchen (which resulted in my favourite akki roti and heerekai tovve being made, so I am not complaining), I still managed to cook and go about pretty much the usual routine like when no one is around. She did complain about getting bored, but I think she richly deserves a break after so many years of working so hard - she still doesn't keep any household help to-date and does all chores herself. I hope she went back happy :) She inspires me as a person - so much enterprise in one human being - if I am 1/10th as bold and enterprising as her, I think I can do a lot of things ;)

My cousin was very visibly perturbed about leaving. She was feeling awfully sorry to go - and it was flattering in some sense - but I did feel sorry for her. She is at a stage in life when every decision is painful since you do not know the long-term consequences of it. And every choice seems right and wrong at the same time. I hope she finds happiness in whatever she does, she really is a very sweet girl.

It is always nice when people come a-visiting and say they do not want to go back, makes you feel like you have created a home where not just you but other people also want to live in :)

My father-in-law is slowly getting adjusted to a new life in the US. Tomorrow is my mother-in-law's monthly ceremony and it will be the first one without him and Subhash and I are a tad bit nervous about shopping etc - he used to shop for the vegetables and everything else needed for that day when he was here. Hopefully it goes well without a hitch!


Friday, June 15, 2012

Comments again

Once again there were comments on the previous post which triggered a rather longish response from me -

Anonymous said...
I am not sure how different the MLC elections are but people are vexed with elections in general and I don't think that situation will change until you give them an option to scratch their vote as opposed to picking the best of the worst. Bottomline: people believe that they will reap the same no matter what they sow.
Anonymous said...
Not widely publicized !!! How to get registered was not mentioned anywhere
DivSu said...
@Anonymous - I do not buy the absurd argument about scratching the vote or the null vote or whatever else one chooses to call it. What would you achieve by it? A re-election spending few more crores? And who will stand in that re-election? Some other guy with enough muscle - then again you will go scratch your vote - then what? Another election and .. you can see how absurd that argument is? Or maybe you want to be ruled by the President in the absence of a clear leader - have fun being ruled by Pratibha Patil. And are you saying that the 80% graduates in Bangalore who did not get out to vote on Sunday, read through manifestos of everyone and decided no one was worth it? I beg to differ. There was one guy at least who was worth taking the trouble to vote for and now we've lost that chance too. Today when I came to work on a bad road with no water at home, I felt I am paying for the indifference of those 80% people who just will not care. I do not understand this attitude - people are willing to go shout slogans in an anti-corruption rally and feel good (and jingoistic) about it, but the same people are not willing to make a difference when they actually can (I am sorry, all that sloganeering did not make an inch of difference to the corrupt system today). People have to realize, exercising the vote is the only step you can actually take which will make any difference. If you cannot find anyone good, go to vote at least to keep the worst guy out. Hopefully some day you will have an actual good guy to vote for.

@Anonymous2 - If I could figure it out, so could you :) You just need to keep your eyes and ears open for information :) In this day and age of connectivity, I find that hard to buy from anyone who uses the internet for at least a few hours everyday.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The election

We voted in the MLC election this past Sunday. Turns out only 20% of Bangalore's graduates voted. 20% - what a pathetic turn out. This contest was for the Bangalore graduates constituency. We had a huge drive in the campus with people setting up booths to collect registration forms etc. Yet, I barely see the "spotted index fingers". Why? I have no idea.

We truly do deserve the political class we are suffering today. We hardly bother to go and vote - and then expect some miracle to happen and some revolution to sweep us off our feet.

Tsk..makes me sad.

Friday, June 08, 2012

Missing

On Wednesday afternoon we saw my father in law off to the train station - the son and I were both very sad. For a little over a year, he has been an integral part of our home and stayed with us through out, give or take a few weeks when they (when my mother in law was still living) and later he alone traveled to Hyderabad. This time was different. He is off to the US in a few days and we won't see him for three months or maybe even more. Here is hoping he has a great stay while in the US playing with the nieces and spending some quality time with them.

We will miss you Naanna!

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Ferrari

So I saw this Ferrari at the Leela on Sunday. There was a guy standing guard over it and then there were other guys drooling from behind the pillars, from the garden etc. And then I noticed the plate, PY, invariably. I wonder why, why would someone spend a few crores and get a Ferrari and then go and register the car in Pondicherry just to save a few lakhs?! Why? It is beyond me. I just do not get it.

PS: I actually didn't like the car at all - it looks ugly. If not for the horse on it ;)