Yet another award!

Just writing the title made me so happy thinking that I've been awarded another award in less than a year of blogging. It makes me so happy and so charged up for continuing my blogging despite the tussles between me and some people who think I waste my time here. :D

And this time I've been awarded the title of "Best Blogging Buddies Award" by Just Like that! Isn't it such a 'WOW!!'?

Thanks JLT for thinking of me for this award! And it was you who also thought of me when giving the "Power of Schmooze" award few months ago.

Despite knowing nothing, beyond this blogging world, about each other somehow I have felt a certain bond towards you. I look forward to reading your posts. I'm sure there is something which is there but we we can't pin point. earlier I used to think I only feel like this but now I can definitely say this feeling is mutual. And now I am at a stage when I have stopped trying to find a reason for this bond/liking towards you. And I just accept it as it is. :D

I had been reading blogs since quite a while before I actually jumped in to start my very own blog. So the first person I will pass this tag on to will be Swati, who in fact was one force, without her knowing it, behind my starting my own blog.

There are lot of people whose blogs I read regularly and who probably read mine too. But There has been no off-the-blog communication between us. But still I feel a buddy-bond with them. One of them being Naina Ashley. Although she has stopped writing since a while but I am hoping this award may get her back on the track. Naina, are you listening?? Somehow if my reader showed 20 new posts and if one was from her, I would straight away jump to read hers first. Don't ask me why!! Coz I won't know the answer myself. :D

And there's a blogger who for me was a buddy first and then a blogger - Stone. So here's to you stone!! Keep writing and continue being my buddy! :D

Getting nostalgic

I don't remember when I sang the song last "Saare Jahan Se Achha, Hindustan Hamara..." Today when I heard it playing on radio I started to sing along. At first I was not sure if I would remember the lyrics but as I kept singing words just kept pouring out. I was surprised in the beginning and happy as well. :)

I guess having sung it in school everyday for so many years, it has been etched well in the mind. And now even though its at the back of the mind, it still exists. I got a bit nostalgic while singing it.

The other day when I heard Betu singing the national anthem, I felt a certain kind of pride and happiness. It brought back memories of childhood. It was such a nice feeling to see your prodigy singing a song which you used to sing years ago. I am not able to put down in words how exactly I felt when I heard him singing the anthem. Probably a person who has heard their own children or for that matter any child singing it and if they had felt any emotions for that song in their childhood would understand how and what I felt.

I have made a promise to myself. I will sing these songs every now and then. I feel these are such things that we should not get nostalgic about. Nostalgia is all about past. And these songs should not become things of the past.


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From the Delhi roads!

Yet another amusing click from the Delhi roads. Although the picture is not very clear since I had to zoom to the max (of my phone) to capture the object which was quite far away :


I'm not sure if you can make out what it is. Its a 'Goat'. Yes. I typed it right and you read it right, its a goat getting a ride in a Daewoo Matiz :) What you are seeing in this picture is the face of one and the tail of another.

Actually there were total of 3 goats in the back seat and one in the front seat of this car.

When I saw this sight, for a moment I was not sure if the sight before my eyes was a reality and that I was not hallucinating :D

I know this is nothing out of the world thing but I found it quite amusing.

The Alphabet tag

I was tagged by Lavs to do the alphabet tag a few days ago but its now only that I've the time to do it. So before any further delay, here I go...

A-Available? For what? *wink*
B-Best friend: I have many good friends but I guess no BEST friend
C-Cake or Pie? A cake and to be specific a chocolate one at that :)
D-Drink of choice: Anything with vodka
E-Essential thing used everyday: Besides my undergarments *chuckle*, an eyeliner
F-Favourite colour: White
G-Gummi bears or worms: Now what kind of question is that????? Surely Gummy bears out of the choices :)
H-Hometown: Delhi
I-Indulgence: Sweets
J-January or February: Jan, we got engaged on 3rd Jan
K-Kids and names: One and only Anirudh
L-Life is incomplete without: Hubby, Betu, Appa, Sisters, and rather the entire family and friends
M-Marriage date: March 7
N-Number of siblings: 3 sisters, 2 elder and 1 younger
O-Oranges or apples: Oranges. I'm finicky about apples being fresh and crisp
P-Phobias: And you think I'm gonna tell you this so that you can scare me? Ehh?? :D
Q-Quote: Begin not with a program but with a deed!
R-Reason to smile: Seeing someone smile!
S-Season: I love the spring
T-Tag three people: Mona, Swati & Parul
U-Unknown fact about me: I think its something which is unknown to me as well :)
V-Vegetable you do not like: Bottle Gourd
W-Worst habit: Nose Picking
X-x-rays you have had: Tooth & Leg
Y-Your favourite food: Golgappa if that can be treated as food :)
Z-Zodiac: Sagittarian

I rewrite the names of the 3 people who I've tagged for this one : Mona, Swati & Parul

Happy tagging girls!!

A very interesting rug!

I just fell in love with this rug the moment I saw it. And I so want to have it!! There are many more amusing rugs at this blog but this one was THE ONE to catch my interest.

From the Delhi roads!

I am sure any Delhite would have seen this sight sometime or the other for sure - a truck laden with gobhis (cauliflower) tied with strings like a big mountain, and many-a-times leaning to one side! :D

I always used to find to see such a truck quite amusing. What used to amuse me the most was the way they would intertwine the gobhis with each other using the help of a not so thick jute thread. Nothing else was required to keep them in their place, intact.

Do you also find it amusing?

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Teaching is not my cup of tea!

Definitely not!

I had been trying to teach Betu the name of the days in a week since morning and I am nowhere near to achieving it.

I tried sing-song method after plain method was not working. But sorry, that didn't work either. I started with Monday as the first day and then continued the sequence. But everytime when I would ask him to recite it back, he would start with Sunday as the first day. So his sequence of the weekdays would be something like this Sunday, cuesday (Tuesday), Friday, cuesday, Saturday. I was at my wits end after trying over 50 times and at the verge of pulling my hair out.

And it took 4-5 hours for me to realise that I can very well start with Sunday as the first day and then continue the sequence till Saturday. I really wanted to whack myself for not thinking of this earlier.

The moment I started in the morning about this whole learn-your-weekdays thing, he started making excuses to shirk from it. He complained of being hungry or his leg aching or he not feeling fine etc etc. *rolling my eyes*

Later I was losing my temper quite a bit and he was getting scared of me. I realised this and would calm myself down and pacify him as well since everytime I would shout, he would start bawling. I didn't like the whole situation. And as of now I am not teaching him the days in the week for sometime now. Atleast for a day or two.

I have to definitely think of ways of interesting method of teaching. Anybody? Any ideas?

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First day @ new office...

After a 4 day induction program which ended on Thursday, I went to my office yesterday. It was a funny feeling as I was stepping into the place. It was a mixed feeling. You know something like "This is my office!" and "This is my office?". Got it? :)

I met the delivery manager who I will be reporting to and guess what? I already have been asigned work and have a deliverable for Tuesday. :) Now this is called back to the grind. Right? :D

And one interesting thing happened when I was having lunch with a colleague from our group. Don't remember how but the topic started about anniversaries and it so happens that another guy shares my anniversary date - the exact date with month date and year :) It was quite a strange coincidence.

And the biggest shock I got when I joined there was that they were planning to send me to client site for 2 weeks next weekend but now they can't because visa thing takes about 10 days. Phew! I had to pretend disappointed but I knew how relieved I was. I feel I need to understand how they work and what their processes are before I actually start travelling.

So as of now its "So far, so good"!

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Induction @ new company : Day 1

Its going to be a 4 day induction process at this new company.

Day 1 is almost over with just about 2 hours to go. Each person comes and gives an overview and sometimes detailed info of each vertical within the company. Some sessions were good and some made me sleepy.

One session was taken by a person who interviewed me last week. So in the entire session he was looking at me for about 90% time and I had to look all attentive because of that. :D

If he would ask any question, he would look at me. If he wanted the audience to ask questions, he would look at me. It sure felt funny.

On the whole I just feel excited thinking I am back to work. :)

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The plunge!

I have already talked about the dilemma in my earlier post and so many of you have come up with your viewpoints which I've read and re-read many a times.

And despite the dilemma I've taken the plunge. I told the first company I will be joining them from Monday. Well, probably since the second company has still not come up with the final figure that they are going to offer me, I guess it was a no-choice scenario.

Everyone has been telling me to go for the first offer and not to worry about Anirudh as he is not that small a child anymore. And I wonder when will he really not be small enough in my eyes. I guess till he is in his teens. Probably not even then. Who knows...

My parent-in-laws, hubby's younger brother and my Appa, all have been pro the first offer because its such a renowned company. Although me and hubby also feel more pro to this company because of the profile being offered. It will be a good career boost for me. However, we still are rather I am still so apprehensive about Betu.

Its a situation where mind says "Go for it!" and heart says "Hold it!". Ever since Thursday thats what I've been thinking all the time. And hubby can make out from my expressions and behaviour that this dilemma is taking a toll on me. So after thinking, and thinking and some more thinking I decided to go for it looking at everyone's positive outlook towards this opening.

And today, about 30 mins ago I told the Senior HR person that I will join them on Monday, Jan 14, 2008.

So the plunge has been taken and I am just praying hard that everything goes smooth and that I am able to do justice to the job and to home and to Anirudh!


The mind won over the heart this time...

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A river in the heart of Delhi!!

This picture was taken at Moolchand flyover, New Delhi on Jan 11 2008 at approx 4:30 pm.

When I had to drive through this area I was so scared lest my car should breakdown wading through so much water. I saw a man walking through with water coming upto his knees and there were 2 autos stalled by the side because the water had gotten into their machines and now they wouldn't start.

So where was the water coming from? Apparently a water pipe had burst open and this so much water flowing around in which one could easily take a swim.

Since metro work is also going on in that area, it could very well be that they messed up with the water line.

I saw kids enjoying the water and elders fretting about it. I am sure Anirudh would have also loved the sight of so much water if he was with me then :)

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Dilemma

I had quit my earlier job in August 2007. And I've been at home since almost 4.5 months now. I started searching again for one after about 2 months of being home. That is serious searching. And today suddenly I've two options that I've to decide between. One is from a renowned and a large company from the same field but the profile is larger than what I've been doing so far. The other is from again a renowned company in its field but the role is different than what I've been doing so far.

The first one requires on and off traveling out of India varying from a week to a month. This is something I've never done. Before we had Betu or even after that. I and Hubby were open to traveling before we had Betu. But now leaving Betu for so long is giving me shivers. At the most I've left him with his Dad for 2 days, 1 night when I had to go for a training in Manesar. I left at 8 AM on day 1 and was back home the next day by 7 PM.

And Betu is the biggest concern in all this. Will he manage without me for so long? How will Hubby manage taking care of him on his own? Even if we call his Dada-Dadi (paternal grandparents) will he be fine? Or will I be fine staying away from him so long? I've never stayed away from Hubby for more than 10 days. Or for that matter I've never stayed away from family minus the Manesar training. I wonder if its about Betu managing it fine without me or is it really about me managing to be fine without him? He is a kid and can be distracted with things but what about me? I guess the question is all about us being stronger emotionally rather than thinking if he will be fine or not.

I'm sure he will miss me initially and may make a ruckus but I've a feeling he will be fine over the time.

If we minus the traveling-concerns bit, its a great opportunity. It will give me international exposure which will definitely help me in future career wise.

Talking about the second one, this one is in Gurgaon, which means traveling about 1.25 hours each way, every day. What entices me to this option is that its in a field that I've never dabbled with before. Media. Advertising media, mobile media etc. So it gives me a new domain to learn and grow in. Here, I will in fact be leading a new initiative in the company. They had been thinking of starting this initiative for long but somehow it didn't materialise. And when I met them, they felt that probably I can lead it. So again its a job with great responsibility with a varied role and into a totally different domain. And doing something different is what I love.

So now I'm thoroughly confused what to do. I'm discussing it with family and lets see how we move forward as their views will help me and hubby decide on a choice. And then whatever decision we take, I will take it as whatever happens, happens for good :)

Demolition man err men!!

Today when I returned from some tid bit of chores in the nearby market, I saw a big crowd at one of the gates of our society. I wondered. Then as I went a little ahead I saw a 'scoop' from 'Bob the Builder' as betu called it :D It was basically a earth moving machine and then I recalled someone mentioning that unauthorised construction will be demolished by the municipal authorities in the society soon.

And as I approached the entry gate I use I saw the security hut had been demolished. I was shocked and angry.

Shocked because about an hour ago it was intact. And now it was in complete shambles. Angry because the municipal authority decided to leave the houses intact who had violated construction guidelines but decided to break the place where the watchmen sit to save them from sun, rain and cold winter days or shall I say nights? I agree the construction of that security hut was also unauthorised but it was made for the security of the society. It was not hurting anybody but for the help of the society members.

There are tonnes of people who have extended or made unauthorised construction which actually bother the neighbours. Why leave them and target the security hut?

But why should the municipal authority be concerned about the society's security. It's the headache of the police department. Right?

Probably they thought let's not go empty handed since they had come all the way and atleast demolish something.

Sigh...


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Seeing eye to eye!

I had gone to my opthalmologist today after about 4 years. This doc is the same one who did my LASIK about 9 years ago. Since my number had slightly increased again I went to meet him to figure out why and how to stop it.

When he saw me he was so happy that I can't describe in words. I was a little taken aback at his reaction. He told me when his assistant gave him the file, for one moment he thought if it was me or some other Nidhi. :D

Probably you can imagine his level of happiness if I tell you that he spent 30 mins just talking to me and how I have been, what I have been doing and how is family and my son. :)

I also felt really nice to meet him. He resembles one of my cousin bro big time too!

Isn't it wonderful to meet people who feel so happy to meet you too?

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He wants to watch cricket??!!

No No. I am not talking about DH. I am talking about our less than 4 years young son! Just now he asked me to put the cricket back on as I changed the channel to a music channel. I was like :O

Isn't it too early for this? Tell me it is!


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We had a wonderful trip (contd. yet again :D )

Day 4: Dec 28'07 : Mount Abu
We had expected Mount Abu to be much colder than what it was. Everyone had told us it would be quite cold at this time of the year but I was not wearing sweater during the daytime. For a kid a jacket or a light sweater would have been fine. So it worked good for us! Rest of the story by the pics:

Sunrise

Moon @ 7:30 AM

Front of our Guest House

Ber and Boiled Amla

Jain Mandir @ Achal Garh

Jain Mandir @ Achal Garh

Guru Shikhar

Guru Shikhar

Brahmkumaris Peace Park

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake

Nakki Lake

We had a wonderful trip (contd.)

Starting again from where I left off in my earlier post.

Day 3 : Dec 27, 2008
We started for Mount Abu with the plan to stop by at the Eklingji Temple as well as at Shri Nath Temple in Nathdwara. Since photography was not allowed in temple in Nathdwara, don't have any pics of it.

From there we started for Mount Abu. The way was breathtaking as well as a bit scary since the road was still being constructed and there would be long stretches where you couldn't see a soul. The whole route was made after cutting down the mountains. Here are the few glimpses of it!

We stopped at Haldi Ghati where Maharana Pratap lost his favourite horse Chetak in the war. A museum has been constructed there which is partially opened for public and the rest is still being developed. We saw the cave where Maharana Pratap would make strategies for the attack during the war.

Maharana Pratap's Cave

Inside the Museum

Sugarcane Juice being prepared

Chetak Samadhi

Sunset on the way to Mount Abu

Finally at the guest house! Our room!

Happy New Year 2008!

We had a wonderful trip!

A great fun and memorable trip it was! Partially planned and partially impromptu, it worked out great!

It will be tough to write it down in words the amount of fun we had but still I will try.

Day 1: Dec 25, 2007
We started from Jaipur in our Car with In-laws around 9 AM. We stopped at Chittaur for lunch and then we went to see the famous Chittaur Fort and the even more famous Vijay Stambh. The periphery of the Chittaur Fort was about 13KMs. There is an old saying "Garho ka Garh, Chittaur Garh!" The huge walls, the beautiful but aging architecture and intricate carvings left us amazed.

Going up the Vijay Stambh was quite a task in itself. The walking area in the alleys was not more than 1.5 feet wide on the average. There were only a few alleys that were about 2.5 feet wide. The steps had a rise varying from 8 inches to 15 inches. The inside walls had beautiful carvings. There were a total of 8 floors in the tower but the steep rises in the stairs left us breathless by the time we reached the top. The view from there was amazing.

From the Vijay Stambh we proceeded to see the Meera Mandir and the famous Padmini's Palace where Allauddin Khilji took a look at the beautiful Queen Padmini via her reflection in the water.

Then we proceeded to go to Udaipur and reached there around 6:30 PM. Rested a while and then went to meet Father-in-laws friend who stayed there. They treated us so well and had at least 13-14 food items served up. We were so full by the end that there was no scope to have dinner.


Day 2: Dec 26, 2007
We started at 9:30 AM to see Udaipur City Palace. It was really huge and marvelous! It took us a little more than 3 hours to see it. And I clicked about 200 pics in the City Palace itself. Beautiful carvings, the old armours and sculptures, the beautiful art work on the walls, the sheesh mahal all were so good.

After the City Palace we went to the Fateh Sagar lake, took a ferry ride to go to the garden that has been developed in the middle of the lake. It was good to sit by the lake and relax with cool wind blowing.

There were water scooter rides also available but we didn't go for that as usually one does get a bit wet by the end of the ride which we definitely didn't want! :D



We then moved to have our lunch and also get the images form the Camera copied on to a CD since the memory card was full already and we will had lots of places to visit. Luckily we found a shop soon otherwise it would have been so difficult to chose which ones to delete to make space in the camera's memory card.

After having lunch we went to Pichola Lake, another lake in the city and had a nice ride on the ferry boat. The view of the city palace from the lake was really beautiful.

Lake Pichola

Cuddling with Dadi

View of Udaipur City Palace from Lake Pichola

Then we proceeded to see the 'Saheliyon ki Baari" which is famous for the kinds of fountains.

Beautiful Entrance

Notice the water coming out of the circular edges from the dome in the center

Striking a pose!

Artistic Fountain

(More in next post!)