...“I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies”...

... i got this request today morning from an old friend to vote for her in a photography contest on Facebook... and since i have seen her work on various websites and given her fan following, i was obliged...

... one recent development about my parent company ... the 'salary freeze' status has been revoked and based upon certain criteria the company will be giving the 'increments' retrospective from Jan 2010... so kind of them.... however it was something else that caught the attention of several employees... the mention of "Early Separation Program"... the official statement was "As such, we are implementing an Early Separation Program (ESP) details of which will be made available by HR" ...

... and since this was hidden between the long email text with the subject "Salary Unfreeze" ... surrounded by the "Q3 results" and more stuff on "Clients" and etc... it was easy (rather convenient?) to overlook and most of the people did exactly that and jumped to the last paragraph of the email which stated that "allow salary increments based on individual performance levels to be promptly given with retroactive effect to 1 January 2010" ... now that is clever email... and i am still curious...

... followed by that was an email from my boss to fill in the Mid Term Review (MTR) ... and my "significant achievements" and "Areas of Strength" etc... bullocks!

... i watched the movie RockNRolla yesterday and really liked it ... esp the track "I am A Man" ...

... "if u r not a communist at 20 u don't hv a heart, if u r still one at 40, u don't hv a brain" ...

... i have some panache for the new things... and i guess i think more from my beating and throbbing and blood pumping integral body part than i do from infinite interconnected intriguing grey and white nerve cells ... why? ... coz i almost decided to buy an apartment copla days ago without looking into the actual property! ... my dad was obviously livid (okay! so i a am exaggerating to some extent!) ... but still, the fact remains that i almost took that decision without giving much cool minded thought...

... and to top it all i went to "Aerohead" with SRW and since i was pre-convinced and had good thoughts about the place ... i went to chat with the owner for good 20 mins or so... and i have yet join in... no wonder SRW is facing the questions during his workout... but then he has some inspiration there... so he is not complaining... and as for me? ...

... Pratham Automobiles lost its dealership so i will have to go visit the Pandit Auto... and even though i have 'Amber' status for the go ahead ... i am all excited to make the splash... pray for me! ...

:)

... 60 years of Indian Republic...

...celebrated with PizzaHut's American Pan Kadai Paneer Pizza along with Spicy Veg Pizza with Tea ... and as if this was not crazy idea enough... i have yet to finish today's resolution of finishing past one week's newspapers...

... m working on it... while Strings are playing on my lappy...

... i am tired ...

... i came *this* close to finalise the apartment today ... with my piscean energy ... and bang! ... we entered the bedroom and i thought someone hit the architect in his/her head while the design was on the drawing board!!! ...

... the impressive living room with an impressive terrace and kitchen were all waste in front of the bedroom... what a waste ...

... the best food joint in pune ...

... there are several ... however i had a wonderful experience in Poona... JM road to be precise... the best creme rolls i ever had... however i am way too tired to write the entire experience...

... Happy Birthday Ajay! ...

... i accomplished a lot today! ... u want to know the details??.. why?

... beauty lies in the eye of beholder ...

... Finding Nemo and 3 Idiots ...

... i know the title has nothing to do with the matter being written here... but then, i don't care... had my first nite out @ AC's awesome place somewhere in Oundh on sunday... luvved it! ... i hope to make some arrangements for travelling pretty fast...

... we had called in Lunch at our place and then decided to go for '3 idiots' movie @ E-Square ... got the ticket for late evening show... spent some quality time at nearby mall and then at a local book store... the movie was a great time spend and then with no way to reach my place in the middle of nite... i decided on AC's persistent call to spend the nite at his place and then leave for office from there...

... something i never did before and so i enjoyed a lot ... shall remember this for quite some time... and btw i might be joining a fitness center soon ... hope to keep up with my new year resolution...

... auto expo photos ...

..."I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination"...

... "just remember Atul, you are like a product; you have to sell yourself"... was the advice from my HRBP during our last one-to-one meeting... and i am glad i didn't blurt out what i had in my mind... i know that a one-to-one meeting is meant to act as a 'sounding board' for the employees... but then why overload one HRBP with all the itschy-bitchy things that are happening at an alarming rate? ...

... the famed 'restructuring' is still nowhere in sight however if the undercurrent enthusiasm is to be believed... then i must book my car and i must upgrade my wardrobe and i must start working out...

..."you know it's love when all you want is that person to be happy, even if u are not part of their happiness"...

... it's not very often that we reach certain milestones in our lives... and that makes these milestones special... i mean u need to wait for 25 years to celebrate that 'silver jubilee anniversary' ... 12 years to finish school... one year for your birthday party... and so when i noticed that this is going to be my 100th post on the blog... i started 'planning' to make this a special one... not 'run-of-the-mill' types... a post that should might reveal something... a trait of mine... maybe my opinion on certain very sensitive issue... or it could be how i felt all this time at this stage of my life... it had to be special...

... and so i thought that since i am travelling to my hometown along with a colleague and a good friend of mine... there will be enough 'events' and 'happenings' during the trip to make this 100th post different... and to my pleasant surprise the trip had certain firsts of my life...

... so for the first time...
1) i travelled from poona to mumbai...
2) i spent some time at the first class railway waiting room...(this is actually after a lawng time) 3) i possessed a camera during the train travel...
4) i clicked several photos during the journey (wasn't this obvious?)...
5) i travelled in my Nano as a co-passenger (later i drove it as well!)...
6) i was a 'host' for a walk with two charming colleagues @ CP...
7) i got my first underground parking experience
8) i ate doughnuts
9) i spotted rats in Rajdhani!
10) i had a wonderful conversation with two budding social activists
11) i travelled in mumbai taxi with two friendly infosyians (one of them happened to be charming other a smarty!)
12) i had wholesome maharashtrian lunch @ SRW's place (this one was awesome!)
...
and this is what happens when u are travelling to north india in winters::

..."all progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond it's income"...

... new year what?? ... i mean... i have been so busy planning for the trip to my home town that i forgot that i have a blog to write!!!

... and ofcourse the resolutions...

... more on all this later ... btw i bought a Nikon CoolPix P90 digital camera today... a month's salary in a flash! ... hmmm.... let's hope it is worth all that money... :)

..."AutoExpo in New Delhi opens from January 5th"...

... and we have yet to get a confirmation of our tickets... this is absolute stupidity... i strongly believe that when u have to travel u must get the things confirmed rather than dangle on the last moment of uncertainty... and i fail to understand why people give preference to money when there are better things in life to 'save' ... i wud rather have chosen air travel than this 'cheaper' mode of travel... now all 'we' are getting is 'worry' and 'anxiety' ...

... so on a lighter note (click on the image for larger version):

..."It’s not important that we reflect what we have; sometimes we reflect what we don’t have."...

... that is a thought that i got (rather i pickedup) from here... more on this later...