..."There's people that good things happen to. And there's people that good things don't happen to. That's just the way it goes"...

... have you ever met a 'friendly' stranger who later became a good friend may be even an integral part of your life? ... someone who was travelling with you in a train journey... whom you met in the hospital when u visited along with a friend or relative... i am not being specific to a situation... during bus rides maybe (... and i have taken loads of bus rides...) ... i mean anyone met anywhere ...

... alright ... let me rephrase ... when was the last time you were 'friendly' to a stranger? ... that guy who was buying a mobile phone and you could hear him ask silly questions ... 'gee! what is he asking!' ... in that mall... when u saw this lady trying to figure out which one of her choices is right...

... remember your first time in school? ... your 'primary' classes?? ... and all those people with whom you spent years together... in that school... and perhaps even later... college together? ... then got job in same company?? (... a bit unlikely but still...) ...

... how is one thing different than other... i guess we become complacent once we start living with of 'near and dear' ones... we take comfort in this feeling that we have an 'established' network of F&Fs that we can always lean on... draw our energy from ... and once this mental stage is reached we start growing old... not only physically ... mentally ... spiritually ... psychologically...
... and then... this chill starts haunting us... 'what if?' ...

... why can't we 'intrude' with a polite 'excuse me' and give some nugget of our gyan to that stranger? ... and why can't we pull off that genuine smile which arise from the comfort of "thank god! a 'friend' helped me out on this one"... when intruded by that friendly stranger?...

... i guess i am just happy that SSC is now no longer 'on-site' ... and i am happy that i will be getting my Indica Vista tomorrow... and i need some sleep now ... and i guess i am missing my family...

... "Hey! ... How are you!" ...

... i shld have listened to my mind... my heart is taking me nowhere! ... more on this later... i am too tired rite now!

...they are saying it is good budget for taxpayers, how can it be a good budget if i am still a taxpayer? ...

...for some reasons i cannot imagine Mr. Pranab Mukherjee as our Finance Minister ... i do not know why... anything related to budget or economy or money the first image that comes to my mind is that of Manmohan Singh... and second image is of Mr. Palaniapann Chidambaram (nah! he is the same P. Chidambaram we all know!) ... i guess this 'reflex' has something to do with my upbringing in the time when these 'legendary' finance gurus were ruling the roost ...

... anyways... he has given some respite to taxpaying mortals and then someone told me that with my recent 10% hike i should have more money in my hand ... i guess i am glad that i am single ... so no girlfriend/wife to spend money upon i can spend that money on myself and ofcourse on some of my friends ... but wait... for some reasons it is not that exciting as i thought it would be... hmmm...

... and while watching the re-run of 'The Proposal' ... i couldn't resist the temptation for searching this song ... if you haven't watched the movie, you haven't missed anything however couple of songs are worth listening again and again one of them is this one ... so enjoy




... also the opening scene has this (another) melodious song... and u can find the karaoke version on Youtube or watch it here:



... however one song that was a pleasant & surprise find during the search for the Gabe Dixon band can be found here

... i am running as fast as i can ... back to your big, brown, bedroom eyes ... yes it's true... i'll use no disguise...

... money is a great sweetener and it won't make u diabetic either...

... these late nite blog posts mess up my concept of time... what i feel i did today was technically done yesterday and so on... so i guess if i am posting the events without the regular sleep they must be narrated as happened in the same day ... rest can be left to the reader's discretion ... coming to the 'events' ...

... loud shouting woke me up today morning... and now that i am wiser from the other important events that happened later in the day, i can ignore the rabble rousers of the morning... i was on phone when i was supposed to catch an auto or bus to office... and when i was done with the phone call i realised i was running with very little margin to reach office... however i did reached JIT ... while most of the shift was on 'Autopilot' ... it was a call from RPR (who also happens to be my landlord) at around 1715 hrs that delivered the breaking news... i was with ASD trying to make sense of CRUISE calculations... and when RPR told me that our appraisal letters are arriving in our Inboxes... i quickly did a remote login to access my inbox... and there it was... "APAC update"! ... :)

... as they say ... money is a great sweetener and it won't make u diabetic either ... a reasonably good 10% hike is wat i got... the fine print is that our salary increase was 'frozen' from past one year and these increments will be applicable from Jan 2010... but hey! ... whoz complaining... infact we celebrated at our newly opened cafeteria... and boy oh boy! i am feeling so happy! ... i wish i could be with my family... :)

... close encounters of the third kind...

... if you are looking for the movie by that name click here... this is more about the 'encounter' i had yesterday nite... for the start ... this week i am in the lazy shift or more popularly known as the B shift ... it starts when half of the Injia is done with the daily chores ... and a large population is lazying around after the mid-day siesta ... while for some its tea time and others it's time to keep an eye on the wall clock... although it is always fun to wake up late in the morning and then take awl the time in the world to read that newspaper and then re-read that daily forecast that tells u that it is going to be another fantabulous day... for most of the days these predictions neva come true but still... it makes u feel good... rite?..

... anyways... it was a routine B shift ... you come to office and you wait for the handover of the Workstation ... you have tea ... you take note of the things that you were supposed to finish yesterday but couldn't do... and then you realise it is time for the evening snacks and after the 'punjabi samosa' (that was on the menu yesterday!) and a strangely smelling cuppa tea later you are back on the hot seat for the day's work... err... night's work... now our mini review was going good yesterday... but i was about to forget all this at the end of the shift... why? ...

... 2330 hrs and u know it's time to head 'home' ... i usually glance over the far side of the road while coming out of the ERC gate to see if there is any late nite shared auto available... and on majority of days there are many... however yesterday was different... like on many occasions some call-center cab would pull over to pickup mortals like me, so when a white safari pulled over for that very reason i only had a hitch ... 'a Safari??' ... there were 6 people packed in plus the driver... my guess was the driver was a bit drunk ... and surprisingly i cudn't smell a thing! ... anyway... i was startled when upon asking him to stop at my place he kept on driving and after a good one kilometer stopped at this major bus stand and while we all paid and got down he asked me to 'get back in the car' ... i wud have walked all the back home however he said he wud drop me on 'return' ...

... without much choice i decided to sit in that Safari and to my surprise the driver returned the fare and dropped me back without much fuss... now i wudn't mind these kind of trips (esp when i am getting the 'free ride'; however i don't want the surprise element on a daily basis!)...

... the garden that you planted remains ...

if you haven't watched the movie Spread yet, just do it... and i am sure you will try to find this song... and also the lyrics... :


Good Morning Dear
I hope I didn't wake you too soon
Because my mind is growing tired
Too much thinking what I should do
I picture you out there
It must be beautiful this time of year
All those East Coast leaves
Floating round like embers from burning trees
Well the weather out here is just the same
But the garden that you planted remains.

Now it's only work
Each day bleeding into the next
Barely scraping by I tire myself out just so I can rest
But rest it rarely comes
And when it does I cannot go home
Because it's much too quiet
Seems that I'm not suited to being alone
And everyone around me's changed
But the garden that you planted remains.

I think about you
Maybe more than I should
But the smog is getting old
The drugs I'm taking aren't so good
So will you talk to me
Even though you've had a late night
Because I need a little help
Baby, tell me I'll be alright
Cause everything around me's changed
But the garden that you planted remains

"BLAMESTORMING. Sitting round in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible."

... i believe statistics has some mystical power, rather ability to project a picture which may have absolutely no resemblance to what may be the reality... so when this guy from the this dept i can't disclose showed me the result of the Gallop Survey of his group i immediately recognised why the change we all are expecting is not coming... surprisingly my group had a similar so called brainstorming session to discuss the fallout of the Gallop... the outcome was never disclosed... not even discussed...

... we are not giving the correct picture in the first place when we are answering the questions... second: we don't understand the the essence of questions in the format in which they were asked... third: we don't take these surveys seriously enough (which should explain the first reason) ... fourth: the results or the outcome is not shared with the team so we do not know weather anybody actually read these things (this explains third reason) ... fifth: by the time Top Management tells us that they realised that things needs improvement and then present the next 6 months' plan to do that ,we are either thrown another survey at our faces at or (usually) we just forget...

... the reason i am barbing about all this is because i attended the our company's Town Hall meeting yesterday... so now we have a 'mission statement' for ERC ... a pukka plan in terms of Customer Focus, Self Development, Finance and there was one more thing... i forgot! more importantly... the TTL employees will get salary increments... finally the Top guys realised that there IS anomaly in terms of the green paper they dole out on us... so i am feeling better and better ...

... as if this good news was not enough... i came to know that SSC is now a permanent employee of TML... YaM is joining a company that all North Indians working in Automobile sector would fight to work for... and if he joins in March... he becomes eligible for the salary revision in Apr... my Dad's and Nano are going along very good... he is on a driving spree in Dilli... my Mom is now driving as well! and my sis is taking Nano to her office! ... actually she drives to her office and mom drives the car back and dad is happy to give company... in short... things are going good! ...

... i am in dire need of wheels... and higher degree program... will get back on that soon... and I've been awake sine 3 in the morning and it's 4.20 ... must catch some sleep...

... when they said terrorism has come down, it meant millitants decended the mountains to enter our borders...

... since i am feeling like watching some movies and relaxing and not writing anymore... i shall use this as a cover...

..."Success in business, and in life, isn't about eliminating risks, it's about managing them"...

...

Something's in life never change,
Sometimes in life you don't find reasons,
Some moments in life aren't forgotten,
Sometimes you lose hope...
When time rolls by, you try to forget
What holds you on...
Some people in life are part of you,
And when you let them go,
You never lose them.
Because,
You find them living in you...

... spicy just called and asked me if i had breakfast! ... i smelled something fishy.... and he did some name dropping and asked me to come to office straight away... this bugger who has the brain of the size of a mosquito but surprising capability to play dirty politics ...

... anyway... i wokeup copla minutes ago ... have some real serious work to do at home... and have a personal life and just because he is not capable of doing his share of work, i should not bear the brunt! ...

...Main difference between photography as a passion and profession...is your bank deposit slips...

... finally the long awaited test drive was completed and i must say that i have spoiled myself by driving the monster Grande... why?... with Saffire's tillu engine and five 'healthy' adults she was out of it's breath with AC on... although i was trying to pull her on uphill on 3rd gear... still?? alright i am asking too much ... when shifted to 2nd she was fine and then merry in 3rd again...

... overall i am impressed with the vehicle and thanks to TeamBHP forums i can hope that Diesel is not going to be a good option for me... so this Thursday or Sunday mebbe... i shall proceed to the Dealer to book one of my biggest purchases in my life...

... and during my 'tweet chats' with Paavani few minutes ago... i was enlightened that she had slapped someone during our college days! ... those who know her can bet their stinking armpits that she can't do that... so i shall refer my sane side and shall sign off... hope to catchup with more exciting stuff... :)

... it is my parents' 29th wedding anniversary today ...

... 29th! ...

... i feel good and glad and nostalgic... flooded with memories ...

..."the world's most sensible person and the biggest idiot both stay within us. the worst part is, you can't even tell who is who."...

... i finished the entire novel "Two States" in one sitting on Sunday ... i am not bragging or anything... it's just that i was 'reading' this on my laptop... and i made sure that i finish this in one go... so i logged out of all my chat clients... closed all the browser windows and no music... the phone was put in silent mode and there i was... 322 pages of the pdf document and i made it successfully!

... so my comments??
1) it is entertaining
2) the entire punjabi culture is a bit over the top (perhaps i felt that way coz i am not a punjabi)
3) i am in love with the name 'Ananya'
4) it has revived my 'love' for the 'south indian' beauties! ;-)
5) 5 points to Chetan!

... i am thinking to gift this book to my mom (for no apparent reason)...

... and this sales rep was supposed to call after arranging the demo car and guess what? still awaiting for his confirmation of the test drive... i guess he is testing my patience... this is a bit excruciating... only a bit...

... dom sheldon is a cold man..

... and these buggers from MNS and other rabble rousers are real jerks!...

... visited Pandit Auto yesterday... told him that i am interested in Vista Saffire (LE) ... the sales guy was supposed to arrange a test drive today... and he forgot! ... no wonder we are at the bottom of the JD Power Review! ... we are not interested in the customer... we don't care if she wants our car... why not?... we don't explain them what they are getting!... what is the best thing about about our products... blah blah!!!

... i have so stupidly publicised my inclination towards buying a Vista that i am feeling some 'social pressure' over me! ... it's not that i am getting cold feet... it's just that the amount of paper work and logistics that is involved is just making me nervous! ...

..."There are two types of people in this world: good and bad. the good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more"...

... watched the movie Spread yesterday... the concept was not that new... however the twist was good...

and this song from the album Everyday People (also by Nicole Muller ) ... used during the opening credits of Definitely, Maybe is real treat! ... the lyrics are down under:

Sometimes I'm right then I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my songs
A butcher, a banker, a drummer and then
Makes no difference what group I'm in
I am everyday people

There is a blue one who can't accept
The green one for living with
a big one tryin' to be a skinny one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby

Ooh sha sha
We gotta live together

I am no better and neither are you
We're all the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me
You know me and then
You can't figure out the bag I'm in
I am everyday people

There is a long man
That doesn't like the short man
For being such a rich one
That will not help the poor one
Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on scooby dooby dooby

Ooh sha sha
We got to live together

There is a yellow one that won't
Accept the black one
That won't accept the red one
That won't accept the white one

Different strokes for different folks
And so on and so on and
Scooby dooby dooby
Ooh sha sha
I am everyday people

...“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...

..."new year greetings"...

... i am still in the process of updating the list posted earlier...

... besides... i found the SAE HS-J788 in the ERC-LC ... it was older version, useful nonetheless ... and there it was the whisper of my HRBP that caught my attention ... for the one-to-one meeting... and this time i was much better in terms of what i wanted to convey to her... rather through her... 'To Whomsoever It May Concern' ... i do hope (again!) that things change for the better ...

..."new year resolutions"...

... i usually don't make them, still; for a change:
1) No more email forwards
2) New furniture
3) No more weight gain (this is better than "i will lose weight"!)
4) More phonecalls to 'family and friends'
5) Learn ProE (this time the basic module first!)
6) Buy a Car! (this has to be soon after we move to JKI-HNJ... and definitely before the monsoons!)
... ummm...

... "having dreams is what makes life tolerable"...

... last week was quite tiring! ... and now that this is year is coming to an end in a couple of days... i thought of doing what newspapers and magazines and publishers and people in general usually do... a wrap up of the year gone by... and some 'resolutions' and 'predictions' for the coming year...

... not today though... 'coz i need to think and rewind and recall and smile and go through the emotions and feelings all over again... i guess it wud be amazing... a once in a while experience... like it was today... as we visited this place to 'witness' a 'ceremony', if i must put it that way, precursor to the long journey called marriage... i was invited by SP for that occasion and i must hold my reflections...

..."Happy Birthday Paavani"...

... i came *this* close to writing yesterday and then i saw that email from Spicy! ... this F~#&in B#$%^D had the audacity to write a mail to tell me what should i do??? ... had it not been Rabbi's immediate meeting soon after the breakfast today to explain my new assignment, He wud have got a piece of my mind ... but hey! it was PTC's workshop today @ the Training Division Hostel and once i was there all i could care was to stay attentive...



... it was Paavani's Birthday today and it's Christmas tomorrow ... Ka wanted to go to some party tomorrow with office staff and since she's not been in good health ... the outcome was pretty obvious... so i called her and i guess it is all Merry Christmas!!

..."If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late? Nobody."...

... past few days were very hectic... first i made this blog 'by invitation' only ... as i really wanted to vent out my anger on multitude of trivial things and then i got a call from AC that he needs to search for a rented apartment this Sunday ... as per his 'requirement' the apartment needs to be somewhere in between the two IT parks ... so we decided to meet @ E-Square and then we were to go to Oundh... i was carrying phone numbers of three agents ...



... we met, he ate, i dropped my million dollar customised gogs, we spent some time there and then were at the Croma... and about two hours of property search later we called off our day, awed by the most luxurious apartment... ate tummy full of snacks and we were back at our places...



... next day was going good as well... Rabbi not in office ... Robert not in office... Pitbull not in office... Spicy not in office... i was already feeling good about the 'steam ironed' shirt! ... and then i went with SP to meet his 'Builder' to make the down payment for his new apartment and later joined AC while we fixed the deal for the luxury apartment in Oundh...



... and then nothing unusual or extraordinary or remarkable .... damn! it's nite! :)

..."...One of the Happiest Days of My Life ... Our Lives..."...

...i am way too tired after long trip from Sharry's new flat to AC bhai's new rented place... and i must sleep now... :)

..."Aao Sochein Bada" ...

... that is the tag line of a well known bank... and i have one more reason to be happy and proud (?) to be associated with it! ... the reason being simple... while one of my college mate was already a manager in this bank, after his MBA from IBS Hyderabad ... it is the turn of another smart, intelligent, well spoken, strong headed, vivacious, chirpy, happy-go-lucky 'manager' from the Cannes of India... Congratulations and All the Best for the Future! ...

... and my personal opinion on a pseudo-hypothetical situation (courtesy: Ash from Sydney)::

"... if a wife discloses to her husband that her mom in-law often nags about various aspects of her personality including harsh comments upon her 'looks', the husband should comfort her by all means, he should reassure her that she is the most important person now in his life and that is all that matters... nothing less nothing more..."

... having said that, i must admit that I've been wronged many a times and i am all ears to those who would drop a comment or even a 'private' note...

..."who are you?"...

... that sounds a very rude way of asking anyone... but then it goes perfectly with the image of MaA... and then the icing on the cake was the next curt reply ... "Kindly refrain" ... every time i convince myself that people are not bad in general and they only tend to respond in rude 'bitchy' behavior depending on the person they are interacting with is based upon past experiences ... but hell no! ... some people are born to behave in cold bastard ways... mebbe they never received any compassion in their life or perhaps way too much...

..."You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else"...

... we all have to face some uncomfortable situations at some time or the other... situations that make u feel uncomfortable and awkward and mebbe confused and with your heart pumping more oxygenated RBCs into the vast corners of your body you realise that your largest organ is oozing with saline water... and then you 'see' blackouts ... and then your ears turn red and a 'warm' feeling encapsulates you... i must admit i love that rush in the body during that moment ... afterwards i feel miserable! ...

... so when i saw those blue kohled eyes and the company uniform and that smile i thought it wud be okay to ask the whereabouts of RokrV and while my hunch was correct... it was what i found at the Chirkut later that evening... and i had to go through the milder version of the aforesaid situation and so as an early new year resolution i have decided NOT to continue with my overzealous expenditure through emails and the other online media... and that is applicable with immediate effect...

...“Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.”...

... after a long long time just when the public transport system was becoming better and better and people were falling in love with the 'modern' low floor buses in the capital city of this nation, guess what? the buses went up in flame! and that is literally... so what would Sheila do? nothing! actually it's Lovely's problem so what does he do?... simple! he fines the company who manufactures the buses...

... anyways... it could have been a regular day at the office had Rabbi been there... lekin wo to wahan thhey hi nahi! so wat wud Spicy do? ... he wud leave at the end of first shift... regular habit... and nobody was aware that Rabbi is on leave (or was he?) ... where was he? rumors has it that janab was attending the launch of Sumo Grande Mark-II... and jury is still out on this one!

... and the interesting about being in B shift is that you can see people doing things that they wouldn't dare to do in regular shifts ... like searching brides online! (sorry RP... couldn't hold the temptation!) ...

...“Long engagements give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which is never advisable”...

... honestly speaking i have no intention to point the 'title' of this post to anyone in particular ... however when (... now a friend and earlier only ... ) a colleague shared something similar with me over a Pizza joint and which was out of blue disclosure, i was mildly shocked and now ever so worried! ...

... why? well... the world is not what it appears to be... and i am not talking about the multiplexes coming up in the vicinity or the new flyovers or airports or similar materialistic objects ... i am talking about people becoming the agents of change of not-so-good kind ... lies deception honesty and above all lack of courage to 'come-out' with frank opinion ... we are resorting to the ever so easy cover... by telling lies about other humans ... so it was a coincidence that Janae penned out similar thoughts and my friend shared his pain and i stumbled across that quote and got reminded of someone who seems to matter less with every passing day...

... and my B shifts are starting from today! man! they suck! they really suck!! ... the only good thing is that i get a lot of time which if utilised properly can make me a better man! ... and i am not talking about the Raymond! :) ...

..."You do not become friends by chance, you become friends because you choose to be"...

... "You must check your priorities first!" ... the innocuous words were said in totally different context to me... and here i am mulling over the prospect of spending my hard earned money either on things that i want to enjoy and may serve real purpose OR spending on things that will serve real purpose and i may enjoy them as well...

and from a random find

..."...that is the nicest thing u have ever said to me..."...

...Hyundai i10 Magna Automatic rocks! ... so now i am in a confused state again! :'(

..."You don't have to know your destination. Make up the route as you go along..."...

:: You know I got this feeling that I just can't hide ::

I tried to tell you how I feel
I tried to tell you but I'm weak
Words don't come easily
When you get close I shiver
I watch you when you smile
I watch you when you cry
And I still don't understand
I can't find a way to tell you

I wish I was your lover
I wish that you were mine
Baby I've got this feeling
That I just can't hide

Don't try to run away
There's many things I wanna say
No matter how it ends
Just hold me when I tell you

I wish I was your lover
I wish that you were mine
Baby I got this feeling
That I just can't hide

All I need is a miracle
Oh baby all I need is you
All I need is to love you girl
Oh baby all I need is you
Baby you

I wish I was your lover
I wish that you were mine
Baby I got this feeling
That I just can't hide

Just wanna be your lover
Just wanna be the one
Let me be your lover
Let me be the one
Yeah

--------------
... that was a dedication to someone!

..."...every step you take, every move you make, i'll be watching you..."...

... the closest i have ever been... and it was so enthralling! ... i am excited... and of course i am vague ... why can't i be on my blog? :) ...

..."I speak two languages, Body and English"...

... the good news is that i was able to eliminate one of the choices ... diesel is out... for sure... as Shakira said "...it's not worth the drama..." ... so i am now focused on petrol... which brings the bad news ... not that bad actually... it's just that now i have more choices with the kind of the variants these days companies been pushing out ...


... also i was @ BAB's Vastu Shanti Pujan ... rather we went there late in the evening ... the residence is good... with reasonable price tag... and VJI bought a car from True Value ... a Suzuki Alto vxi 1.1 ... and he was generous enough to let me test drive the car ... which i enjoyed of course...

... and the news just trickled in... my dad escaped a potential accident today... and somehow i ended up talking with him in raised voice... it was my utter frustration upon my inability to help them at this juncture ... i feel so sorry ... and my client sucks in customer satisfaction... it surely does!

..."Let's Prioritise First"...

... i intend to finish two tasks this evening ... first> read the entire newspaper of today and yesterday and second >i want to finalise my car of the choice and by that i mean finish complete research and finalise the model...

...wish me luck! ... :)

..."it is not difficult to change... i keep doing that all the time.."...

... i thought a quick post won't hurt... i mean while i am waiting for my 'mess' dinner to come ... yep! i started it finally... Gopal went to his 'native' and neva returned!... Gopal's loss is Prashant's gain... and the big surprise for tonite? my laundry was NOT done! :'( ... so while i am starving and finished half of my newspaper ... not even started my fav mag... ze HBR ... and yet to open the sealed pack Aerospace testing... i am thinking when will my dinner arrive? and who is going to do the laundry!!!! argh! grrr... i am so... ummm... hungry? duh!

..."i am an indian - Noble Savages"...

... i guess i have been dwelling upon this idea from quite some time... that is instead of blogging daily i can make these posts less frequent and perhaps weekly... so as to improve the quality by writing on matters of importance ... i mean ... who would be interested in reading my daily rumblings... on daily basis?...

...now every one is not Rocking-Varun or Whistling-Dolphin or good enough with stalking or Enigma... who would visit this site once in 3 weeks and then go thru the entire blog ... and wud then comeup with a thoughtful comment... and then wud even go to the extent of ... well... it's sunday today and the newspapers are full of the news and views of the anniversary of babri masjid demolition... and i am bored of the news ... also the climate change and its related updates are not exciting either...

... i mean ... what is that one thing that i would love to do and brag about and feel good and look good and get loads of adulation all at the same time??? hmmm.... lemme guess.... should i become a politician? ... nah! i don't like that Kurta pajama style... i mean not that much... mebbe i should start my web TV channel on Youtube... that wud be nice! ... but that means i get to remain indoors at my studio most of the time... which is not something i like in particular...

... if u can guess where i am going ... then probably you are correct... and if you are the curious type ... leave a comment! ... :)

..."i need some time"...

... i honestly want to revert to the time i came in poona... and that was close to two years ago...the reason being i was 'young' and excited and willing to learn and explore and i was with the fire in the belly... and now with two years of 'mess' food and a boring social life with horrendously stupid colleagues... i am more like someone with acidity... serious note apart...

i am also considering to trim down my regularity of the posts... reason? i must give time to TOI ... after all i cannot just increase the 'raddi' at my place... besides with so much to read in the printed material i am losing the race both in 'intellectual' terms and 'creativity' ... so ciao amigos!

... at least for today...

..."You mean, all this time we could've been friends?"...

... the tune of Vande matram (revival) was not that gentle on my ears as i thought it wud be in the morning when my lappy will use it as an alarm! ... so there i was... wide eyed... rubbing them... in shock... and it took me some time to realise that it's the bugger (oops! sorry Sam!) alarm on my lappy! ... hitting the snooze and trying to calm my nerves i pulled the blanket and thought of catching 40 winks of mine...

... lekin na re baba na... two days into 'G' and my bodyclock resets itself... so i did what is to be done in the morning... however it was my morning newspaper on the stairs that made me somewhat happy... why? because i asked the vendor to start the regular supplies... and he did... diligently! ...

...it's december... and mornings here in Poona are getting colder... however for someone who spent more than two decades in 'North India' ... they are still... well... how should i put it... ummm... cold? ... and i love it! absolutely love it... the warmth of the sunshine on my face while waiting for my morning transport... on thursdays it feels even more heavenly... being a 'weekly off' in this part of the state... less traffic ... no rush... no nothing...

... the weekly meeting on our new regulatory project was 'cancelled' by Rabbi... reason? ... nothing much to discuss... bugger! (sorry again Sam!) ... but hey! atleast i get to attend the 'CWR' meeting AND i get to drive the Grande...and that too in the rush hour ... as for the fun factor? well... u gotta ask me matey!

..."...the quality was scarce in the first place..."...

... first things first:

1) Ravi is doing fine ...
2) it was my aunt's 25th marriage anniversary Yesterday...
3) we got the delivery of our Silver Nano LX (yesterday!) ... my cousin drove it to home and
4) its key less entry system is NOT working! ... in less than 6 hours from the delivery we have our first complaint!

... as for the rest of the things... BPK will be going on week long leave ...(i am so excited by the endless opportunities!) ... i engaged myself for the FTSS application of KR... (@KR now you can take the print for the record matey!) ... and enjoyed every bit of it... reminded me of the college days... Kamal, Rohit and Me ... on our trip to Hyderabad...long live ICFAI...

... and once again two different blog posts highlighted one single thought ("I feel we are sacrificing quality for quantity here, and quality was scarce in the first place.") ... which crosses once in a while in my mind as well ... however as KR said earlier today... after a few years i might enjoy reading all this ...

..."Houston, we have a problem"...

... the latest shocking news is that one of my colleague (who also happens to be a friend!) suffered a (hold your breath!) heart attack...

... so first thing in the morning i am going to visit the hospital... and if i get some time to post in detail i will do that...

..."The World Needs Music"...

... while it is good that one should strive to meet people from diverse geography, with different even opposite viewpoint; one should not under any circumstances lose contact with those who accepted you long before you realised what it is all about in life...

... just got off from phone ... Ms.OT is still recovering ... dad is as usual busy with retired life... and mom made one very exciting proposal rather it was my challenge that she accepted...

... inspired by this post she said that she will be coming to my place in Nano along with the trunk which is something that i despise! ... so i told her if she did that i will give a reward of 50K ... and after some negotiations here is the complete challenge:

1) she along with dad and sis and rusty old trunk will travel by road in our Nano sometime in April
2) upon successful completion of the trip i will pay 50K per head(!)
3) i get to keep the Nano for me
4) they return by Rail! :)

...why? now all of us have another crazy idea to talk about! ... now i bet i will not be paying anything... atleast i hope that way! :)

..."...Here I am...Rock You Like a Hurricane..."...

... so it's Nov 30 and NaBloPoMo is coming to an end... the only miss was on a thursday... however this was the most 'posted' month in my 'Blogger' tenure... and i do not know if i will be able to keep it up in Dec....

... although there are things that can keep me motivated for this... hope to keep the momentum...

... thanks to all those who commented and also those who didn't ... :)

...after all that is why i have the Statcounter! :)

..."The Jury is Out... Damn it!"...

... i guess i gotta do this by ab-initio. i came to know today that my li'l sis is sick... and my savings don't add up for the car that i want now... so i did what i usually do... only this time it was the magic of KK Muthu's advice as well... i decided to re-look into the options and gave the Harvard's Decision Making Guide a read as well... the result? my plan C is now actually Plan A... means? i10 is out so is Ritz and Spark... Vista is in... very much in... so i am now saving for this baby...

... in Jan i will go through the JD power review and hopefully by that time our plans about the Sunshine County or mebbe Delhi-46 will be clearer... as for now i need some sleep...

..."All she wanted was a little attention."...

... the morning was great! and so was the trip to the MDC and then of course the breakfast of sabudana khichidi along with cream rolls and nice cuppa tea! ... i was already into the weekend mood and the second day of the training was pretty decent with two group activities invoking some decent debates most of them were quite entertaining...

... while the training day was closing to the end... i was not feeling the sadness that usually accompanies such situations... mebbe because it's Sunday tomorrow! ... so here i am on a saturday and considering the options for my new and first ever hatchback... infact any hatchback ever!! ... and while i do that i cannot keep this story Mr. Muthu narrated about the German two-in-one ... and after giving two seconds on that thought i ended up considering that choices which i was making the mockery of earlier today...

... moral of the story? ur gut instincts are usually better than you think... so get-up stand-up and don't give-up the fight... and on slightly lighter note; one of my friend's SM on FB: "Wake up: Dont spend too much time on the bed, coz only prostitutes make money there!'

..."He's quite engaging. She's otherwise engaged"...

... it is the comedy of the quarter! ... i went to this training @ MDC on "Benchmarking Techniques" with the understanding that it is about the Automotive Benchmarking... also loads of people from IDT and NUV and NPI arrived with loads of hope... and guess what? the training was not on the automotive benchmarking... however it was on the general processes' benchmarking...

... okay! it was good still and i am looking forward to attend the second session tomorrow... however it was the presence of Rabbi that surprised me! ... u will remember that i mentioned he is going for some training at the Lake House ... the training part was correct only that he was at MDC!!! ... i thank God that he is in different training... "Leadership at Top" ... duh? ...

... as for today... i am suffering from serious heartburn ;-) ... i mean now that our Nano will be delivered in Dec 1st week or so and I don't get to drive it? :'-( so i called my mom today ... reason? ... i told her that i am in serious lookout for a four wheeler... i know i was for FZ16 but now... i gotta have a car... and i have convinced myself for that... now the difficult part... when i shld be walking to the dealer?? ... this sunday? or tomorrow?? ... lets see... :)

..."Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle."...

... not exactly halfway around the world... however i will be in MDC of our company for next two days... Rabbi being in Delhi-Gurgaon circle for Dealers' Meet and he'll be at Lake House for some training as well... as for me ... i guess i will learn some benchmarking techniques in next two days...

... some of the movies i watched recently were simply great... especially Rudy, The Rookie, Mangal Pandey (i know i know!), The Shape of Things and this one is not what you might think! ... and i am looking for the OST for the Rookie... i am not able to get the CD in the local market and internet is not helping! :(

... got a call from AC (i mean AA if u prefer the strict initials!) ... he has joined this company in Pune and will be getting married in Feb! so two good news in a single phone call was a bit too much for me... as for the local PG accommodation he has asked me to arrange ... i am working on it...

... ah well! i started at wat 2210? and it's close to 2315 ... so i guess i must retire to bed... got a class tomorrow...

..."...i am going nowhere, somebody help me...stayin' alive..."...

... finally i did what i was procrastinating from past 3 weeks!!! ... and that is why i put three exclamation marks... :-p ... that was in the first half of the day... and then i came to know that SSC came back from leave ... wait a minute! she was on leave?? ... well... apart from that, Rabbi has given a reference in Chennai to AK for the switch... and then of course the trip to the training hostel was enriching again... which also led to first-ever friendly chit-chat with AnkS ...

... and this is the first time my dry-cleaner has failed to deliver on schedule! ... and do NOT watch the movie BLUE nope! please do not! mebbe you can spend that money on dinner at a better place... got the point? ... and from movies i recall this post by Amelia ... and btw...

...the Whistling Dolphin has gone quite and so has Rocker ... while Aura and the Verbal Sanctuary are buzzing once in a while ... i am also curious about all the blogs i am following... whatz up mateys? ...

... and thanks to this post on Amelia's blog ... here is some thing my visitors might find amusing:

..."...the eternal sunshine of a spotless mind..."...

... i must catchup with my reading today... already feeling tired... had enough vada-pav this evening... i guess large mug of tea and one laung story later i must hit the snooze...


... oh! btw my Nano is with the dealer... and had it not been my uncle's appointment with docs and stuff; my dad would have gone today to make the balance payment... however with all the accessories and glitz it's close to 2 lacs (the 1 lac price tag is ex-factory for the base model) ... i am so excited (actually jealous coz my sis gets to drive nano!) ... that i am seriously considering purchasing a car all for me! ;-) ... lets see how the things go in the next month ... jeez! when i am going to spend all the money i want to!

..."...this is not good for ur growth..."...

... i am tempted to write more however i have some very good movies lined-up for viewing on my lappy... besides i am still in recovery mode from past saturday's confrontation ... so u keep visiting and i will be back tomorrow... :)

... btw it was good to hear "Hi!" from Pooh :) take care kiddo!

..."...chasing a stupid dream causes nothing but you and everyone around you heartache..."...

... that was the piece of advice by Rudy's Dad... in case u are lost... i am talking about the movie Rudy... i had to watch it irrespective of the fact that it was late in night... and i was tired but then i was also pissed off...

... anyways... sunday was quite eventful... got a call from SP around 1215 and he asked if i can accompany him to City... i said yes, of course... and off we went only to find that the HTC service centre was closed! ... few curses and two juice mugs later we came to PizzaHut and ordered what we thought was a good pizza... yet again disappointed by the stuff... we came back at my place... i made some tea... we checked some mails... and talked about stuff... movies, songs, office and of course women (the reason was SP's recent very personal sad 'experience') ... and then he decided to leave... in fact he just left... and i am off for some more movies and mebbe later stuffed omelet and long burp...

... till then :)

..."...I believe in Karma, what u give is what u get..."...

... i am utterly disappointed by Spicy and Rabbi, especially Rabbi in the manner he 'managed' the situation today ... the amount of stupidity and cunningness BPK shows is paramount! ... and the 'world famous' indecisiveness of Rabbi was at it again! ... 80% of the time he reminds me of 20% of my KPI... if only he can spend 2% of his free time in reminding that duffer 80% of his KPI our project would have been on schedule...

... i guess i need some really good movie and really good sleep now... and i shall remember this for foreseeable future... whatever it means...

..."...Those were the best days of my Life..."...

... i missed my first ever 'blog post' thanks to the power outage! ... but hey! i am not complaining! ... more on this later today... :) ... i will be back on this...

[late edition err... addition]

... it was a beautiful day on thursday and upon reaching my room in the evening i thought that i can take a nap as i was stuffed with the samosas and tea and as there was no power, i knew i can enjoy the quite time in bed and by 10 in nite i will get up and can have my dinner and post the ramblings and then go back to sleep... to my surprise i woke up @ 4 in the morning! ... and boy-oh-boy! i felt so good! ... all refreshed and ready to go to office! ... i could have made it in the first shift! ... however i decided to just lay there and enjoy the fuzzy warm morning thanks to my blanket...

... i attended two technical presentations lately, one by Valeo and another by GKN and one thing that was common in both the presentations was that the presenters took the corporate colors way too seriously... if u pay visit to Valeo's website u will like the color treatment they have given ... however put that 'lemony green mixed with yellow' on white background on your slides for graphs and titles and u make sure that NONE can read it! ... btw was that done on purpose to keep the presentations confidential?... ditto with GKN ... the 'Golden yellow' on white was such a pain in eyes (i wanted to write the A word... but then i don't know who gets to read this!)...

... the best thing about today's presentation however was the food... after a long time the lunch arranged at the training division hostel was fantabulous! ... and btw later in the day our regulatory project review meeting was fun as well! ... i mean when was the last time u got a pat on the back from a Divisional Manager in front of two AGMs present in the meeting and that person is not even from ur department, let alone ur boss?

... so here i am smiling with Bryan Adams on vocals and a-bit starving at the moment... waiting for the sunshine that i am sure will be there tomorrow! :)

..."...meri aarazoo kamini, mere khawab bhi kaminey, ek dil se dosti thi, ye huzoor bhi kaminey..."...

...while posting my yesterday's events ... it struck me that my blog is becoming more like a printed cricket commentary... it is not only boring and silly, it is also irrelevant to most of it's readers... or is it? ... fortunately for me... whoever visited my blog decided not to post any comment... and those who did were just trying to be nice or mebbe giving an indication that they were there...

...and then pondering upon my 'original' intentions for blogging i realised that i am following the 'strategic' path... only my 'tactical' rumblings were going haywire... so i am seriously considering for the path correction... more so because i have spent some time exploring this Aura from Surabhi and one of my original favorites from Varun ...

... the only reason i was so involved with posting my daily routine that i am fascinated by this concept that this daily bantering here is a harmless way of making imprints of what i felt and what i went thru today and i guess it wud be fun reading all this mebbe in years to come... it is quite obvious that for most of the 'average and normal' humans it would be an absolute waste of time and energy going through all of my posts over these months... giving day-by-day details of my life... however the stalkers would be absolutely delighted... and that too when either i have become a celebrity or a person of utmost importance to society or a criminal mebbe?? (hehe! this is crap!) ...

... anyway my point is that i am an average guy and there is no reason for anyone to spend time and energy going through this part of the blogger.com ... unless of course you are looking for something... something that you have sensed and yet are not sure if i have mentioned of it here ... and u are even more unsure that you should ask me about that....

...btw to keep my poetic visitors happy here are some verse from a (famous?) writer and i remember these vaguely because i studied them in my school:

"He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls. "

..."Don't kill that spider in your house, He's just lost. Show him the way out"...

... now why on earth i would that? ... i mean would i be so selfish that i wouldn't call one of my colleagues, who happens to be a good friend as well, from another department for a full day technical presentation by Valeo? ... there was no selfishness in that...

...i wrote some emails and went for an 'early morning' discussion on a long standing issue and i walked into my deptt, checked my mails again and noticed that Rabbi is not there and i realised that he has gone for the Technology Day Presentations... i walked over to one of my team member and asked him if he is interested and he asked me if there is any presentation that is useful... we checked the notice board and casually selected that was due in next half an hour ... we came back to see if there is any shuttle and bingo! there it was @ 1025 hrs and it was already 1030 in my watch...

... we walked down half-hearted and in the way persuaded another of our team member to join along ... as we were walking past the Bay Zero we noticed one bus slowing down... and as we pointed towards it, the bus halted and we were excited that it was the shuttle... and i immediately called SCK, from CAB, to ask if he is nearby for the shuttle... he missed and the shuttle went on overdrive to make it on time...

...and as we landed at the Training Division Hostel (TDH) i got call from SRW asking where i was... and as i was telling him where i was... i realised my faux-paus ... and of course he was upset and i was a bit embarrassed... the presentation was quite interesting... i liked the washer in wiper product and the most importantly i liked the 'fan-on-the-radiator' ... no holding brackets and not shroud and freakishly compact...

... my growling stomach made me realised that it was time we returned to Hall-7... also there was not shuttle afterwards... so as we walked out, i met SRW and after few awkward moments later we walked all the way to our canteen... and after the lunch as i opened my inbox there it was... another surprise waiting for me! ...

... SSC wrote that she was interested in going to TDH and asked the schedule of it and what was my plan for the same... argh! only if we could call each other... so with another heavy heart i emailed the schedule and now i had to make the rest of the day more cheerful... so i walked to the ODT along with BPK... even though it was his some personal work (i guess!) ... and i made the trip useful for me...

... the 'bottom line'? ... i was able to talk to SSC later in the day and make some progress for my work list... however it was the one hour chat with SKS that was quite frank on some the personal topics and i still can't believe we talked that openly! ... although i am glad i did...

Success of life will create crowd for u
Loneliness of life create empty space for u
but TOUGH TIME in life will create the true person in u...!!

..."I was sincere and She was sorry"...

... had quite a productive day today... and even though it was raining in the morning!... the scheduled meeting with the big guys was going nowhere with the concerns from everyone being repeated in circle so when it was decided that we have to visit J block, i was quite happy... the first half was more or less uneventful... and after lunch it was quite busy ...

... first i was reminded about a correction issue that needs to be tackled by Rabbi and then it was this 'meeting' @ Hall-7 and then i was told about another 'meeting' @ J block and i thought i wud club it with the followup 'meeting' of the Hall-7 @ J block and there i was... burning loads of calories and enjoying it! ... so i called it a day @ 6 and by that time Rabbi had left (he never attended the last meeting as promised btw)... and BPK was getting anxious and looking all like an ar$ehowl (nothing new actually!) ... and i was enjoying my time with ABG and PP (from Jblock) explaining AKS (who is so monotonously boringly irritating!) about the merits of the mutual agreement on the proposal we have been struggling to finalise from past one week!

... so i retired for the day and i do not know why but decided to call Shaad ... it's been so many years we talked or even remained in contact... only last week i finally broke the silence and wrote an email and whola! there she was... it was so good talking to her! :) ... actually it is always good talking to anyone! ... i know i am talkative but still... have u seen 'Notting Hill' btw?? u will know what i mean if u can recall (or watch that movie)... meanwhile...

...enjoy this song by B.J. Thomas (i stumbled across this song from some blog i visited sometime back... and i forgot! ... actually i was blog stalking... so u know...) and u can enjoy this video from Youtube as well:

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me

..."Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong"...

... saturday nights are fun... always... i feel so energised about zillion things that i want to do... i plan and think and dream about them and i make sure that i am pampered on saturday nite by watching an excellent movie (which usually means a re-run)... now it's been quite some time in this part of the city i that have been living in and i am so uninterested in going for a walk or spending some time 'hanging out' or anything remotely linked to that...

... i remember my first 'touchdown' in poona... the whole experience was ... to put it mildly... quite an experience... i realised then that i was feeling something for the first time... i was under no 'supervision' or anything... i was responsible for what i was eating and how i was sleeping and where i was sleeping and where i am hanging out and whom i am hanging out with and stuff like that... i had never experienced life like that before... i have heard that the closest you can get to this kind of freedom is when you are in hostels...

... and i have never experienced hostel life... so this was all new to me... and i wanted to make it meaningful... i can spend the money on stuff i really wanted to spend upon and so began the journey that is still continuing and to be frank is on a rough patch a bit now a days...

... rough patch because i am feeling more crippled now... my enthusiasm towards alot of things and people is waning... may be i was overtly enthusiastic initially... 'head over heels' as they say... and my work is becoming more vague and yet monotonous at the same time... the only thing that keeps me humming is my family close to 1600 long kilometers away...

...i need pampering again... i need someone to watch over me... i want someone to keep tab on how much i am spending... where i am spending... someone to tell me that need to stop surfing and start reading... i think the extra cheese on my pizza is starting to work on my grey cells as well ... i feel guilty that i got excited about nothing... i should have read that scrapbook way back then... and i need some sleep now... i am cautious again... and i am getting vague again... but why worry? ... pooh already knows that and sam ain't coming here to read that or feel bad about it and 'Travel Girl' seekers are not staying that long on this blog... ah! man it's monday tomorrow... the grinding starts again...

..."My mom thinks I'm clever and fascinating"...

... it was fun day, being a saturday... there was a meeting scheduled today morning @ 10 on our new regulatory project and the venue was my place; however before we can finalise on the proposals i wanted to make sure i understand the nitty-gritties ... so i planned a trip to the production line with BPK and once we were clear on which proposal can be worked out without invoking the wrath of J block... we headed back to Hall-7 ... and us armed with the practical knowledge of the fitment were able to convince the Lord of BIW that his proposal is better than that of AKS... however it was decided to involve ABG as well on monday and the fitment has to be seen on the running line...

... once this was decided the meeting was dispersed... however! ... our very own AKS (from Inzines) somehow kept on repeating the same concern so many times that my veins exploded! and i cud see the blood floating in the air ... coming back to my senses i realised even BPK started fuelling the banter! holy crapola i counted till 10 ten times and then took a walk and then BPK started playing "Ye kya hai?" game! he wud highlight one part and ask AKS "Pehchan isse!" finally AKS invited to the inzines shop for some practical demo and just when we were going somewhere SSC called AKS and he had to leave us...

... and then i realised i need to run back to the deptt... after that i remember going to canteen for lunch i guess and then BPK left for the day and i was on my own... basically on my autopilot... till i got a call from AN from Certification... had to finalize some details on another project that was to be made on special order ... so i made the case and went to Rabbi... he was in his strange state of mind and asked some valid questions so i called AN to join me and then after finalizing the document everyone was happy that it was 4 and it was saturday...

...Rabbi had to leave to Mumbai @ 5 (btw u can set ur watch every Sat wen he leaves) ... and i had no intention to stay for the mixture ... i have this doubt that my weight loss has nothing to do with the intense amount of walking i do within the company premises... but anyways... i have made up for the losses... after chatting with Chetan ... i am now pretty much starved and so my personal favourite the PHD was summoned and i am waiting for my order... pet mein choohe kood rahe hain yaar! ... will keep u informed how was the meal... argh! :(


PS: Happy Birthday to Miss Ahuja (Sam's roomie) ... i shall never forget ur timely intervention.

..."We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey"...

... i am a staunch believer of astrology... i am very much fascinated by the idea that based upon your day, date and time of birth your future can be predicted to a reasonably high probability... or in simple terms u can make a darn good guess about tomorrow and the day after and the week and the month ... u get the idea, right? why i am dwelling upon this today? because i feel like it...

... now couple of events happening in the past weeks are keeping me quite happy... be it in office or at my dwelling place (or shld i call it dungeon?) ... the under construction 'underground' water tank is (finally) complete AND my aangan is cleaned up ... so no more mess outside the front of my backdoor, my phone is up and running (although i am sure these are the last few days of it), was able to talk to Pooh, stumbled across one of my school alumna's identity in office (and felt great chattin over emails!), got a phone call that my Nano is 'in transit', finished half of the panjiri stock my mom packed (actually she and my grandma are more excited about it!), was able to connect with Shaad, drove mHalk and Grande @ 100kmph and survived!, and today my dear friends...

... today i got another surprise in the form of email... when SSC asked me if i know any 'Varun' ... now i still remember "KP" from my college days and then she asked about Varun of the "rockvarun" fame... and i was startled a bit when she said that he is her's batchmate... "are u kidding me?" was my first reaction... and she was not!! ... in a freaking coincident the blog i stumbled across (thanks to the "Next Blog" link @ the top left corner of this site's window) happens to be of one of my colleague's batchmate! ... Jeez! i guess this is too much for today...

... and Ameliaji, the pic on ur "the great swami" post reminds me of my mom!... actually a vast majority of women in this part of the world momentarily switch to that attire in early morning atleast once in a week (i guess!) ... and that is the day when they wash their hair... although with the fast paced lifestyle this amorous symbol is fast disappearing (sometimes because of the medical conditions as well!)... and no offence was taken... infact the post is hilarious if not true (or is it?) ... i have already voted... and i am happy that u remembered mentioning my name in that post ...

..."In real love you want the other person's good. In romantic love you want the other person"...

... as they say "the only permanent thing is change" ... it was a change that made my day today... first of all i woke up to find that there was no power cut despite being the 'off' day of the week... so when i saw that mosquito repellent light glowing at 7 in the morning, i couldn't stop that smile cracking on my face... and then even though my wireless stopped working ... thanks to the thunderstorm and mild showers in late nite ... i wasn't complaining... and then the moment i stepped out of my place i saw the shadows all over the roadside and i knew what it meant... sunshine! and boy-oh-boy i love that... short walk to the bus stop and there it was... in all His glory, the warmth so comforting that for a moment i forgot i am standing on roadside... it was windy okay but for those few seconds when i kept standing there with my eyes closed and facing the Sun i let my thoughts go for a break... and before i could understand why the traffic is less i got the auto for my destination... it is thursday! ... weekly off!! ... all the local industries are closed and so the roads are all clear for 0-100 dash... and the partial cloudy sky was making it even more alluring!

... and then just before the lunch i got the second surprise (or was it a change again?) ... Sharya came and told me that he has the keys of MK-II and he needs to drive down to H-9 for some parts for a test vehicle updation... which meant that i had to drive ... and u know that how much i am falling in love with four-wheeler driving in past few weeks... now it's a different story that we ended up with first gen Grande instead of the MK-II as envisaged... anyways... i drove for the better part of the day and thanks to our excitement... we ended up on the washing pit ... cleaned the vehicle as well and then just when it was time to climb down and park the vehicle and go to enjoy the (delicious?) patties ... we realised that the vehicle has slid on the ramp and being on slope i could not drive it up in a straight line and then drive down safely from the ramp...

... so few frantic calls were made to the expert drivers and help arrived in next 5 minutes ... with few laughs and cracking jokes ... i was back on the driver's seat and once the vehicle was parked; patties were devoured with sea of tea... it was such a wonderful day... productive? ... well it's late in nite ... and ninni wale baba mere dwaare khade hain! ... jisne bheja wo to apne roomie ko saavdhaan bol rahi hai! and waiting for Children's Day... well... as i said... it's late! and u know what that means!

..."Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well"...

... so... after a few days of dilly dallying and few smses and few emails later i finally made the laung distance call to Mumbai ... now it's been raining like anything thanks to 'Phyan' so i guess my hunch to buy the cheap chinese mobile phone charger last sunday (instead of waiting for the proper one for a day or two) was bang-on... otherwise i would have remain 'out of reach' ... which by itself is not a bad idea ... however that would have robbed me of copla good news...

... my dad received a call from our preferred car dealer about the delivery of Nano mebbe in after 15 days or so... it has been rolled out of the plant and is in transit! ... now this is good news ... and then of course that i was able to get through to Pooh! ... poor girl is awl feverish! (again?) ... ... you see... she likes rain and loads of it! ... and this time Zeus (i guess He or one of his relative is in charge of these adventures of cloudy skies) ensured that she gets quite some of it... and bingo! Phyan arrived! ... now that is where i get worried btw ... i hate rains ... and i am not saying that i dislike the season or something ... i hate it ... absolutely and positively ... but then... that's what makes me Me...

... and one more thing... i stumbled across a name and then a profile on chirkut and walla! this lady who works in The Vault happens to be my school alumni! ... now that's another reason for me to pay attention towards The Vault ... keep reading!

...rain rain go away, little guddu wants to play...

... i woke up to a rather cold morning... and a peek out of the window made my heart sink... it rained in the nite and there was no neela aasman ... what made the matter worse? it was so dark that i had to check at three different places for the correct time... and i had to dust out my brolly and take it along to office...

... now how many times in a day it happens that u have to confront ur different fears? ... mebbe once? ... so when SRW called me to arrange for keys of Scorpio mHawk and Xylo to take some photographs (for yet another presentation) ... i was mildly thrilled... however when he asked me to drive down to J block to pick him i was wildly thrilled!! ... Scorpio mHawk from the sandwiched parking and awl the way to J block in the rain?? ... "are u sure?" i asked him and he burst into laughter...

... it was not just my prestige and pride and ego and reputation it was all that of ERC as well! ... so i mustered up the courage and crawled towards mHawk... after spending 5 minutes to make my driving position most commanding and going through the dashboard for the controls and after checking everything (it was one of the longest 5 minutes in TML!) ... i twisted the key fob and what happened in next 2 hours or so left the gulabjamun i took in lunch all shaken and stirred and me wanting for more... it was a sheer pleasure driving that beast and now i know why Mahindra is able to sell this monster so quick and so well...

... there is enough power to push you back in the seat contour once you press the feather lite accelerator and that is not enough... the steering is smooth and the vehicle responds fairly quick ... frankly speaking... i never liked the shape (or should i say the styling?) of Scorpio ... however after seeing Xylo i must admit mHalk is a stunner (no pun intended!) ... so while i try to pacify the rain God (or Goddess?) and snuggle in my bed with my lappy running some Barjatia epic ... you enjoy Her blessings ... :)

...vande matram...

... the debate on our national song is so cliche! ... neways, that is not what i am here to barb about ... among all the blogs i am following thru this site, i really like reading Janae's ... why? mebbe coz she reminds me of the school days... she provides an insight from a school teacher's point of view... okay i know she is half way across this planet and what we have here is different from what she can relate to as a school teacher ... still... it makes me kinda nostalgic...

... almost everyone who has attended a school will vouch that it was the best time of their life... sometimes i wonder what exactly makes it 'the best time of ur life' ... i mean what happens to us? why do we end up having fond memories of school? you meet someone who is from same school and it does not matter that it's been eons, it just brings back the smile the and triggers one of the purest form of joy...

... it's been almost an year since i started reflecting upon my feelings and desires and emotions about zillion things gathered in past (...a little over...) two and a half decades of my existence... and in retrospect i guess i have seen different aspects of people whom i knew for quite some time or whom i met (met?) during this period and i have experienced emotions that were quite familiar and yet their deluge was overwhelming and it surprised me! ... and as for my life spent in school... i shall reminisce some other time... perhaps...

...Another Day Like Any Other Day...

... "is mitti mein kuch hai" ... the thought kept me awake for some time ... and i knew it wud be sunday soon and i have to make sure that i stick to my plan... i slept quite late ... err... early morning actually... and wen i woke up the thought was still lingering in my mind...

... as i type this post ... my top priority 'task to do' still remains in 'to do' list ... and i am sure Ka, Pa and Ma will be upset... dunno about others... i sent another reminder to Rup for the pics... even reminded Vikz for that ... had a chat with Jaggu and Kamal... was good talking to 'em considering one is in Australia and other is in Dilli! ... got an instant reply from Shaad of an email that i happened to send to her official ID ... wait a minute! it was Sunday man! how come she replied??? ... and how come i never thought of this wen replyin back?...

... see! i told u! is mitti mein kuch hai ... and i am waiting for RPR to visit some fast food joint... it's his B'day na! ... and i hope to get my moto charger repaired! ... it is so calm without a mobile phone! ... wow! :)

...i am not the only one staring at the sun...

... i watched the movie 'Dil Se' today morning... and i am not feeling like writing anything else today... ummm... i am feeling ... so ... sleepy! :)

..."The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other"...

... if my intuitive sense is correct and the grey cells are getting sufficient air for their survival... then i bet it's my "inability to express myself clearly" on one of my blog post has caused Pooh some heartburn and mebbe left her furious... and i must admit that my attempt to remain ambiguous will make me face some serious music from the lady who hates "page 3" people! ... and i am trying to be funny only to keep my sinking mood on a high...

... now i admire her ability of "hitting the bull's eye" ... she has done that in past... also for the record i must say that it was a coincident that wat was happening between me & "sunshine" AND my antiqes on FB/chirkut profile of pooh made me write about two different issues in same breath... and whola! there i have the perfect recipe of mis-communication ...

... now i am not a celebrity blogger ... so i cannot rely solely on my blog to make myself clear or heard... so Dear Pooh, if u happen to read this "before" i fix my darn phone and call you... let me assure you... you are not the person i called names on that post... i know u know wat i am talking about ... so plz smile and pray that i get N97 ... :)

PS: thanks to someone who gave me the title for this post ;)

...end of days...

... i guess i need to make a phone call to mumbai... and i can sense the anger (?) ... boy-oh-boy i am in trouble again! :( ...

... i stumbled across the 'Enigma' ...

... now this is going to be quite a week... or atleast month... why?? ... well... i came after 15 days of leave... started with ever boring lifeless numb second shift ... and BPK has hinted that he might be resigning mebbe in 6 months or so... my phone is dead and so i am 'unreachable' and while emails are/were pouring in ... it was Pooh's email that reset my intuitive ninth sense and now that i 'analysed' the blog statistics, i guess she spent quite some time on my blog... and could even come up with a comment!!! ... so how does that make it 'quite a month'? ... guess wat? it's late in morning... will catchup later with the post... tomorrow mebbe?

..."Sometimes your subconscious needs your conscious mind to provide it with a map"...

... i guess i am feeling some sort of relief from past few days... thanks to my mobile phone charger being dead... so the only people who really need to be in touch with me were informed about the loss of connectivity and also guided towards alternate means of communication... the result is that i am blissfully happy! :) ...


... now i was so much into the thought of owning a pre-owned car @ my 'karmbhoomi' that when i saw the kind of investment i need to make into the kind of stuff i want ... i was a bit disappointed... so now back to Plan A (... you see... owning a car was actually Plan B!)... and now compare to the money i was planning to spend in Plan B ... i can make a decent buy of snazzy bike (... which is Plan A btw...) ...


... so how about FZ-16 in black? ... looks kewl enough for me and then i feel like showing off a bit now... i dunno why but i do! :) ...

... NaBloPoMo ...

... since i have decided to support the NaBloPoMo ... i will be far more consistent this month ... and to keep the momentum plz remind me to post the stories and /or pics of the Dilli vacation and the Patiala trip...

... more details on NaBloPoMo ...

..."...I'll be back.."...

... and as promised... i am back! ... the flight started about 40 mins late ... and landed about 15 mins late from scheduled time... got a state transport bus to midway... got second bus to local stop and an auto to the 'home'... immediately arranged for the snacks and 'dinner'...

... realised that my phone charger is not working ... and my phone services have been disabled... my wireless network has gone bonkers and i am starving!!! ...

... after the snacks and tea and some basic troubleshooting ... i realised that i need sleep...

... and now... my wireless network is up... and phone bill is paid... the phone charger is still dead and i am starving (again!) ...