A scary request!

Long weekend came and went. Leaving behind lots of shopping bags to cherish, few extra calories to lose, and an incident that's forcing me to retrospect. 

Prologue: After window shopping with my best friend for a whole day, it was time to leave for home. Just then I get a call from Home asking me to reach home early. Then in a hurry, I bade goodbye to my friend and hailed an auto. Thereby, began a small and interesting journey towards self evaluation. 


The story: Most of the rickshaw drivers demand 1 and a half meter fare or 50Rs over the meter, but this unique chap asked for 10Rs extra. I was mildly surprised and agreed at once. Once in, hardly 30secs into the drive, he slowed down, and said, "Ma'am, please can you visit a shop?" Did I hear him right? He wants me to visit a shop. But why? "Please ma'am, you can spend just 5-10 mins in there, its a new shop, opened 2 days back".
My thoughts, rather my cynical psycho thoughts : What shop? Where is it? How can I trust this guy? What if he takes me to an isolated place? Be firm and say NO.
"Sorry Boss, I am getting late."
"Please ma'am, for every customer we bring, they give us a piece of cloth....Today is your festival (Ganesh Chaturthi), its our festival too (Id), I can take that piece of cloth home, please ma'am, you don't even have to pay me 10Rs extra."
My thoughts again: Don't be stupid, besides you are actually getting late, say NO. 
"Nahi Bhaiya, I am really getting late." 
"It wont take much time, and I will drive a bit fast and take shortcuts too if needed" 
My thoughts (and I think I could hear alarm beeps too, this time) : Now, he is talking about taking unknown shortcuts and drive fast!! Say NO now!!! 
"OK" 
"Thank you Ma'am...Thank you" 
My mind : Stupid! 
He goes straight, then left then another left and halts in front of the new Deepam showroom. 
"I will wait right here, ma'am" followed by a broad sincere grin. 
As if to atone the non-existent damage that my cynical mind had done, I smiled and promised to myself to browse through the store with genuine interest. But 10 mins with genuine interest and I remembered Mom's request to return home early! And I left the store in a jiffy, wondering if the auto driver would actually be waiting or would have taken his reward and left for his heavenly abode. There outside the store, he stood waiting for me, his smile thanking me wordlessly. 
I chided myself for being soo cynical. At times, its more important to gauge the person's words and read his/her eyes more than trying to find the hidden meaning.


It was after all a humble request............... which scared me. 

Year end resolution

My new year resolutions don't last for more than 2 weeks. Therefore, I coined a new kind of resolution, a year end resolution. Atleast, when I give up, I will have the satisfaction that I tried to keep up with my resolution till the coming year. Some solace huh?

Coming to my year end resolution :

"I want to lose ~ 2-3kgs every month till I get back in shape"

Not so magical after all..

Sorry, Please and Thank you are said to be the 3 most magical words. But are they really?

Lets start with the most commonly used "magical" word - Thank you.
This word is used so often that the magic seems to have worn out over time, rendering one of the most touching words to a mere formality. A phrase now used to just acknowledge the good deed / action without being visibly grateful or touched. Have you been honestly thanked lately for anything good that you have done? Atleast in the corporate world, I have seen it's usage a couple of times .......as a part of the signature. 
I wish this dying word a speedy and much needed recovery.


Now, the next "magical" word - Please, seems to have contracted a similar disease.
As kids, we were told that the word is used whenever you want something from anyone. But today, try asking people for its meaning. Pat comes the reply, "Please is used when you need some favor from your seniors." Is it really? This distorts the whole understanding we had as kids, complicating a simple word with complex senior-subordinate relationships.

The last and the most powerful "magical" word - Sorry
Myth - Sorry, can heal wounds.
Truth - Maybe, but leaves a dirty dark scar for you to remember.

Myth - Saying sorry, doesn't make one small
Truth - Saying sorry makes you feel very inferior and low. I said sorry when I didn't do anything wrong, and trust me folks, this made me feel so inferior and downright humiliated.

Myth - Sorry can fill the cracks in relationships.
Truth - Sorry, can only hide the cracks at a superficial level just like how plaster hides the cracks in the walls.

I have been at my cynical best since 2 days. To vent it all out, I chose to blog about the negative thoughts rather than let it grow within me. But looks like, in reality I am just feeding myself more negative thoughts. :(

Promise to blog something bright and happy in my next post.

Route number - 59

Thanks to the free supply of "The speaking tree" every Sunday (we refused to pay for it and our newspaper delivery guy forcefully supplies it every Sunday), I came across an enlightening thought. 

"God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth, so that we talk less and listen more" 

This then led to the conscious decision to listen more, and by no means talk less.:) As my good friend, (referring to him here as, Glibomaniac) once said something like 'Chop, clip, and cut the thoughts/quotes to suit your self' :) 

The process involved listening intently to knowledgeable living beings. Since I spend nearly 70% of my time in office, knowledgeable mortals are hard to come by. (Disclaimer - No offense).  But like our beloved Ranchchod Das ShyamalDas Chanchad said.. "Chaaron taraf gyaan bat raha hai, jahan se bhi mile, samet lo" 

I solemnly swear that this was the only reason that I began to listen and not just hear Mr. Glibomaniac's words. 

Now, who is Glibomaniac? My newest friend, my newest guru, my newest enemy. 

Glibomaniac might seem rough, crude and an unlikely friend at first, but you shall be pleasantly surprised when you get to know him. Surprised why? Because, though he speaks faster than a normal human brain can process the words, he chooses the right words, yet so effortlessly. The words then do their magic. I have witnessed them live. Right from clipping someone's blown up ego to making new-comers feel at home. His knowledge db is so vast and varied that every hour spent in the cab (route no.59) arguing with him is unpredictable and fresh. The earlier monotonously boring journey has turned into a roller coaster ride of new learnings. I have learnt the art of snubbing 'thinking-highly-of-themselves-managers" to involving drivers and silently watching spectators in our conversations. 

Hope this journey never ends! 

Listing the stages: 

Stage 1: The thought

Stage 2: The decision

Stage 3: The process

Stage 4: Journey with the Learnings 

Wah Taj

Ideal way to cure your monday blues? Go to a luxurious restaurant and let your managers pamper you with some of the most exquisite and mouth watering cuisines. Only thing better than this would have been a spa treatment in Las Vegas. :) 

We had a team lunch for completing the first PR from Bangalore in Taj Vivanta, ITPL. 

Got some pics from Google devta: 

Looks cool doesn't it? :) 

Here's my rating for the place.

Ambiance : 8.5

Service : 7

Food : 6

Hygiene : 9 

Value : 6.5

Ambiance and Hygiene were very much expected being under the Taj banner. 

When it comes to Value and Food, I might have been a tad bit stingy. But hey, come on, they have raised the bar for themselves. 

I liked the chicken salad spread the most, followed by the unique bread dips. But the rest of it was bordering on mediocrity. The pasta for instance, I bet SRK could have stirred a better one for Sunfeast Pasta ad. Then the name tags for the dishes were misplaced, and then the Tenderloin confusion.. I was about to serve myself the "beef" tenderloin in some yummy looking sauce. But at the last minute asked the useless bugger if it was beef, to which he gave a confused look and a nod. Bugger. Couldn't they write Beef Tenderloin. 

Deserts were good though. 

A heavy stomach and some more calories... an ideal monday! 

Goa calling

Goa seems to be calling and beckoning me since years. Today, the 'ladies' in my office discussed about a possible trip to Goa. I have been advised by all to go there atleast once before I get married. And this idea has grown within me. It's been one of the top things on my wishlist.
Hope my parents agree for this mini-adventure. Because this time the prospect of actually seeing my wish come true has made me day-dream. I can feel the clear water from the beaches kissing my feet, the fresh air entangling my hair, pushing my tresses to one side, the aroma lifting me to a different level.

I want to walk on the beaches, giggle with my girl friends and look around dazed at the bright colors displayed on the different kiosks, witness the star filled magical night, people dancing around, soft music.

God, please let this dream come true!

Hate list

Thought I will jot down the things I hate. Just to see how big/small the list is:

• I hate it when my room is re-arranged without my knowledge.
• Hate it when strangers act like they know me too well.
• I hate it when I act stupid without knowledge.
• Hate it when people (elders) want to decide on what I should or should not wear for functions.
• I hate it, when people talk about my weight gain. 

(Will keep adding to this as and when something comes into mind)

Shoe fetish

God help me.. I seem to develop new addictions every season. 

First, it was watches, soon it was perfumes, now its the season for S.H.O.E.S.  I have been splurging on all sorts of footwear off late. From kitten heels, to high heeled stilettos to complete flats. 

Bought one yesterday, Dad thinks its funny and obscene (rolling eyes) Mom thinks its funky, but I simply love it. 

Anger management??

I had once read this quote about 'Anger' by Winston Churchill :

"A man is about as big as the things that make him angry"

Now trust me when I say this, I am really not an expert on anger management. That is precisely why I chose to identify myself as Veronica and not Betty. But I felt like, I knew something about it too. 

Today, without any provocation from my side, a tiny insect bit me reallllly hard. Not exaggerating folks, it was terribly painful. Within no time, there was a lump of swollen mass and a small tiny clot on my leg. My instant reaction was to kill the insect... but I didn't. :) Some achievement huh?, if thats what you are thinking, then let me tell you, it takes every ounce of your patience not to follow your anger. I stared at the bug with such vengeance, that it might probably think twice before biting anyone else. 

The quote is so right! If I got angry on a bug (read as a trivial issue), how small am I ? 

Don't let small things upset you, because you know that you are bigger than them. :) 

Dilemma

Ever compared your thoughts to that of a school of fishes that come rushing along almost to the surface of the water when you drop a piece of bread. Hundreds of them similar to your thoughts, some of them big enough to push the smaller ones aside and claim the largest chunk of the bread piece (read : your attention, for a longer duration), while the smaller ones are left fighting for the smaller portion, satisfied at getting even a minuscule portion.And when you decide to grab one of them, you carefully bring your hand an inch above the surface of the water, then with a frightening speed thrust your hand into the water, and then what happens?... like a silk cloth being pulled away from your hand, they flee away in different directions, leaving you with nothing but a wet hand. And they don't return till the ripples formed on the surface have died out. Just like your mind, you will seldom be able to grab one thought and ponder on it till you wish to. When you try to, they will run helter-skelter  without coming in your grasp and will not return till your mind is at ease like the surface of the water.

Now coming out of the comparison:
When you finally succeed in capturing the thought, allowing it to grow in your head. You decide to blog about it. Then comes your dilemma! Which blog to post it on. (An absolute killer to the start, isn't it? :) ) But really friend, I never faced this dilemma before when I had just one. Now owning 2 makes me wonder under which category does this come? and then post it accordingly. Honestly, after 2-3 rounds of fights with your thoughts, contemplating on where to post it is too much to handle.

Beginning

Door2wisdom?
Gee, what was I thinking.. I don't really recollect the reason for choosing such an (irrelevant? ) URL for my personal blog. Maybe, it is a door , rather a path to wisdom, in the sense that I can post my mistakes here and re-read them to avoid making those in future, thereby attain wisdom !
Now coming to my blog name, as if to atone the URL choice, I chose a more meaningful name this time - My world!
Get set for a ride through my world.