These flowers grow in bunch, they are absolutely lovely and give a pleasant smell in the evening.
Orchids
Oranges
The orange juice is my 'Miracle water' . I have low pressure problems, and one sip of this juice instantly refreshes and uplifts my mood.
Wild rose, though it grows wild, the smell of these rose flowers is absolutely divine.
Shadow play
These are not mangoes from the tree. We have a tradition here in Kerala, that if the tree doesn't bear fruits in 2 years, it's taunted and humiliated to fruit. So, my mom hung some mangoes on the branches so that the tree may finally feel ashamed and humiliated at its inability to bear fruits, she even goes to the tree and say out aloud on how disappointed she is to have the tree in the house which doesn't bear fruits. Trust me, it works!!!
I
just can't fancy the idea of my blog being bare for a month: This post
is from draft and found its way into open forum....all thanks to my
love for this blog of mine. I am still in my No- writing mode and would
publish some random stuffs from almost full drafts once every month
just to keep the spirit alive....
Remember my 30 things to do before I turn 30 post from here?. Well, I am forced to clarify few points regarding the same. With 2011 ending on a high note, I like most others have decided to pen down some resolution point for the coming year 2012. So, iv pen and paper in my hand and what do I do, scramble through my deepest desires and promise myself that I am gonna make all of em come true the coming year?. For me it's not always about taming the impossible it's the little things that matter, its the reason behind each resolution what matters. For people who read my list and told me that the list is too plain jane or boring or easily achievable, this is what my explanation is: For you it might be simple even achievable target in a year but for me, iv given in lot of thought on who I am and from that perspective I have to be a fighter, uninhibited to achieve these targets.
1. Prepare a sumptuous Kerala veg meal inclusive of 2 types
of payasam(Kheer) :I am not good @ cooking , atleast not half as good as mom. The thing with mallu food is that its full of Do's and Dont's, procedures, measurement and I am no wizard when it comes to ordered cooking. I tend to loose track of what's added and when. It would be a big challenge for me to master the art of cooking 12 curries and 2 kheers without anyone's help. And with me stepping into new my new life, culinary skill set is an absolute must.
2. Get my license both, 2 and 4 wheeler : For my brother, this one was absolute no brainer. For someone who managed to grab his license the very next day he turned 18 it would be a silly joke. But, for me riding a car can give major heart ache. I am not good with approximating distances and I have always wondered sitting inside a KSRTC bus admiring the skill of these drivers who manage to keep the huge vehicle under control. To drive with absolute concentration all the while ensuring you don't hit any pedestrians or fellow drivers is a major challenge for me. A challenge by itself and for that I have to overcome my own fears first.
3. Take my parents to an international holiday :Seems like an impossible task for now as I have to wait until 30 to get my dad to be free( He will retire only then). Having a super busy dad, overly dedicated to the welfare of India economy can be quite be a bummer. When we were kids, we would stand near the window grill watching the neighbours pack their bag to tourist places. We would pester and as a last resort even threaten our dad to take us somewhere atleast ANYwhere but, superdad always makes up 100's of official excuses.
4. Beat a guy in computer games :When I wrote this , I was meaning someone as pro as my bro to beat. The bar is way higher than you think. He calls himself invincible in computer games, mastering the art of shooting and kicking for hours together and this is one thing he holds close to male pride. I just want to let the guys out there know that anything, I mean anything is achievable and Iv warned my bro well in advance that I may go down but I will give him a fight that he will remember throughout his gaming life.
5. Travel to 4 corners of India (Goa, Arunachal Pradesh,
Kashmir and Andamans) :I have not traveled much and I intend to change that record after marriage. I am fascinated by people, culture and food. This would give me a perfect excuse to savour all the three.
6. Learn Salsa or any latina dance : This is for US, a time we can call OURS. I believe as couples the two of us should be able to spend some time alone not only will it bring each other together but, also instill lot of wow moments.
7. Turn vegetarian for a year: Kuttan was veg until the last year and now he is a total carnivore. In random conversations, people kind of shift the blame of kuttan turning non -veg on me and I totally hate it!!. This point is to instill some good eating habits in US. After all, turning vegan is in vogue now :P. Besides, to achieve point 9 this point is quite essential.
8. Try at least one adventure sport : I love the thrill, the adrenaline rush, the fear of unknown and I would love to do something totally whacky for pure FUN.
9. Go down from size -- to size 26 :Now this would need a lot of will power. I am a lazy bum, with my favorite activity being sleeping and hogging anything remotely sweet.
10. Buy a branded bag (A ZARA /MANGO/ALDO will do) : I already own a ZARA bag but, that's gifted. I have this thing for bags and bags, specifically branded bags takes my breath away. My parents would label buying a bag worth 2k as scandalous. Owning em was always part of my big Indian dream and I will keep it alive. It's always wise on the pockets to pick something up during sales and now that these high end stores have their own exclusive stores in Bangalore things would be easier than I though.
11. Walk on a 4 inch platform heels without falling : Heels do make me feel good, induce self confidence and makes me feel strong from inside, but balancing on a heel is such a pain. Again it's a challenge of sorts to tame the unthinkable and another reason to buy more stilettos.:P
12. Get my EX-MBA and move up to the post of Analyst before point 20 :This WAS my dream and this point made into the list cause I didn't want to let go of my past. This is something that I would want to remind myself everyday. Dreams are important after all.
13. Attend my brother's post graduate ceremony if he intends
to postgraduate:This guy has a special place in my heart. I know he is super talented and I wanna be part of his BIG moments. This is to ensure he doesn't forgo his dreams like I did.
14. Buy myself a diamond stud : I suck at saving cash, month beginning I am on a financial high and spurge, only to look at my statement in month mid and weep. I have to try and change that. Buying a diamond stud is a perfect motivator and diamonds are good investments too.
15. Stay away from technology for 1 month ie, mobiles/ net
etc : I am always connected to the virtual world with not even a 6 minutes of separation acceptable. I have to change that, go out and meet REAL people.This point is to build in some self control.
16. Hug a dog :I own a cute adorable dog, who absolutely hates hugging and I have this strange fear for dogs (other than mine) which was rooted into my brain by an old ad which showed a girl bitten by a rabid dog dying a pitiful death. From that day on I am scared by the sight of any dog and the ad went on to hunt my dreams for the longest of time. Now that I do own a dog, playing and cuddling with her is not much of a problem but, hugging sure is. Again, I have to shed lot of fears to do this one.
17. Have authentic Chinese food : By that I mean"AUTHENTIC" not your local Chinese wala food. Chinese would definitely not suit my taste buds as I am a flavor person and according to reliable sources Chinese food is quite bland. Would like to experience the real Chinese food, for that I need to find a place that serves the same:Any suggestions?
18. Pray every day, and make it a habit :If there is one thing I lack, that would be belief in GOD. Both of my parents are extremely religious and even visit temple everyday unlike lazy bum like me who refuse to get out of the bed before 8 on weekends. Daily prayers I hope would bring in more order and calmness in my life.
19. Visit my school with my buddies and spend a whole day in
12 A :Best time of my life, just want to relive my past. School has given me lot of fond memories and friends whom I wouldn't trade for anything in this world. Being with em in that classroom would help me to come in terms with the fact that my innocence is not lost, alteast not some of it.
20. Change company :Pay package will speak for itself.
21. Go clubbing :Infatuated by the tabloids, I wish to experience clubbing and really understand what the hullaboo is all about. Being from a conservative background I didn't wanted to stray from my comfort zone though opportunities were many in Bangalore. Kuttan loves clubbing and I plan to visit a club soon after marriage.
22. Buy "our own" house : Financial constrains are many, we both are starting afresh and hopefully by 30 we both are self sufficient to spurge a major chunk of our income into our dream house.
23. Not to fight with anyone for 3 months, not even an angry
thought :I am a hyper active person, atleast for people close to me. I will drain your energy and time and in a relationship I can be a big pain. Most of my fights are of the usual"YOU-DON'T-GIVE-ME-ENOUGH-ATTENTION" routine. I would like to act more matured and hence, this point.
24. Walk on a beach @ 12.night, barefooted : May happen after marriage. It's more of a romantic dream, the idea of sun, sand and barefootness that forced me to include the said point into the list.
25. Streak my hair purple : Challenge there again... I am always stuck down by what people think. I was brought up that way, I am conditioned to think in the perspective of a 3rd person. My mom believed this would stop me from making wrong choices. She was right :we tend to keep a lid to our dark side cause we live in a society fed with fear and the baggage that came along was the constant need of reassurance that I don't stand out from the crowd. For me streaking hair in purple is sort of self liberalization move, one that would mark my growth as an individual wary of adult approval. To hell with people... I know I would have to face lots of stares but then I am all set for it.
26. Say sorry to SOMEONE I have hurt: I have a specific SOMEONE in my mind. I can't forgive myself for doing that to HIM. We have really weird conversations but, I have to clear the air and talk about the past and close that chapter for ever. This is one moment in my past that I wish I could go back and rectify.
27. Punch someone/anyone(After my 3 months of being a good
girl): Just the bully in me speaking for herself. She is such a mean kid and I love her for that.
28. Spend one day, every year in an orphanage : Just like that....I know I will be rewarded in heaven.
29. Write dairy every day : I used to until, I shifted to blogging. Blogging is an open platform and most of the time I have to restrict myself from blurting out the truth. Iv to kick start my old habit to ensure I have sound mind all throughout my life.
30. Say a joke, to which everyone will laugh to :Now that is the toughest of the lot. I am known for my dry sense of humor or no sense at all.There were instances were I would burp out a supposedly joke at the weirdest of time.
See, this 30 things to do before I turn 30 is not easy as you thought it would be atleast for me.
NEWS: What started off as a day to day event recollection
slowly paved way to much bigger things. I am no wizard with words yet this blog
holds a special place in my heart. Six years that's the time for which I blogged....pretty
long no? especially for someone who has short attention span. I managed to hold
on to words and phrases and sentences for 6 long years. Today, as I recoil back
to my little world, I find one element missing, my IMAGE. Mirror was always
part of my life, more like a reflection, more like an alter ego....someone who
is just like me, but not ME. Over the years Mirror grew with me....from
watching over a rebellious teenager, to complicated human being, to
lovestruck20 something falling in love, mirror was successful in capturing my
emotions and turmoil. Always I have had my guardian angel looking on to me
during my toughest times, things that were unspeakable were spoken off, my
point was made clear, guilt was erased off and drama was captured. Mirror has
given me 6 years of memory to cherish, something I wouldn't want to erase. I
will keep the blog intact but just that you wouldn't be seeing my reflection in
the mirror. Looking back the blog has given me lot of memories to laugh about
to cry on and I wouldn't wanna change a single thing.
WHY: Words have abandoned me, and so have the skill sets.
They are no longer my companions but we share more of a forced relationship. I
never faced this kind of emotional turmoil in my life, I never had to fight to
let my voice heard I was always guarded by my angel, and words it came
naturally to me. That's it the final straw, one word and that's it.....AND YOU
KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ME!!!
FUTURE: It feels like killing my own kid, eating up the darkness,
and I am not sure the direction I would wander too without a holding hand. I
need to write, pour out my angst and keep myself from falling apart and I know
only words can give me that kind of solace. I will try keeping up with the
technology, putting up my dairy in e format but for now smell of paper back
would do. Going back to my root where words flow like an untamed river, gushing
in all its might, a place where there are no forced love affairs, a place where
people would understand why I am in love with free flowing words, a place where
my feelings would be honored. It would definitely be a long absence. Thank you
for patiently hearing me out, for holding my hand, for reassuring me, for
pointing out my mistakes, teaching me a thing or two. Thank you for everything.
It's a lil late to do this post but, hey atleast I have managed to post this in the month of Jan which by the way is a BIG deal. I recently celebrated my 24th birthday and here are 24 random things you probably wouldn't know about me...
I am a pure blood Aquarian, and that means I think a lil hatke (Different) from others.
My favorite color in the spectrum is YELLOW. I have at least one item in my wardrobe in color yellow: Shoes, earrings, dresses. Even my bedroom wall is painted YELLOW.
Before my present role, I was a web page designer. Yes!!!I am very lazy to do a makeover for my own blog.
I am a M.tech dropout. I just couldn't bear the pressure of technical studies even after being an 8 pointer for the whole of 1 year of the course. I quit after 1st year much to the dismay of my parents.
I have problem estimating distance between two objects. Either I evaluate it as too near or too far and this may be the reason why my dad doesn't trust my words during driving.
I was selected to Indian school of planning and architecture, Delhi in the year of 2005 but, my parents refused to let me pursue architecture cause the school had mixed hostel system during that time.
I love politics and any discussions on the same. I keep myself updated about any latest happenings in world politics.
I was known for my high decibel voice back in school and college. I can grab the attention of a class of 60 with my voice.
I am very organized person. Mind you the term should not be misinterpreted... it is organized. I keep all my things in its designated place.
My favorite ice cream is Baskin Robin strawberry and banana. I can N number of cups.
I am more of my younger brother's lil girl than dad's or mom's.
I used to learn violin back during school days.
I have the same dreams played in a loop every single week. Even the trivial things doesn't change not even the position of those things.
I hate cricket and football. Tennis is more bearable format of sports.
I have only very few friends and there is no permanent list. Changes in every 2-3 years.
I have constant neck problems and cause of that I love sleeping on cold floor :P.
I have an enviable collection of earrings.
I love movies. Any crappy movie will do...
I used to have BIG crush on Mark of Westlife, Anderson of English cricket team and Ayushmaan of MTV.
I have streaked hair which once I had vowed never to color but I did...
I can be in my own world for hours, without any company and my mom calls it creepy.
I love hoarding fashion mags.
I am not scared of insects or lizards or cockroaches or millipede. I find it funny when girls cry like babies and jump on the bed when they see any crawling thingies.
Can't even type without sounding ridiculously childish. Reminiscing those Mtech days when Analog and mixed signals paper would give me sleepless nights. The day before when none of the images would make sense all thanks to the unreadable scripts (sleep). Running around the varendhah knocking on every door, begging for the notes for a quick glance which extends to 1-2 hours depending on the angry calls by friends. The feeling, sitting inside the hall, waiting for the que paper wishing for atleast 7 outof syllabus questions and the pain when you see your prayers are not answered. The high stress applied on the brain cells to make them remember at least a bit of what was mugged day before but, to no avail. Filling the sheet with absolutely no sensible images that would put even a 1st year Btech student to shame. The deep thinking mode, and the near to blank answer sheet that I carefully tie, while watching my mates fight for the last supplementary sheet during the last 5 minz. I remember the feeling right after the sub midterms, when I know that none of the questions that I have attempted is no where close to the right answers. The cold stares tintu mon (My prof) used to give me while handing the paper and announcing my single digit marks to the whole class.The impromptu trip to the staff room to explain how and why I fail in the same sub every single time in spite of scoring near to perfect marks in all others. The long distance warm calls, when my parents would assure me that things will go ok the next time around even when I knew next time around was not going to happen. This is the exact same feeling that I am going through....
We have all had our lessons on Email etiquette, office etiquette, table etiquette, blogging etiquette, and the multi million etiquette we were taught that we hardly (In my case follow) bother about. Now it's time for Facebook etiquette....before I begin with my lecture series let me remind you all that these are not intended to hurt the feelings of anyone especially not of my 1090 facebook friends.
Friend Requests
Why on earth would I want to add someone who judge me by my profile pic?. I usually filter my friend requests by number of common friends and by dropping by their profile to ensure I am not being friends with a psychopath or a murderer for that matter. This filter has its own flaws as I recently found out cause, I only know half of the people in my friend list personally. Sometimes I am so put off by the profiles of some of my said school juniors that I refuse, or even simply delete them off my list. Then there are guys who don't give up and even resort to threaten mode via messages. So, people please add me only and only if you know me personally.
Group invitation
There is no invitation, you have just random guys in my friend list always adding me to random groups. Cool Guys group???Dude I am neither a Guy nor am I cool so stop bothering me by adding me to random groups just for increasing the head count of members. I always end up receiving texts at wrong time (Read meetings) informing me that so and so has posted some crappy stuff in Generation X group. I have to go all the way to the group site and click leave from group to stop receiving updates. Iv tried every button in the privacy tab so that I can control which group am added to but, nothing seems to work. If anyone of you actually know something regarding this please do let me know. I wouldn't have any problem in case my REAL friend add me into the alumni circle without my approval. Totally understandable.
Tagging
I know you would want to showcase your talent in front of the whole facebook community but tagging all your friend in your friend list is not the right thing to do. Tag only if absolute necessary or if you would want to refresh some old memories(School pics). I would never prefer tagging without prior permission.
Inboxing
I used to frequent some blogshops and after weeks I found my FB inbox bombarded with texts from unknown people asking me to check their blogshops. If I am interested I will for sure purchase from your shop, the reason why I am not placing any orders itself shows my lack of interests or my financial situation or even your own bad repute. So, please stop sending texts or filling my inbox.
Some of my friend would like to add to to the list they say
Promotions
Putting one's blogpost as status is total put off
Lemme clarify: As my own status you, as my friend is given a choice, choice to either click on the status there by getting to know my tastes better or not bothering at all. I am doing no harm to even a single soul. Most bloggers have their own blog pages but being into blogging purely for recording purpose and also due to lack of fan following I don't think I can afford to maintain yet another account with yet another password. So, my friends are always welcome to ignore my statuses and jump into other profiles.
New year, filled with new hopes and for me this is a special year. Will be back with more ramblings.
2011 is almost over and as I am introspecting over the bygone year I have reached some conclusions. Before I put my another day another reason to ramble theory into action let me highlight the years high's and low's.
HIGH's
Finally decided to rebutt parental pressure and for once decide what I want to do in life.
An awesome birthday and a wedding of a dear friend.
Moving to a different role, and back to my home town after a 1 year stint in Bangalore.
Finally gathered some courage to come out of the shell and be more ME.
Got engaged to this awesome guy, who rock my world.
LOW's
Leaving my independent life back at Bangalore.
Hmmm, can't seem to think of anything right now.
This year turned out to be a hit!!!. Hope 2012 would be as good as 2011.
Wishing all my readers (If ANY!!!) a happy Xmas. Remember my wish list from here?Well, it's coming true and now I have to upgrade the list with a version 2. With xmas this month and my bday coming up next month I hope the list will be a pointer of sorts to people who plan to buy me gift*evil grin*. And please don't try to act all goody two shoes and start a speech on how materialistic I am, everyone is and may be the lights, carols, cake and wine is doing the trick. I am still sitting in the office, typing this last post for the weekend while watching my mates leave one by one with envy. I am waiting for my brother to give me a ride back home so that, I don't have to travel for another 1 hour in public transport to reach home.
On a side note, I feel lost for obvious reasons and obnoxious than before. I have to have to find a cure cause this is something I have to live with for the rest of my life. Did I tell you that I am engaged?No? Ok!!!so I got hitched last Sunday with this guy called kuttan who has been my invisible better half for the past 4 years. Things just got little more visible than before and now he is my declared-to-the-world-to-be-husband. Things have not changed, we still quarrel, we still make up at much faster pace, we still pull each others legs, we still have broken conversations.....the only difference is my frequent high decibel "CHETTA"(typical mallu way of addressing one's husband) calls. People around me are surprised and the first few days I couldn't force myself to utter the word. It was so not me!!! but, I love the way Kuttan smiles when he hears me call him Chetta also, it marks a higher respect for him in my heart. I have until now had atleast 5-10 people asking me to repeat the chetta call, I do and with the shy smile of a newly engaged girl. Okay enough for now, so all you people out there have a merry time with your family and friends and keep the spirit of xmas alive.
I am one of the people who loves shopping, I am infact like rest of the people . The only thin line that separates me from you is: I run berserk like a wild elephant when left alone in a shop. I buy anything and everything that I think will look good on me, will look good on me in my head, and will look good on others. I try to sleep and laze around at the end of month weekends and the reason for which is a no-brainer!!!!. I do have my partners in crime and we hit every other little shop in the alleys of Cochin. My partner, who is a wise shopper, has whole lot of self control than Moi. She holds my hand and pulls it back whenever I pounce excitedly on the stuff on the rack. Now this action, purely out of concern for my dwindling bank account is not a moral booster of sorts, makes me depressed. To touch and feel the fabric and not to own em is a pain of its on. While my partner inhales the smell of the fresh stock she is mentally high and satisfied and ready to hit the next store, aaahhh not me!!!. It happened quite a few times and every time we went shopping together for HER, I ended up buying more stuff than her. While she swing her hands in full might I struggle to balance all my shopping bags. Soon enough, I found a cheat code to my problem....days when I go shopping with her I would mark my victims with the precision of a sharp shooter and next week on similar expedition with my mom, I make em mine. No complains, no frustrating talks and it's a win-win situation for me and my buddy.
Back at Bangalore, me and my set of girls would go mall hopping every fortnight. While I broke my transfer news all the while expecting some thanks giving speech, it was met with cheer and loud applause by some of my friends. For them it was a reason to celebrate, starting mark of earning a respectable saving. They were of the opinion that they were never able to resist the temptation of buying things cause I always told them "THE THING" looked good and that nudged them to buy even if they had no intention of a shopping spree during that very trip. And if you think 8 months after, they have successfully managed to have a huge bank balance you are wrong : ONCE A SHOPAHOLIC ALWAYS A SHOPAHOLIC!!!
In Cochin, there is no brand culture and no one keeps a tab on latest in's and out's, but I still make my shopping expeditions. Last day one of my colleague's commented on how I have brought about a change in every one's bank balance. Sharing my knowledge about things I love cannot be branded as a crime. To choose or not is purely personal decision. The story spread and many female colleagues of mine are seen to spend quite considerable amount of their work time staring at their colorful computer screens. I am deeply wounded by frequent comments on how I have turned good girls into materialistic girls. No one was forcefully converted, no one was threatened to make a choice and people fail to understand.
On being asked why the online site's names have been floated around one of my colleagues replied." I hate socio -economic imbalances. One female having a huge bank balance and the other broke. Now that the sites and online payments are being made at a rate which can put even rupee's value depreciation to shame everyone would eventually have same bank balance and the gap will be non -existent." Until next time, its the shopping sidekick bidding adieu.
Let's get the facts straight, I am not a morning temple person for that mater I am not even an evening temple person. I can't fathom the thought of waking up in wee hours on Saturdays and Sundays ( The weekends). Weekends for me is to wake up when the sun is over my head, laze around in my pyjamas, sipping hot cuppa of tea. For this reason, I usually don't encourage my parent's frequent nagging of visiting temples on Weekends. Yesterday when I was asked to wake up at 4am... I objected, shed my fake tears and threw my lame excuses but, all of it fell into deaf ears as my parents were quite determined to mould me into ideal daughter -in-law. At 4 Dad was heard shouting, and unwilling I dragged myself out of bed, took a shower and got ready. I usually love dressing up, but the morning chill was getting on to my nerves. I tossed my kajal on my bedspread, dressed up in a simple kurta, put on smallest of earrings and a small bindi. Done!!!I took my bike ride to Willingdon Island when I reached the place at 5, the gates to the temple was closed seems the priest overslept!!! see even the priest loves his weekends. Had to wait good 20 minutes before we could enter the temple and complete the rituals. When my dad suggested that we visit Ernakulam Siva temple I was fuming, I mean common I barely had my 4 hours sleep and dad was asking me to extend temple hoping. I reluctantly agreed after all the last thing on my mind is to displease GODS!!. I went to the Siva temple and then to the Hanuman Kovil.... the moment I stepped in I saw a familiar face, and as an automatic reaction smiled showing my pearl like Colgate teeth. The person right before me need an intro in this blog, it was Kuttan's Grandma( Let's call my fiance Kuttan from now on as 'G' seems to be a tad bit boring) this gorgeous 60 something lady is the head of the house and ruled kuttans heart before I made an entry. There is only one word to describe her: GORGEOUS. She is a big believer of everything divine, spends half of her day in and around temples, treats God's as part of her family and believes in divine interventions. She was surprised and shocked as hell (I could read that from her face) so was I. She never expected me to be there at that time. She took my hand and enquired whether I come there everyday. As much as I want to spit out the truth it's essential that I create a homely image in front of her and like a taught parrot I repeated: Frequently. She was smiling happily that her would be granddaughter in law was a religious little girl.... her smile spread like a infectious sunshine and at that very moment I was wondering how shattered she would be when she learns the absolute truth.What happened next was probably the highlight of the day"X, Y,Z,A,B......W , please come here... let me introduce you to my to be-granddaughter-in -law" Kuttan's ammuma spoke to the unknown!!!. WTH !!!okay okay!!!!Now I was panicking. Somewhere deep down, minutes before I was grinning devilishly to have striked gold by creating a good girl image in front of grandma but now here I was at my worst with not even a kajal trying to make an impression in front of a bunch of 60 something grandma's. Grandma visits temple with her usual entourage, gang of 60 something ladies who find happiness in divine salvation. Now I had a name to save ie, MY good repute.... there I was tired, boring , dressed to please no one. I knew that meeting me in my bare self would spark a gossip conversation and I would be the laughing stock at today's gossip session.... there I was in front of Kuttaan's gorgeous grandma and I felt like my whole world was coming apart. Quite obviously they would expect me too match the standards set by Kuttan's gorgeous ammuma and in front of her I looked drab and outshined.
Kuttan's Ammuma
Sob !!!Sob after all the intro me and dad decided to visit yet another temple this time Poornathreyesha temple...nothing out of the world happened and as I was making a quite exist I saw a familiar face, a face which stood out 8 years back but, now the beauty had diminished. She smiled as she recognised me and we chatted about the present. This girl, was an epitome of REAL beauty back at school and subject of secret affection of all my friends. We were good friends and even she shared few of her deepest secrets with me. Haven't had seen her for quite some time now and seeing her brought back some good memories.
On a completely random note: I have successfully manage to ward of evils of consumerism this month. Had promised myself that I wouldn't shop this month and it's being going good not without some fast reining of heart. December, is a month when I can shop without guilt cause it's my engagement month but, am saving all the arms for the month of Jan: my birthday month+ sales month (:P). It's hard to resist the fruits of online shopping when all one does is sit in front of the computer surfing through the net. Well, guys see you around probably with a better post.
Time to change my profile picture, I rummage through my numerous folders to find that perfect picture. A perfect picture is one which is likely to fetch most comments and likes, one which people would rave about, one which would highlights my gorgeous hair, falling oh so perfectly, teeth white enough to give the Colgate add a run for it's money and face photoshoped beyond recognition. There were moments from my past, where me and my friends would go on a clicking spree, until the perfect pic was achieved. Folders named categorically with dates, frequent uploading on FB, waiting for strangers to shower their praises. Life for us was shallow and we were too naive to realize that true beauty doesn't have to be skin deep. I bet, random people on the web are likely to send you a friend request if your gorgeous and no one would even bother to visit your profile if you have stuck up image of Hannah Montana or a 'CUTE' little kid as your DP.
Within months I have grown wiser, for me pictures are scarp book, one which would take me through the memory lane, make my eyes moist, make me giggle and bring in 1000's of odd emotions. I remember the day when my 1st laptop crashed , all my college pics went into dumps with it and so did 4 years of memory. Back at Amrita when my classmate accidentally erased whole of my C drive I did a thandav, not because my tools were erased off and I would have to bug 100 people to get it re-installed but, I was more irked by the fact that my terabytes of photo memory was lost. Things have changed and I try to embed the photographic pose up in my brain, capturing the beauty of the image, all the while savouring the instance. I am no more panicky and never attempts to try to balance my camera with one hand while stuffing my mouth with my favorite dessert. These moments should not lay forgotten in one's folders instead should be framed into one's consciousness. I have locked out my profile picture folders nor do I update picture frequently like before.
It set me thinking why the hell are we so intrested in creating new pics folder every week?.
I just felt like pouring all my angst into this blog. This is my vain attempt to prove myself right, after failing to do so on a wider platform. As a customer, what do you expect from a service, a site, a shop?. You expect them to outperform your expectations, or being a realistic person you are, you would expect them to fulfill the clauses they have promised. Anything below or down par is not acceptable as there are millions of other options waiting for you out there and why should one stick to this brand/site alone?. My gain will in turn effect the brand's/site's loss and in this era of mass communication a little negative publicity can topple even the biggies.
I am no expert in customer relationship, but as an end user it hurts when my expectations are not met with for instance, last day I rang up Airtel customer care on the hope of finding a solution to the ever frequent call drop at specific time of 1:10 and 2:10. Every time I make an international call to my clients, the call gets dropped at specific time. Every time I have to pacify the clients by explaining that there is an issue with the connection. On those sudden calls to my dad where I have to tell him to pick me up from office, the call gets cut midway. I tried calling 121, 123 to speak to their customer care exec but, without any luck. Finally, my brother did manage to find a way to contact the customer care. First you will have to press 2 so that you can get more info about the GPRS offers. Hallo!! a normal customer would expect the customer care key to be present in the main menu. Why would anyone bother to press GPRS and then again 9 to talk to customer care executive?. My connection was getting dropped even before I could press the lucky number 9, after trying for 8 times I gave up. Dad who himself own a post paid connection with Airtel gave me his phone to dial the customer care. By the time the whole incident happened I was on fire, fuming and the moment the customer care rep(A lady) took the phone, I started spitting venom. She got angry at me and told me that as my connection is prepaid she will have to transfer to some other section. The call was transferred, and a guy took up. This time I explained patiently to the guy about the issue and how much problem it's causing me. He told me there is no issue with my sim and told he will transfer me to some other section. The bloody guy put me on hold for 15 minutes and then the call was cut. I mean WTH!!!, I am recharging every week religiously with my hard earned cash and I have every right to know why my calls are getting cut and that too at exact same intervals. Being Airtel or having a great add doesn't mean you are invincible and no one will raise a finger against your service.
Moving on to another site Bestylish.com. Online shopping is slowly catching up in India and being one not to be left out I joined the bandwagon and ordered something from their site on Nov3rd. After my transaction was complete I expected them to send me a confirmation mail regarding receiving payment. Alas No!!I didn't receive any and the next day I send a mail asking them to confirm the same and that's when I received confirmation. Common, if the site doesn't let me know if they have received the cash how will I ever know?. What if they don't and my hard earned cash disappears into thin air with both agents refusing to accept it's their mistake?. Finally A week passed and I expected my courier to arrive any moment. Alas No!! I again had to ring them up and ask em if they had send me the courier... the guy tells me that my order is cancelled as the item didn't pass quality tests. If so, why bother fooling me and other lakhs of customers by putting up the pic of the good which is defective?. In that scenario, ideally I would have expected the company to replace my order( I would have happily obliged) and send me my good in 3 days may be then I would have been impressed or even it would have been okay if their refund process was completed in 2-3 days. Being the site they are and being taken for granted that they are I didn't expect both the ideal scenarios and Oh boy I was right. And what about my refund?. Weeks passed and I am yet to get one!!. I would never ever shop from their site no matter what lucrative offer they put in. I have reported it their agents and also posted a message on their FB wall. No action has been taken yet. Whenever people ask me about the site, I tell em without even blinking an eyelid NOT TO TRUST EM. I know me not trusting em won't do any damage but still, when it comes to mouth to mouth publicising and mass media publicising, I can cause a small damage and their possible buyers from my circle has eroded and none of my friends may never try this site.
I don't know but some of the best bloggers feel that mushrooming online portals may initially give you a good treatment and as they grow they tend to take their consumers for granted. Because they are a brand , they consider themselves to be above the consumers and this would eventually lead to their own downfall.
Am I being unreasonable here?. Spending big bucks, I expect quality, options and time from the brand I am loyal to. After all money doesn't grow on trees.
I have nothing worthwhile to write about, something that would inspire the person on the other side. Yesterday during one of our regular chatroom dramas, myself and Tbabu were talking about the inevitable :CHANGE. If I stand in front of the mirror and let Opal from the past have a conversation with this image, she would surely drub the ME as over girlish-self obsessed-diplomatic-aimless human being. I wouldn't be able to recognise ME, and I am everything I never wanted to be 4 years back. Time has this strange way of creating havoc in your life, it tosses you around and teaches you the truth the HARD way. I have changed and that's is something I have to own the responsibility for. I could have resisted the tides and stood up against TIME but, I didn't instead I just let it take me into the No entry zone. So, next time I tell myself "I AM NOT GONNA BE LIKE THAT", I will pause and think for a moment. What if few years down the lane, I become exactly that NOT GONNA BE types?. I am open to changes, I am ready to embrace them and make em a part of my life.
