Instagram - April Photo-A-Day Challenge (Days 21-30)

Here are my pictures for the April Photo-A-Day Challenge - Days 21 through 30 :)

Day 21 - Fire

Day 22 - Blurry

Day 23 - Time

Day 24 - I saw this person today ...

Day 25 - Life is colorful

Day 26 - Childhood

Day 27 - Earth

Day 28 - My Sunday

Day 29 - What I wore today

Day 30 - Glasses

I propose and my laptop disposes... :P

I decided to take the age-old proverb - "Man proposes and God disposes" to a new definition.

Just when I think everything is planned out, my laptop decides to throw in a monkey wrench to throw me off-schedule.

On April 26th, PB from Over Cups of Coffee blogged on how her blog almost broke. A day later my laptop thought of giving me a similar scare. :P

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It all started when I searched online for an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. which I didn't have. Being the true fanatic, in order to just view the sitcom, I didn't think much of the warnings that popped-up from time-to-time on my screen. When I tracked down the episode, I get a message - "To view this video, you need a higher version of Flash to be installed."

I clicked - "Install" and that was the last time I saw my laptop respond to my commands. After that, the rest of the day was spent restarting the laptop, deleting or uninstalling unwanted programs from the hard disk, not to forget - simultaneous backing up of my data which I had not cared to copy onto my external hard disk.

Now, my laptop has been crying for a clean format and servicing since God-knows-how-long so this was the breaking point. I was crippled for the rest of the day and for 2 complete days after that. I complained about the incident to LP who patiently said - "Don't worry, I will come home and fix it tomorrow".

But how could I now worry ? :( It was the last week of NaBloPoMo and I wanted to complete my posts . Sigh ! I decided to stop sulking and forget about the whole issue totally.

The LP came home the next day but didn't find time to fix the thing till today. When he tried inspecting it the first time, he gave up since the damn thing just wouldn't respond to anything once it started. Next, he called the customer care service for my laptop brand. What was shocking about this call was that after 15 mins of sharing information with the representative, the lady on the phone said - "We can fix the problem for you for a small cost. And that will be 199 USD." LP's jaw dropped at that very instant and he hung up thanking for the brief services provided.

Now, he was determined to fix the laptop at any cost. In about half hour, he searched for solutions online and completed a full system repair which took care of all malicious softwares and also cleaned up the unwanted things. I still didn't want to jump over the moon before thoroughly testing the fix. So I waited for another couple of hours, tried and tested the laptop in every possible way, verified that all my files were still available and then I finally admitted - "The laptop was fixed." :-) Yippee ! So back to my blog now to fill-in for the missed posts.

So, tell me, isn't it like a mini heart-attack to discover you can't get back to your blog for a certain period of time ?

Worse still, when you don't know how to fix the problem ?

Inspiring...

I came across this beautiful video today on a Facebook friend's wall and thought of sharing with you all. 

Having lost 2 of my family members to this deadly disease, I find it truly inspiring how there are many others who set out to not just survive but conquer "Cancer".

Take a look.

To own or not to own a TV ?

That has been the question for a long time. 4 years to be precise. And yet what started out to be a stupid decision became one of the wisest.

Wouldn't you be surprised / shocked if I told you that we haven't owned a TV yet ? Well, most people do react that way. It all started when LP and I got married. Since we were starting a new journey and since a new life beckoned we cautiously planned on getting the right things for our home to make it perfect.

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Our first year was spent in a rental apartment in India. We didn't have any furniture in the apartment other than an arm rest chair and a bed. The place was otherwise well furnished so that took care of our needs for interior cabinets and wardrobes. We planned to buy our own home at the end of the first year thus putting off the need for detailed interiors. Our lives were pretty busy too. With both of us working full-time, we often returned home at evening hours to cook, relax and get ready for the next day. Weekends would be spent on the household chores, my dance class, outings, errands etc. such that watching TV was the last thing on our wish list. Since my parents stayed nearby, an occasional visit to their place would fulfill our "idiot box" cravings. :-p

The second year, when we moved to our owned apartment, we often dreamt the place would be filled with the right amount of stuff at the right places. Nothing garish, nothing over the top. And thus began our wait for the perfect, exquisite interiors. Now we did have the basic furniture setup thanks to the house warming gifts that we got and the string of relatives / friends we knew we would invite over. But still TV was never on the mind. We progressed to getting a good Internet connection and lots of good movie collections provided by friends for entertainment. To this day, we still have movies lying idle on our hard disks / laptop waiting to be picked up and watched. :-D

We finally purchased a flat screen TV at the end of the 2nd year only to abandon it at home 3 months later due to the onset of the abroad trip.

The last 2 years have been a whirlwind affair with us moving to the US for work and relocating every few months for new assignments. Let me tell you, if there was an award for packing/moving then LP and I would be the proud owners of that award - hands-down, thanks to the sort of vast experience that we gained in the last year. I should also mention the lovely friends we made at every place. Planning family dinners and get-togethers has helped us connect with people and get to know them better which I am sure watching TV would never have achieved. This doesn't mean that we never watched movies ! :-p If you have a bunch of people, a movie projector and good speakers, you never need to own a TV. ;-)

And now, more and more couples share experiences of how their kids are addicted to watching TV and how difficult it is to wean them off. I would love my kids to read and ponder over amazing books and their enchanting characters rather than fixate their eyes over a meaningless reality show.

Now there are exceptions when we talk about classic sitcoms and shows but they don't come into picture until later life. :)

At the end of it all, I am glad that we didn't make an impulsive purchase back then because if we had, then I wouldn't have focused on my other interests. :)

So are you a pro-TV or anti-TV person ?

Summer is here... :)

Don't you just love it when the weather is sunny, the flowers are blossoming and you can't wait to step out ?

What I will miss here...

It's been only 6 months in this place but these are the memories I will miss in the months to come... :(

See the horses in mid-air :)

Packing off to another city...

Yes, we are moving.... yet again ! But though it is a "LOT" of work, that doesn't dim the excitement that comes along with the move.

I have lost count of how many times I have blogged about my earlier relocations. In case you missed those posts, you can read them here, here, here, here or here.

I look forward to -

1. A new city...
2. A new life...
3. A new experience...
4. A new home...
5. New challenges...
6. New friends...
7. New landscapes, sights and views...
8. New likes and dislikes ;)
9. Great food...
10. Amazing times...

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More on this after the relocation.

Retrospection

Just so you know, this post may not be of the usual kind. This blog is my writing space for good memories as well as a punching bag for experiences or lessons learnt.

I have blogged about how my equation with friends has been till now. A couple of days ago, I was reminiscing about some of my friendly encounters from the past. Now we don't like to judge people by our will or dwell in the past thinking about them, but it mainly happens due to our experiences with such crowds. I realised there have been acquaintances who were and are still genuine in and out. And there have been others who have been otherwise.

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It's the second kind that usually scare me. Like anyone else, I am a kind of person who values her friendships more than anything. A little over-possessive in that sense. This trait comes due to the wonderful friends and the associations from all these years. On some occasions, hordes of emails have been exchanged to be in touch while on others, it's been a matter of a mere hi-bye relation which has stuck through.

What made me ponder was that in every circumstance, my reactions/thoughts/behaviour has been my true self. But the same has not been the case from the other end. What begins as a great start to an ever-lasting friendship turns shorter than hoped for. Has this happened to you before ?

Like in any relationship, even friendship requires efforts to keep it going.

• But what do you do when the efforts evaporate from one side ?
• Does it make sense to cling on to that friendship ?
• Or do we still continue the acquaintance just for the sake of it ?

The more I think about it, I more blurry it gets. And now I have reached such a point where such experiences have taught me a lesson - "To not be myself". I know it sounds crazy but only because at the end of it all in the other cases, the efforts that I put in seem futile to keep the acquaintance going on.

Being on a cautious front from the start helps me to look at the person with a better perspective.

• Have you done or experienced something like this before ?
• How would you deal with such a friendship when you know talking about it to the person to resolve the misunderstanding is not going help ?
• What if, the person is still the same even after the misunderstandings are conveyed and clarified ?

Breathing Life...

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When have we met ?

When have we spoken ?

Why is everything so oblivious ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

When did you arrive ?

What time did you come ?

Why are these questions unanswered ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

Will you be just like me ?

Will you be just like him ?

Will you be like both of us ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

Will you smile like this ?

Will you cry like that ?

Will you love us just like we do ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

What if you have eyes like me ?

What if you have teeth like him ?

Will you sing like him and laugh like me ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

Will it be day ?

Or will it be night ?

When will you enter this world ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

Will our lives be the same ?

Will our lives be different ?

Won't our families love you a lot ?

It doesn't matter as I still know "You".

****************

Instagram - April Photo-A-Day Challenge (Days 11-20)

Posting my Instagram pics of the April Photo-A-Day challenge - Days 11 through 20. :)

Day 11 - Detail

Day 12 - In the middle

Day 13 - View from my bed

Day 14 - Water

Day 15 - Alone

Day 16 - Favorite color

Day 17 - Busy

Day 18 - Hello !

Day 19 - Button

Day 20 - On my mind

Delicious times !

Lazy weekend, a good book and an evening Italian dinner makes "GR" a happy girl ! :p

Pics of what we had for dinner today. If you are wondering, why I managed to capture only the beverage and appetizer, the reason is I was so hungry to dive into the main course that I forgot ! :)

Blood Orange Spritzer

Bruschetta Classico



Foto Fridays - Week 19

Today, being Ram Navami (Birth of Lord Rama - 7th incarnation of Vishnu), I made a sweet at home and decided to use it for this week's post. :)

Can you guess the name of this sweet ? :)

What I am reading ...

:)

A quote for today...

Came across this today and loved it :)

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Moving is an emotional experience...

If a genie ever appeared in front of you and granted you 3 wishes, what would you ask ? All of world's riches, world peace, expensive clothes/accessories or something else ?

I know for sure how exactly I would spend 1 of those 3 wishes. I would ask him to build me a house which could be transported every time I need to move from place to place (be it locally or internationally).

Why so ? Because moving in and out of apartments/hotels is taking a toll on me. More than a physical strain it's turning out to be an emotional journey of sorts. I have always considered myself lucky enough to be adjustable and adaptable to relocations as long as there aren't any major concerns with the move or the apartment.

But I also have a weakness. :( Every time we move to a new place, I get attached to the place. It doesn't matter if I stayed there for a year or 1 month. At a bare minimum, the place only needs to be cozy, homely, peaceful and I go about building my own world in it. And this is what I hate. As easy as it may sound to get adjusted to a changing environments, it has been equally depressing to detach myself from the place.

This also stems from the fact that I hate change. I know, I know - "Change is the only constant thing in this world." But I fail to acknowledge this truth. I like things the way they are. Sounds stupid, right ? That's how I have been since childhood and this weakness of mine has made me realise it the hard way so far.

So, have you had the need to relocate frequently ever before ? If so, are you the "attached" or "detached" type when it comes to moving ?

"Profession" or "Hobby Job" ?

Can a hobby turn into a profession ? Yes, it can... If you could turn your hobby into a profession it would be the best job in the world. We all have hobbies but do we plan to turn them into professions ? At what point in life do we realize that we are not made for a regular job ? 

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Now the other side of the coin is - not everybody gets this opportunity and not every hobby can turn into a "job". It requires utmost dedication, hard work and a fire within also called as passion. It's truly inspiring to see how so many great personalities or celebrities start off with this small passion to turn it into a highly rewarding and satisfying job.

At one point of my life, I turned down professional studies just so that I could avoid hostels and continue staying with my family. But that never happened. The family talked some sense into me and I spent the next 3 years away from family studying towards my profession. Hobbies existed in side line but it never occurred as a job.

Once studies were complete, the long relationship with my professional job began. Even then, I could not think of any other alternate job to replace my professional job because let's face it - at the end of the day we always dream of a high-paying job. Hobbies were an integral part even then, in order to keep myself de-stressed and mindfully fit. :)

Over the years, I noticed that my hobbies slowly and steadily yearned to take centre stage. And I also observe more and more number of my friends adopting dual roles - their regular "9-to-5" job and as an entrepreneur to work on their interests. The best part is that even though they are progressing towards success with baby steps in the entrepreneurial role today it definitely projects brighter avenues for the future. Other advantages of this dual role are -

1. They can stop their regular job when needed or resume from a break whenever they wish
2. They get to earn both ways
3. Bigger satisfaction

Now I wonder if I get an opportunity to redefine my profession, should I step out of the comfort zone and give it a shot or continue to look for higher job prospects for what I studied and gained experience all these years ?

So tell me, if it was you, would you prefer a professional job over your "hobby job" ?

Happy Vishu 2013

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Vishu / Happy New Year / Happy Gudi Padwa / Ugadi / Shubho Nabo Barsho ! :)

For those of you wondering why I am wishing "Happy New Year" right in the middle of April, this time of the year actually marks the beginning of the New Year for different states in India. To be specific - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India, Maharashtra in Western India and West Bengal in North-East India.

It also marks the beginning of a new month, a new season and new events.

Do check out my older post for details on the festival - Vishu and below is a snap of this year's Vishu decoration at our place. :)

It's a beautiful day...

"I am so happy and positive today,

To hear birds chirping and watch them play...

The sun's all bright and glowing in a special way,

Oh my gracious ! It's such a beautiful day !!!" :-)

Can't help admiring the sky and the lovely weather today.

Don't you just love it when the sky's all blue and filled with floating clouds ?

Foto Fridays - Week 18

Another one from my creations :)

Remember "Powerpuff girls" ??? The one with beautiful "Blossom" (Pink), cutie pie "Bubbles" (Blue) and rough-n-tough "Buttercup" (Green).

This is one of my childhood memories - watching this cartoon on Cartoon Network. :) So I thought why not sketch them ?