Nnnte!!!

Achulde has been having the time of his life, hes not been going to the day care for the last two weeks. The first week, his day care had closed for Onam vacation. And the next week, his cousins had come visiting from Mumbai and were here for a week.  Though he was not exactly on friendly  terms with his cousins, especially the younger one Kavya(whom he calls Kaayi)- who is his age(jus 6 months elder to him). They were always fighting, pulling , pushing, crying and keeping guard on each other!!! And the moment one of them does something, the other one would sound the alarm(Amma,” Kaayi,Kaayi, kaayi”) or Appacha “ Achu,Achu,Achu”!!!(Kaavu and Devu calls me Appacha , for Appachi!!!) The moment one takes a toy, the other one would jump  upon  her/him shouting “ Achu-lde “ or “Ente”. Now Achulde has given up his  ™ word “ Achu-lde “ and  has started using Kaayi’s  “ Ente”, only that he pronounces it as      “ Nnnte”.

After the girls left, he's quite bored with no one to fight with, around. So he has chosen lil Mommolde. Anything that Mommolde picks up for playing is “ Achu-lde” and he pounces  on Mommolde shouting “ Achu-lde” and then stops mid-way  and  nods his head--correcting himself and shouts “NNNnnte”!!!

I'm sure, I am gonna miss his  "Achulde" for sure!!!

Of Client Visits and Elephants!!

Client visit in Technopark is a very colorful affair. Its not just business, its a celebration.A couple of companies go all out to showcase not just their business, the extent to which they go makes one wonder whether, its a Kerala Tourism package that they are offering their clients. Technopark houses multiple companies in the same building , and there are more than a couple of such buildings in the campus.Ground Floor of the building, that we have our office in, is used UsT and when it comes to client entertainment,they top the list. On my first day at work after the long leave, I was confused when I saw the large Pookkalam on the reception, Onam was atleast 3 months away!!! But my doubts were cleared immediately, when a Limo arrived in front of the building and 2 clients stepped out and were immediately surrounded by a volley of ppl. Two huge garlands were brought and they were garlanded. The clients were thin framed and everyone could see that they were not at all confortable, but on the whole looked they looked amused with the reception. Then they all moved in to see the Pookkalam, which was done in the form of Theyyam(I had come to the first floor by then and was watching the whole episode from the portico.)Then the photo session of the clients alone and with UST crew and with and without the garlands followed.Once the official photo session was over, the clients took their camera and started clicking away!!!
Later in the day, I was talking to one of my colleagues , who mentioned that stuff like these are nothing new and that the day's show was not upto the mark, it seems. The procession with elephants was missing and there was no Vadyamelam as well. Now I was the surprised one.And that it seems is the measuring scale for 'How important the client is to your organisation.?" The no. of elephants go up,when the visiting party is somone higher up in the coporate ladder of the client organisation!!!
To each his own,thought I initially, Nice time pass, i tried to think of it. But mind didn't agree.How important is such a welcome to your client? How much does it impact your chances in the clients books? Is it really worth the effort? What is it that we are trying to prove in here?How safe is it? You have multiple companies in the same campus and thousands of employees from different parts of India and even the world, here to earn their daily bread - who have nothing to do with your company's eagerness to showcase the tourism package to your client. Why am I being so serious here, you mite wonder.After all, is this only time and place that you would encounter elephants being used for such purposes in Kerala, you mite think! The point to be noted here is that its not in any 'Ground' ,as in, a place where people interested in such activities can assemble , that you are bringing in the elephant and the procession.What if the elephant decides to play naughty, for reasons beyond its control.How prepared are the authorities , in case of such an eventuality? Its not even a place, where only interested parties need attend and others can stay off the premises , kind of rule can work. I am surprised the Park management has no issues whatsoever with such activities.Thank God, my company doesn't indulge in such extravaganzas is all I can say, but am not sure, the elephant when in fury would attack after validating the identity!!!
On a lighter note, there is this fwded mail that is on circulation.A typical mallu forward mail that makes fun of everything 'Mallu', this one caters specifically to Technopark. One of the questions is " How do you know , if there is a client visit in UST, Technopark?". Ans : "If you can spot elephant dung in the Sreekaryom- Karyavattom road, you know that there is client visit in UST!!!!" Hows that?!!!

Achulde and Mommolde

Lots of folks have been asking, why I've named my kids Achulde and Mommolde!! The answer is I was hesitant about using the real names or pet names in the blog initially.(Though I am kind of comfortable now, I've got used to calling them Achulde and Mommolde in the blog) And I was searching for good names. Achu at that time, was not able to say 'Achu-inte' (malayalam equivalent of Achu's-meaning something that belong to Achu) and he used to say 'Achu-lde.' And for something that belongs to Aadi, he would say ' Momm-lde'( Mommo is what he calls Aadi).
Thats how I got those two cute names Achulde and Mommolde.

Jus for Kids!!

The husband thinks I should rename my blog as 'Jus for Kids' :) So what, atleast my kids can enjoy reading the posts, once they are grown ups - a journal on their mischiefs, what an idea Sirji :)

Photosession

How much time do you think it would take for a family of four to get a Family Photo taken at a Photo studio, specialising in the job? Half an hour, one hour ???
It took us 3 whole hours(Residence time, not just Service Delivery time, in purely S/w architecture terms)
The husband and self did kind of know what to expect, and we think we are very well prepared for whats in store. Going by the 'Barbar Balan 'experience and the kind of fuss that he puts in while just cutting his nail, we know that Achulde would be a star performer this time also. What we didnt expect though was that lil Mommolde will put in tough competition for his brother!!!
We reach Paramount Studion by 6 in the evening and their Ace photographer takes us to their model studio, which looks real grand and inviting. Main idea is to take ' typical Family photo and Photo of Mommolde in his Rolled Over state - a photo that you can find in any kerala home, would be a studio photo taken after the baby has rolled over.
Both the kiddos are in good mood, it can't get better than this!!!
I tell the photographer that we would like to get these 2 photos taken ASAP, before their mood changes. But the photographer has other ideas. He wants a photo of jus the kids and as expected the husband and self get carried away. We place Mommolde on the mat, he rolls over immediately and gives a smile. Now the P asks Achulde to lie down just like Mommolde, but the lil fella flatly refuses.In an act of convincing,the husband and self lay on our tummy , thank god
the P didnt take a snap then.Achulde agrees reluctantly initially, but the P does the mistake of coming closer to the venue and immediately Achulde changes his mind and walks away.P does a wise thing by taking solo picutres of Mommolde on a Bean bag.By then somehow, we make Achulde come back, but he wont lie down, he prefers sitting. So we try taking photo with one sitting and the other on his tummy, but there is a big gap between them and Achulde refuses to
budge.so we decide that we can make Mommolde sit next to Achulde and get a snap taken. The lil fellow is yet to sit by himself. So a new strategy is devised.
The husband would support Mommolde with his palm and once the P says 'ready', he would take his hand away and once the shot is taken, he would catch Mommolde before he falls down.And this we have to do in the next 10 seconds, before Achulde decides to walk away again. Shot is called, supporting hand moved away, snap taken --yes, yes, yes --But predictably the husband fails to support the lil one from behind and lil Mommolde falls straight on his back. He starts
wailing away to glory. So I take him out,soothe him and after a good 15 mts, he calms down, by the time we reach the venue, Achulde's solo session is going on. P has pulled out a chair and Achulde is posing solo. The husband is laughing out loud and narrating funny things to Achulde to make him smile and everytime the husband says, ' Smile', there's this weak giggle that we hear from Achulde, but no sign of smile in his face. Poor fellow, he thinks he has to
make giggling sound when asked to smile.And the real smile appears only after the flash goes blink!!! After 3-4 trials, the P says, its best to take natural snaps than making the kids smile !!!
Now is the time for the family phots. the husband, self and Mommolde sit on the chairs, but achulde decides to go and sit in a banana shaped chair, which lies in the corner of the room.We try to lure him, but he refuses to budge. Then its decided to pull the banana chair
in, so that we can get all of us in one place. But the moment , its pulled in, Achulde gets tired of sitting on it.Mommolde gets really cranky by now and we have no option other than calling it quits. P advises us to go for a round in the car and then come back. We decide to buy a couple of KitKats, and pass it onto the P, so that he can use the same to make Achulde pose!!! we get back in another half an hour and strategy is planned once again. Mommolde refuses to
pose solo, so the rolling over photo yet is out of question. We all pose and then Achulde starts whimpering. P shows the Kitkit in an attempt to lure him, Achulde's hand goes up and the whining turns to crying. We decide to give him one kit kit to hold, but he starts crying as he wants it opened. So finally one is unwrapped and given to him that makes him busy for a while.By then Mommolde is fussy, by the time he is comforted, Achulde has finished his chocolate and starts crying again. So the second one is given and meanwhile , the husband and self have been exchanging M and A, whoever needs comforting , is handed over to self- need based. Amidst all these scenes,the photographer manages to click a no. of family photos. Surprisingly, P's complaints are majorly against the parents. Sir is not smiling, Madam,is not looking this way etc etc!!
I got so irritated with Achulde's show , that the moment the P said 'Done', I could not resist giving A a good fat pinch!!! And he started his Raaga vistharam!! If you see the photos, you won't believe, all these happened!!!
All said and done,it indeed was worth the effort, no doubt about it :)

Linguistic Worries

Couldn't help wondering how the tables have turned in my Achulde's case after reading the post  'Speech' in UL's 'Diaries'. After he started going to 'Bright Vistas' day care in Bangalore, there was a dip in his ease with Malayalam. The language confusion syndrome had set in. At school, the care takers would be communicating in English, the Aayahs would be talking in Kannada  or Hindi and his caretaker was a tamilian who would speak to him in Malayalam that sounded like Tamil.

 Naturally, I was keen on my kid speaking good Malayalam wherever he was going to be, so we would speak to him in Malayalam only.After a couple of months, he could successfully manage to communicate to us in bits and pieces  using Malayalam words predominantly and some English words and a couple of Kannada words.We encouraged daily doses of Manjadi, and were really proud when he started reciting Malayalam rhymes.

 Now after moving to Trivandrum, I suddenly see that the tables have turned.He has not only picked up Malayalam beautifully, now he has stopped using the other languages altogether.I am in a situation where I need to see to it that he doesn't forget his English !!!.So I find myself speaking to him in English once in a while,though he makes it really obvious that he prefers to communicate in Malayalam.I insist on my children knowing English mainly because, knowing the husband as well as I do, you never know, when we'll decide to move to another city, just like that!!!

 Now in his lingo, pussy cat has become 'poocha poocha' and Bowbow/doggy has become 'patti patti'!!! And in the day care that he goes to in Trivandrum, they have a rabbit.When all the children run after it shouting 'Bunny,Bunny', hes the only one running shouting ' Moyalu, Moyalu'- mind you its not even Muyal, its Moyal for him :)

 Initially when I tried reading bed time stories to him at nite, he would just get up and leave. It took me some time  to realise that he was leaving 'coz he didn't understand what I was reading to him.That was not exactly in conformance with what I had read on the net on how children would love being read to, even if they didn't follow the language.But nowadays , he wont walk away, when I'm reading, but he's more interested in the pictures in the book. If I read to him in English, he'll make a story based on the pics and tell me in Malayalam!!!

Linguistic woes, huh!!! :)

A False Alarm

When we reached home , after work on friday, Mommolde was running high fever.One full circle completed in a month.And already the second cycle has begun!!! Just 3 week back, Mommolde was hosptialised following high fever, then it was Achulde's turn the next week and then mine. And now , it's Mommolde again!!!
The thermometer showed 100.4,I decided to give him calpol before taking him to the doc. It was then that I noticed more than a couple of bright red rashes on his hands and tummy. What more do I need to panic?!!! We reached the doc's residence where he has set up private practice and when the doc asked us to rush to the Emergency unit of the hospital,we got so worried. Our Paed. has this nature of not telling us in detail, on why he wants the tests done, until the test results are out.He never tells us what he suspects also, until its confirmed. The result being, we end up going through this high voltage tension drama, every time the lil ones fall sick.(But thank God, touch wood, every time,they end up being just false alarms, so I don't mind going thru it once in a while, as long as the kids are safe and sound).
This time also, like every other time, I got so anxious and shot all the questions like ' But why are the rashes there? ' What do they mean? what is his ailment?' and he replied calmly ' I cannot confirm anything, until the blood test results are out'.
'Would that mean an admission?' to which came the reply, 'I would like to get him admitted, but I dont think there is any vacant room in the hospital'!!! So we rushed to the emergency unit , where and waited for a long long time and finally the blood sample is taken for the test.In the mean time, the junior docs, came to examine him and fired Q's on whether we'd been out anywhere, whether someone at home is down with any epidemic, whether someone with any ailment visited our home et al.With each interaction, the heart beat just shot. I was in tears by then, not knowing what was troubling the lil one. The husband went one step ahead and using his mobile,searched in Google with the keywords that he caught hold off from the conversation between the Dr.s' and I could see the blood draining from his face!!! The next 3 hrs were one of the longest in recent history. And finally the junior Doc came and told us that , it must be reaction to insect bite,as the blood tests have come out negative!!! We both broke down to tears ,tears of relief, all the pent-up tension flowing out, but nonetheless grateful, that it was just a scare!!! :)

A fine balance

Its a fine balancing act that we do with our lives all the time and we forget that too all the time. The only times you think of what a tightrope walking that you are doing, would be when you've lost the balance !!!(It's a different story that you do lose the balance very frequently :) )And when it happens, the rule of Murphy just applies itself tightly over the whole game plan !!!
I had charted out the list of activities for the month of June and July, well in advance, with the aim of completing all my pending "To do" things , before I joined back work by mid- july. But that was not to be.
I've not been able to complete , even one task from that list!!! And I've joined back work too :(
First it was the house shifting-though you know and are very well prepared for the task, its such a pain, esp when you have to do it twice in a span of 3 months!!!
Associated with that came all the side effects like no net connection et al, but that can be treated as minor too.
Then lil Mommolde came down with a mild cold that went onto become a severe infection and the worst part was that, the antibiotics administered orally upset his tummy and he had to be on IV, which meant he had to get admitted in hospital for 5 days.
That had other serious repercussions, esp. since Achulde has become an ardent "chipko" guy, after his trip to Aluva.
Had started thinking that things are back to normal and then, Achulde's fever starts.This event is all the more complicated because, administering the medicines part is so so so difficult. He has learnt to spit , so whatever is forcefed, comes out in doublespeed.It was 3 of us holding him and me giving the medicines thru a syringe!!! That lasted for a week and now Mommolde has cough and cold again!!!
And I am already 2 weeks into work!!!
Someone asked me on how it feels like, joining back work? I couldn't help answering " Its a very fine division of time between work, home and hospital!!!' :)

Achulde goes visiting!

'Why dont you take Achulde along, when you go to Aluva this weekend?'
The statement surprises everyone including me and I regret it the moment I say it.I know I am done.
Achulde's g. parents are here for his b'day and they are going back, this weekend. The husband also is planning to accompany them as he has some other duties to take care of there. And this is when the CFL in my head decides to go all bright. Achulde's g.mother gets all excited and starts planning immediately. The husband just looks at me, he knows its one of the brilliant FIMs(Foot in Mouth) that pops out of me from time to time, those are my TMs.
Now what do I do. Since the suggestion is mine, I cannot take it back. I look at R. hoping he would save me. ' Why not
?!'comes the response from the husband!!
It could've been a life saving 'No , next time' or a ' Are you sure?' response, but no,he chooses to say 'why not?'
Amma by this time is all enthu and goes a couple of steps further and suggests that 'Let him stay there with us for a week at
least?!!
A week?! Completely out of question.He cannot stay away from me for that long. But can't you see the obvious? How will I stay
away for 2 days from my lil' Achulde?
Achulde, ofcourse doesn't have a clue of whats happening. He's so many more important thing to take care of!
Night falls. The plan is to leave by the early morning train and what do I do now? To make matters worse, theres a silly tiff between the husband and self, so there's this 'First who?!' thing also in the air.So the matter remains undiscussed till the D-day morning.

Come Saturday morning and the plans are still on. I get him dressed up, the lil fellow is still sleeping, its just 4:30 in
the morning. Clothes are packed, food is packed, everything's ready. Iam all the while hoping that he'd get up now and then
he wouldn't want to go, but no such luck!!!They all enter the elevator.The husband's carrying Achulde and as the lift's about
to close,Achulde wakes up and looks around.I press the button and keep the door open, just in case, he starts crying, I can
take him back.He looks around, assesses the situation , smiles and gets all excited and waves good-bye!!! Tough luck. I go
the balcony and wait. Thought process is that ,the smile and the good-bye is only 'coz hes just half-awake, by the time he
reaches the Ground Floor or atleast by the time he reaches the car, realisation would dawn and sense would prevail and he'll
come back in another 5 mts.I stay there , sharpening my ears to catch the crying sound. I see the car on the road- no such
luck either!!!
The next one hr, the hopes are really on a very large scale. They'd be coming back from the railway station, c'oz he realised
and started crying!!! Have you ever wondered, the capacity of the human mind to hope against all hopes? Is it coz I am an
optimist(Am I really one?!) or is every one like this?
I decide to execute all my shelved plans during the weekend. Visit to the Dr, dentist etc had been postponed for quite
sometime.I set about doing all that. Howelse would I pass time?
5 hrs later, the husband calls, they've reached Kottayam, Achulde is all smiles and really happy and playing et al non-
stop, eversince he got up from slumber.I am relieved. If he doesn't cry,then I am OK, I tell myself!!!
The full day passes, with phone calls to and fro, each one of them bringing good reports - he's fine,he's not cried at all,
he's busy playing,he's not asked for me even once etc etc !!! Although the last piece of news is not that pleasing ;), I am
happy for him, though I cannot help wondering whether he's just putting on a brave face.
The weekend is one of the longest ever, even Mommolde is wondering and looking all around, he must be feeling strange, the
place is so quiet all on a sudden, something hes not at all used to!!!
Sunday noon, I call up the husband and ask ' Didn't he ask for me even once?' 'Nope' comes the reply. 'You are sad 'coz he
hasn't, isn't it?' comes an addendum!!!I must admit I am sad, not really sad, but I'd be lying if I say, it didnt affect me.I
think I feel that way 'coz, my gut-feel is that Achulde is just not showing, somehow thats the feeling I get and thats
worrying.
Anyways, I am glad the weekend has passed.
Finally I am at the Rlwy. Stn at 6 in the evening. The Day Express arrives on time luckily.I can see them both now. Achulde
hasn't seen me yet. I am almost running towards them. I am just abt near them, the husband is glad to see me( I notice :D ),
Achulde is busy looking at the train and then suddenly he sees me. The next moment he squeals in delight and the next moment , he looks the other way, he wouldn't make eye contact with me for the next 5 mts. I am already in tears.And then he jumps in the air and is in my hands, in one swift motion. All excited he starts his rhymes ' Tain , tain gauway, come gain nather
dday !!!'

All my anxieties, all my worries have melted away and all's well in my world. Touchwood!!!

'Candle in the phone?!!'

It took me sometime  to realise why my son was blowing with all his might into the receiver of the phone mid-way through the conversations, y'day , whenever someone called  and asked specifically to speak to him.

They were singing his ' Appappachi' song over the phone, and the lil' fellow was doing the blowing the candle part in-between !!!

:)

Apartment Hunt - Part 2

Then there was this house owner, who said that  he cannot rent out his house to us, 'coz we have small children, who will mess up his house.

And then there was one who said, he cannot give his house as my parents' or R's parents being there, means more no. of people in the home, which he doesn't like.

And have you heard the latest- the owner needs 1k more from us than the rent he was getting from his previous tenants, as they were a family of 2 , whereas we are a family of 4!!!(Wonder whether the apartment size also grows, when the no. of members in the family increase)Doesn't that mean that its .5 k rent per child per month as hostel rent?!!!

Wonder , what all we need to go through before we find a decent place to stay!!!

Appappachi to you

My son has  been singing the 'Appappachi '(Happy Birthday) song for quite sometime now.As part of the buildup to his birthday which is today, we all'd been singing this to him and he was enjoying it too. But the anti-climax was that , today when we sang it, he was like ' Ildildilde!!!'(which is his way of saying Illa, illa-meaning no no). Looks like he's become quite bored with the song now !!!

At the day-care that he'd been attending while in Bangalore, there were birthday celebrations once a week-every friday, where all kids' whose birthday falls on that week, would cut the cake and then there would be a party. And on fridays, he's not that happy on seeing me or R, when we go to pick him up from the day-care.Its like given a choice, he'd like to stay back for some more time, kinds.  Too bad, he couldn't celebrate his b'day there amongst kids his age. And he has not started going to day-care here. We are planning to have cake cutting et al here at home as well.Hope that makes up.

Lights, Camera Action!

These days, when I get into the kitchen, its as if to shoot for a cookery show. Can you believe that?!!

All ingredients will be ready and kept in bowls based on instructions that were given earlier.  I just need to take the right quantity and mix and bake or cook as required. And I get into the kitchen to cook only when I fancy. And I cook/make only fancy stuff these days  like Chocolate Roller coaster etc.

One of  the many advantages of having a maid!!! What a lazy bum I've become. But I do miss running my own  show sometimes. Donno when those days will return. Not too soon, I hope, as I already have enough on my hands  with Ac and Ad.

Gopalakrishna Panickar enna House Owner

Remember the character played by Mohanlal in 'Sanmanassullavarkku Samadhanam'? The antics he indulges in to get the tenants to vacate his house? Wasn't he so lovable?

Well thats the last quality  I can attribute to my current house owner.We discovered that he is a royal pain, so much so that, we have given notice to move out of our current apartment , where we have stayed for just 2 months!!!

We had liked this apartment so much, it was ideally located -  near the NH, yet tucked in , less noise, easy accessibility- we didn't have to think twice before choosing this one.R was apprehensive, 'coz the house owner was staying in the adjacent one. But I didn't think that was much of an issue as we'd be minding our business and them theirs--but that was not to be.

In our haste, we overlooked checking out  some basic minimum fittings like the plumbing work for washing machine, exhaust fan connection et al, and repent we did.

I approach him(Let's call him 'G'( Gem of a person) to talk about the same, and to my dismay he says a big 'NO' to the same, his reasons being

1.) You did not tell me, before taking the house.I cannot fit anything more as the deal has been signed.

2.) Previous tenant did not have all that.

I had a good mind to say that previous tenant did not pay as much rent as well, but refrained.
You see we've always belonged to the category of those less fortunate souls who have to live in rented apartments,but I must say we had not faced such issues before.
Maybe things are different in non -metros. In Chennai as well as Bangalore, we had all facilities provided by the house owners, if something was missing, we just had to tell them , they'd either fix it for us or ask us to go ahead and do it ourselves and deduct from next month's rent!!!

I walk back saying 'OK , I'll get it done myself at my own cost' . Then Mr. G comes running behind and says 'Since you've decided to go ahead , I would like to let you  know that I can allow only premium fittings in my apartment'!!!

We realised then of the shape of things to come.

Its been a very eventful two months, since then,with lots of anxious queries for anything and everything rite from rent payment even before the month ends  to worries that  my toddler mite draw on the walls and complaints on car parking, basically everything under the sun was fast becoming a problem!!!

And we reached our wits' end when, on coming back after a week's break from R's home, uncle G. comes and complains that ' You did not tell me before going away, you are yet to learn the basics of community living!!!' to which R replies ' We thot we just have to tell the caretaker, since its his job, didn know we have to tell you as well!!'

To keep it short  we gave in our notice and are on the lookout of new apartment!!!

Oh Blog , thy Name!!!

There's been no end to the no. of times I change my blog title. Everytime I login I change it. I think I'll have to do a re-cap  every now and then in my posts, so that I can tag the chronological order :)

 

From  ' An afterthought ' to  ' Is it me'? ' to ' Thinking Aloud' to 'Cacophonix Chronicles' to 'A penny for my thoughts' to 'Blogmatix.me.in' to ' Jusforkix', I would call that quite a journey!!! :)

But I like this one very much, I guess this name will stay.

I've always been an ardent Asterix fan. So the influence is obvious :)

What say wot what? hic!

:)

Apartment apartment everywhere, not even one for rent

That has been the situation that we find ourselves in,  out here in Tvpm.We see big banners and cut outs everywhere of apartments and villas, in such astronomical prices, but the problem is that most of them are in the 'under construction' phase.

Can you believe that furnished apartments in the city comes for a monthly rent of 25k? I was shocked to say the least.

We've not been able to find one that fits the bill. If one specification is met, the rest are obviously not !!! If we get an unfurnished one, the location is not good, if those two are satisfied, then the no. of rooms are not enough...no end to our worries.

Keeping fingers crossed. Hope I find my beautiful home soon.

Left handed compliment

Thats what I think of what  Am. Prez said the other day about how people in his country were facing food shortages 'coz us here in India have suddenly started eating more!!!

I thot that would've more to do with  good portion of the grain production going for bio-fuel research et al

Even if indeed it has to do with Indians eating more, then ,  I would be proud indeed , as that is clearly an indicator if how our living standards are improving.

Way to go , India

One moment here, another gone

This is my biggest problem.
One moment I'll be all over it and the next moment I'll be too lazy to even bother about it.
I fear that I won't be continuing the blog, simply 'coz I'm too lazy.
I hope I will get over this phase soon.
I hope I'll continue blogging  'justforkix'!!!

Baby Talk

I realised , how much of baby talk I do in my daily conversations, recently when a very funny incident happened. While pregnant with my second one,I used to take short breaks from work to walk about, in my company's sprawling campus in Bangalore. This campus is very unique, it is a ' See it to believe it' kind of place-lush green with , completely in tune with nature-lots of trees and plants of all varieties et al.

Just behind my building, stands a big tree , a very old one with a big hollow bark. As I was passing by, I hear a frantic 'Meow' from somewhere, I couldn't locate, from where. And then I notice this little kitten, hanging from the lowest branch of the tree using its front paws ,to save itself from the fall, crying in distress. It had not even opened its eyes, must've been just a day old.Just above the branch was the hollow bark and inside it was the mother cat and the rest of its litter, the mother cat looking at the young one , not knowing what to do.There were Associates walking about in the stone pavement near the tree, the cat wouldn't be able to come down , I knew that for sure. I stood there helplessly as well,as I had read somewhere that some cats abandon their offspring, if its touched by humans.My instinct was to stand right beneath the kitten with my 'Duppatta' so that if and when the kitten falls, it can fall safely into my 'Duppatta'.

Luckily, I didn't do such stuff, after all what would my teammates think, if they happen to see their Project Manager in such a scene!!!

I was looking around wondering what to do and the mother cat had started thinking of me as an unwelcome intruder and was staring at me. I dare not touch its young one. At this point another associate - a total stranger was coming from the opposite direction oblivious to the whole scenario. He looked at me puzzled, wondering whether I needed any help. The point to be noted is that , I was heavily pregnant at the time and seeing my expression, he was wondering whether I was in distress. He asks me whether I need any help. I blurt out ' Theres a little Pussy cat over there, it needs help'. Now whats wrong with that statement, you must be wondering. Nothing but that I used baby talk when I said pussy cat, to be precise, I said 'Pushi (shi as in 'sssh'i) cat'. ' A what?' says he, quite confused.I point to the tree and he says' Oh , a cat, you mean!'. He shrugs his shoulders as if to say , theres nothing much we can do abt it. The little kitten decided to take matters into its hands and just let go of the branch and fell down with a thud. The mother cat sprang down in a split second and took its young one back to the bark.

The guy smiled at me and walked away and so did I. But I was quite embarrassed . All this baby talk with my first one, was influencing my language in such a big way - but then consoled myself thinking, there would be a phase in his life as well, when he also would be doing such baby talk happily :)

Season of Weddings

This is no ordinary wedding season. Year 2008 has brought me one good news after another, of 'Good ole' friends tying the knot. When I say ' Good Ole' I mean 'Good Ole' (wink).

Some of our very good friends who had remained single, coz they couldn't find their soul mates or 'coz of many other commitments, are finding time and luck this year.And this starts the age old debate on 'what the right age for marriage is?'.

Many friends of mine who married quite early (i.e , in their early-mid twenties) vouch for that, while others who preferred to wait for some more time, found bliss in their choice as well. Then there are some who say that 'Its always wise to postpone, since with marriage comes endless responsibilities, so why not enjoy for some more years before you take the plunge'.

One thing I've noticed is that ' There indeed is a general rush so that certain milestones can be achieved' - like say, to have your children before you are 30. Partly 'coz of health concerns , partly 'coz of the sense of achievement/pride that accompanies the successful completion of milestones.

I know of a guy who used to boast that ' He was the youngest in class'--no no, not while at school, he must have been atleast 24 yrs old then!!! I don't understand, what credit he holds for that,it was solely 'coz of the Govt's policy of age regulation from KG onwards, that his 'seniors' agewise ended up in his class!!!

Coming back to today's point, Here' wishing all the very best to our friends who are getting married this season and here's hoping that the couple of remaining friends--the ones who are closest to my heart, will get married in this year too.

Contradicting Quotes!!!

I was inspired by Paulo Coelho's famous words “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.” while reading 'The Alchemist' . Infact from my life's experiences too, I have found these words to be true.
But offlate I've been wondering whether anyone has said before that " When you dont want something to happen, you find that it happens to you, with or without the help of the conspiring universe!!!" ( something you've dreaded ,even when the chances of it happening was miniscule or remote,)
10 years back,I had moved out of Tvpm- where I was born and brought up, to Chennai where a Techy job beckoned . Eversince, I must admit, I was not particularly fond of coming back to Tvpm to settle down. And honestly, I didn't think I'd ever have to do it. And marriage took me to Bangalore, the place , where I had always wanted to settle down, if I were to be in India.And we bought a home in Cochin as part of our backup plans so that if at all we came back to Kerala, thats where we wanted to live.I'd always dreaded coming back to Tvpm, donno why.

Now look at me.Life has come a full circle for me. I am at Tvpm now, believe it or not.Its not the same old me, lock, stock and barrelwise -- while it was just Me who went to Chennai, its a package of me , my husband and two adorable kids, who have come back !!! I have nothing against the place 'as is', but its just that I never thought I'd be living here. It was always Bangalore for me. And when the topic of coming down to Tvpm came up when R got a good break here, I brought up all my case points against moving. All said and done, here we are, as the positives outweighed the negatives.
Donno for how long, we'll be here, but the point I am 'Thinking Aloud' today is about how the very thing that you dreaded always happens to you.What else can explain, about me being here now?!!

So while I believe in Paula Coelho, I believe in the Quote that I made too :)

Is this me?

Here I am. Starting out on an expedition, I thought, I'll never be able to start on. Something I thought would always remain a distant dream, something to just think on and on about as a pleasant ' To do Task' that I would always keep postponing on and on.
But here I am. And the name is as impulsive as the decision to start writing as well!! I'd kept the title 'An Afterthought' for my blog during all my day dreaming sessions. Then it was ' Is this me?' for a while, but while creating,it became 'Thinking Aloud'. It had to be this one, as that is exactly what I plan to do here :)
And what do I do here? Offlate, I've been noticing that my personality progression ( or is it regression?!) has been from the ' Highly sociable - having lots of friends ' tag to 'Socialising-Negligible or nil, Friends--only old/long lost ones'!!!
I didnt mind that really, until I started wondering whether it had starting affecting the way I interacted with others.Well, that tag has to go,indeed.And since old friends dont have time for me (wink) and I dont have time for new friends, this I thought is the best option.
Keep reading people, there will be a lot from me in this space, in the days to come