Buying an umbrella?

If you are in a do-good mood,then maybe you could opt to shop for your umbies from www.cry.org.

http://www.cry.org/apps/cryworld.aspx

An insight into IT

A lot of folks from my parent's generation don't really understand how things work in IT sector and why so many of us seem to be married to our work even when we claim we dont want to be.The well meaning but useless advice that they shell out ranges from "the company cant demand you work so late.Its not legal" to "tell your boss to go hang himself".A lot of my friends and acquaintances often lament that there is no way to explain to their parents that we folks in IT can't just stop working because its 6:00 p.m. and that just telling the manager to "goanboylered"(go and boil your head) will only result in getting one's own head bitten off.So here is a pictorial representation of how things work for us.And hope this helps all parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents/well meaning relatives understand how things work in our workplaces.I suspect that this is true not just of IT but almost every field.Just change the roles.
Note:This is not my creation.It is merely a heartfelt forwarded mail from a colleague.I can only applaud the creativity of the person who came up with this.

The scene depicts a weekly status meeting.

Holy Cow!

Read these lines from a play on the internet and couldnt stop laughing.

"I could dance with you till the cows come home. Better still, I'll dance with the cows and you come home."

Mundane thoughts.

Ever think what a lion with its mane shaven off would look like?It must look like a rather muscular dog.Atleast I think so.Am working on a lion and right now I have just finished the mane around its neck.The mane on the head is still pending...and right now it looks like a dog with a furry bib.
Anyway havnt got much time today.Got a couple of my folks popping in today specifically to taste my chicken curry.One is skeptical and the other is a believer.Just need to make sure the believer doesnt lose his faith.
Have a happy day,folks..Tada!

A new resolution - 26 days of blogging!

Erm...ello...anyone around?Its nearly midway through 2011 and I havnt written a single post...so here goes...a new resolution....26 days of continous blogging...I do have moments in every day when a thought strikes and I think I should write about that..But since most of the time this happens is when am outside or too busy doing something else,the thought flits away and then when I do find the time to write I cant remember what exactly I wanted to write about.
So this means that I need to go back and pick up a habit I once had of writing out my ideas or atleast scribbling them on a scrap of paper so that I remember them at a later point when am ready to work on them.

Its been exactly a week since I came back to my roost.And havnt done anything constructive.Well,apart from laundry and clearing out cupboards and scrubbing dishes and dusting a house that looked like a dust storm had hit it.And yeah,the hubby did say the house didnt look too bad.(yeah,right.and I have a pet white elephant with pink ribbons on its ears!)Men! But as a matter of fact I know he did try to keep the house tidy...Its just that we women are rather picky creatures.God forgot to put in the dust seeing software in ole Adam's eyes.When He came down to visit Adam and try out the new green tea that Adam insisted was good for the Lord's longevity,here is how the conversation went.

Adam: Howz the tea,Lord?
God : Ah! pure nectar,pure nectar.(emptying the contents of the cup surreptiously behind a coconut palm.)
Adam: Shall I pack up some for you to take home?(beams and looks like an eager little boy)
God : Oh...err..yeah...am sure the angels would love some too.(makes up his mind to feed the tea to his angels)
Kalyani,an angel who was peering over the edge of heaven,heard this,turned green and promptly fell down in a dead faint.
God: Adam...you really need to dust this place.
Adam: Dust?(blankly)
God: Just look at those cobwebs.
Adam:cob...whatz?(looking even more blank if possible)
God: and..and..look at..ah..ah...atishooooo!!!at the state...aahchoooo...
Adam: It looks fine to me,Lord.
God: Achoooo..aksheeee...chhoooo...(eyes streaming,makes note to self "Finish Eve asap")

But where was I? About not having done anything constructive.The hubby doesnt hear a word of what I say..No..I didnt mean in the way all hubbies not listening to wives....Poor ole me has been sick and now am croaking like a crow.My voice is so hoarse that I cant even hear what am saying.And poor hubby has been learning the art of lip reading.

I need to get a folding craft table made.I know exactly what I want but trying to get someone to make it for me is going to be a pain.The furniture folks in India are sooooooooo unimaginative.They try and convince you that you would be better off conforming to the standard dimensions and standard designs that they have.Yeah,I know thats easier for them but thats not what I want...What happened to the customer always being right motto?Here is a pic of the table I want.I have even found out a series of videos on how to assemble this table.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newtableconcept/sets/72157608693719331/

The tough part is going to be getting the furniture guy to make it.I guess I'll have to explain that it works like a folding table inside a train.I hope the guy realises that the tables in trains do fold.If not...Any ideas?

In the name of sanity.

Yes...am back...in the name of sanity :). And like a politician looking at all the empty seats in a hall where he is due to give his comeback speech,the author looks out at her readers with a benign smile and asks "So how have you all been?".So why the sudden so called comeback?Truly,in the name of sanity.Amidst aching knees,a crazy job and even crazier people you are forced to work with,I really need something to keep myself from losing my head.The part trouble with writing online is that your thoughts are rather open to public.Well,I guess thats sort of the point of blogs,isnt it?To air your views to anyone who would bother to read.Well..coming back to the crazy job...sigh...shall I admit it?I think my heart is no longer in it.It maybe a result of all those achy joints.But more than the crazy job,I think its the crazy colleagues.:( Am just sort of tired of second guessing people and their actions.I know some wise old soul said do your job and do it well and leave the rest to God.But in this field,and mind you,God,am not doubting your supreme powers for an instant here,but in this field,its all about politics.Sadly,thats how this field has become.:( And am sure I would be pretty good at office politics but I dont want to go there.Frankly,I prefer being slightly less chummy with my superior but having the sun come in through the window of my soul to being chaddi buddies with my manager and having complete darkness at that aforesaid window.
Sigh...I dont know if am being paranoid but there is this creepy feeling of people trying to get one up on me at workplace.Lets make that one person.I wish I could shake off that feeling.I dont like it.And honestly,thats a major reason why am wondering about this job.So quit it?:) Easier said than done....There are always so many what-ifs which come along with that little statement.What-if its a mistake?Every time I come close to actually doing it,something keeps me back and says "lets give it one more try".And yes,there is also this guilt about so many people who dont have jobs and my throwing away a blessing.I know, I know...am " thinking too much".But how exactly do you make a decision without thinking?I have prayed over it and am waiting for God to show me a sign as to what he wants me to do.Meanwhile,why do I have this sneaking suspicion that while I wait,life is passing me by?
Anyway,have lots more to write but right now,job calling :).Have a nice one,folks!

King Kong Vs Godzilla

Just when I was thinking that the IPL had been going on for too long without even the shadow of a controversy,Lalit Modi steps in with a superb delivery that sent Tharoor running straight to the boundary.I was getting a bit antsy.I mean,come on,this is India after all.No good thing in India can actually go on for long without there being a controversy or some form of corruption in it.Its the norm.Or should we say age old tradition?(We even had a controvery in IT industry when Satyam almost went belly up)
Poor old Tharoor.I was watching an interview he had done on some news channel where he mentioned that he had quit his job overseas to come into Indian politics and that if he had been after money,he most certainly could have made it in a million other ways.Quite true.I honestly dont know if I should believe him or not.After all,Indian politics would certainly pay more than any measly job abroad,wouldnt it?Look at all those rich fat politicians we have in India.I bet none of them would give up politics for a silly old high paying job abroad.Why would one opt to work abroad when one can make even more money by staying in Indian politics and enjoy samosas, jalebis and khakras to boot?But then I have no clue about the kind of salary Tharoor received when he was working abroad and going by his lack of chubby "laloo" cheeks and rotund belly(definite symbols of any self respecting Indian politician worth his samosa) ,neither does the poor man seem to have a fondness for any indian sweets and savouries. But I do think that the guy either has an absolute talent for putting his foot in his mouth or he is a publicity hog.I still havnt made up my mind on that point.Forget the IPL controversy.Not one soul in Indian politics or for that matter,from our publicity hungry Bollywood has actually managed to create a stir(and it was not just one if I remember) using Twitter or any other social networking tool as Tharoor did.You got to admire his nerve.There most certainly are several long serving members of the Congress party whom we have never heard of and are not likely to until they are dead(if at all) and doordarshan plays the "oh-so-sad-that-another-rat-died" music all day long.Do they still do it?I dont remember the last time I watched that channel.I normally dont write about politics.In fact I couldnt write about politics to save my life.Where politics is concerned, I have my head well buried in the sand.But for some reason,Tharoor fascinates me.Maybe cos he managed to get even my attention Considering the number of years Tharoor spent abroad in countries where people are so polite and politically correct,I would expect the man to exhibit a lot more diplomacy and restraint.Here is an excerpt from Wiki about Tharoor's education.

"He went on to win a scholarship to study at the The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University where he acquired three degrees in as many years:
A Master of Arts in International Affairs
A Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy
A Ph.D. " (The Wiki didnt say in what)

"Diplomacy" is the keyword here folks.
Tharoor did make himself known to the masses and mostly to the educated computer savvy masses.The more he stuck his foot in his mouth,the more number of followers he got on twitter.Even if he only spoke about how he dug his nose ,these people heard him.So were all those so called political gaffes on twitter really what they seemed to be or a well planned publicity stunt by an extremely shrewd individual?Or were they the words of an honest politician,a true rarity in Indian politics, who actually dared to stand up and point out things which you and I have wearily accepted as "part of India"?Maybe as citizens of a battered nation,we have grown so cynical that we simply cant believe that an Indian politician could actually be honest.Anyhow coming back to the point,Lalit Modi(by the way,Lalit Modi,you are no angel.I do have some questions about your private jet and yacht,but I am not wasting my time on you.) and Shashi Tharoor did not disappoint and we also had some form of glamour thrown in in the form of Sunanda Pushkar and of course, lets not forget the bald baddies when we finally have figured out that some of the "underworld" had quite a few of their fingers stuck in the IPL pie (You really thought they'd leave a money making prospect like IPL alone?Get real.They are smarter than that.) not to mention the death threats to Shashi Tharoor.There you go! Hero(Tharoor in parrot green pants),Heroine (the haaaaawt Lady Pushkar), Mogambo (Modi) and his group of baddies( the underworld...ok...not quite his group but they'll do.).Quite the recipe for a Bollywood blockbuster and could give Ekta Kapoor a run for her money.Take a bow,ladies and gentlemen.Quite a show!!