My old blog posts...

Writing has always been a therapy for me. 

It started with maintaining my diary which was difficult as i didnt want them to be read by anyone but always feared someone will find it & (as if others had nothing better to do) be interested in reading them. 

Later I graduated to MS Word & would ensure i password protect them. I usually write abt my feelings or reactions to situations.

Then I got introduced to the world of blogging.. and sometime in early 2006 I posted my first...

My first innings didnt last for more than these two posts.. n now i am here again! hope to continue with this passion of mine and improvise on it as the time passes.

if you pass by reading, might as well leave some comments as I am eager to read them.

Thank you :)

To Di, with Love...

To Di with love, 

Di, thinking of you

with love on your birthday

and wishing you

everything that brings

you happiness

today and always!

Happy Birthday to you

& hope your day was special

just like you!

beginning with a confession!

When kids, you take things in a different stride. I was born between my elder sister and a younger brother so I felt sandwiched between them. Di being the first child was special to everyone and manu being the youngest (i would add the fact of his being a boy- when i wanted to feel even more frustrated) was the most pampered one; this was my complaint, but today, all of that sounds v silly though innocent. Its not even relevant to comment whether that was right or wrong.. 

Di was most of the times more sensible than us and we hated when she told us wat to do & what not to. manu and me would therefore gang up against her and make our own plans to corner her whenever possible. Somewhere we still wanted to be like her and follow her in whatever she does, to the extent that we wanted to join her friends when they went out for playing or for picnic- which i guess she never liked.

She had lotsa friends and she was always more creative. Her bday parties were grand, she was highly appreciated by mom's friends also. We could hardly find anything to criticize her. me and di would fight on wanting the same cloths and shoes and hair clip and banlges since we had common sizes and I would like to believe that most of the time it was me who would give up and let it be. I used to pray- "hey god pls arrange to send one of us to hostel so we stay peacefully." but neither of us ever went anywhere.

how come she always does the right thing???????? huh.. I had to share a room with her so the news of her marriage should be the best news but once she got married, i didnt go to that room for months to sleep. Then i realised how much i was missing her and I think i will always admire her. Now i wish to get some time together to catch up on all those moments.. hope god listens this time around!

This post is dedicated to my darling sister, who not being a comp comp person unlike me, am sure would never read this unless I force her to. yday was her bday and I thought of making ths confession. And being good to her, I am not going to reveal her age :)

Love u di.. Cheers!

Laminectomy with Discectomy

Lie down on the bed and try moving the fingers of ur feet.

how simple- isn’t it.. I feel similar myself and that’s why it pains all the more to see dad struggling while doing this.

 

He recently went through a surgery "laminectomy with discectomy" which in simple term means removal of a portion of vertebral bone and a fragment of herniated disc that is causing pressure on the nerve (I guess this is also called slip disc, not sure though) from the spinal canal. When the spinal cord or nerves become compressed, they don't work properly. Abnormal signals may get passed from the compressed nerves, or signals may not get passed at all. This causes electric shock pain in the back and/or legs limiting the daily normal activity, numbness or muscle weakness and in serious cases, impaired bowel and/or bladder function. Unfortunately dad suffered from all this in last 20 days. These symptoms are due to the irritation of nerve from the herniated disc by interfering with the pathway by which signals are sent from your brain out to our body extremities and back to the brain.

While dad is recovering in the hospital, I wanted to remind myself and all of you not to take our spine for guaranteed. Having done enough googling on this subject, let me give you some gyan (incase you haven’t read this in your science books in school)-

We all have a rubbery pad called disc between the hard bones in spinal column which allow the back to flex and bend and act as shock absorbers. When we are young, these discs have high water content which decreases with age making the discs brittle and less flexible. The discs begin to shrink and the spaces between the bones get narrower gradually. Some conditions that can weaken the disc include:

1. Improper lifting, bad posture, lack of physical activity OR even smoking,
   
2. Excessive body weight that places added stress on the disks (in the lower back)
   
3. Sudden pressure (which may be slight)
   
4. Repetitive strenuous activities
   

i.e. A herniated disc may occur suddenly in an event such as a fall or an accident, or may occur gradually with repetitive straining of the spine. In dad's case it was a sneeze while taking bath which caused a jerk in his waist & then the whole series of problems..

So please be careful of your body to avoid this painful experience.

This leads me to another Y – why does god have to create such diseases for us?????

Mumbai's Lifeline

Being knocked on your back to be informed that there is a queue. that also at the peak rush hour at a crowded station like Thane... those of you who have travelled in mumbai locals for work, would know the shock n surprise i am talking abt.

It was a ladies first class coach of the 9.14 thane local fast train from platform no. 7 today morning. I was late for office but then it was worth. and yes, everyone stood in a queue.. train came and nobody jumped into the bogie to grab the window seat. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see the small change brought about by the regular office goers to make their own life easier..

Engagement

I am yet to get engaged to the person i am married to, for little over 1.5 years now; as in the ring ceremony didnt happen between us. his parents met mine and a word of mouth was all that happened to mark the match fixing :)

and this gives me yet another reason to complain and to nag him, i will not stop untill i get a beautiful ring to adron my not so beautiful finger (r u reading this mr pant?)

I did get a ring, unofficially though, on his bday! here are some moments from a day filled with lovely memories-

i still remember

10th Dec 2006, a Sunday

i flew down to bangalore, actually got late buying him some flowers

had to request at the airport to be allowed to get boarding pass :(

but i think the flowers in my hand helped get in...

amit greeted me with a smile at the airport and we then had our first bike ride on his thunderbird.

we stopped at a Shiva temple located on the airport road just behind kemp fort spent some calm moments sitting in front of the huge, 65 feet statue of the lord and again got back on the bike, went to amits office. 

i hope he liked all those small gifts i had collected for him. i actually wanted to get as many for all his missed bdays but never mind!

we roamed around some nice roads.. but since amits mom was waiting at home with lunch ready, we had to go home. Amit and his genuine sounding lies. we got some more time quoting temple visit as an excuse. picking up a cake on the way, we reached home at around 3. cake cutting, b'day wishes, some pics and lunch. then we sat down together for some time, not even for a sec did i feel i was with my would be MIL

so sweet and warm!

the cherry on the cake was a song sung by Sumit, Amits younger bro. 

that was just so sweet.

i got some gifts from my MIL and then was the time to leave...

O' how could I not mention another sweet lady - Ms Lavanya Aunty

Amits neighbour and almost like his mom. love u aunty and love the story of shaikh mehboob!

on our way back to airport, it drizzled, thats y i love blr ;)

and i came back to mumbai the same day..

having spent around 6 hours with a handsome biker.

..

but hey i started this blog thinking abt engagement... 

am I done talking abt that?

no, not yet..

there is a funny thing related to RING that happened on our wedding

I did get a ring before the actual wedding

then y am i cribbing.. 

boss! its because it was sumit who put the ring in my finger :| 

i didnt knw how to react, 

dont knw abt sumit, bt i was embarrased for sure, at this strange ritual i wasnt aware of!

and later whenever we think of that it brings a smile on :)

Sad that this bday i might not be there with him:(

A step towards Self Discovery

TARA BHATT: CLIFTON STRENGTHSFINDER

 

Your Theme Sequence report presents the 34 themes of talent, in the rank order revealed by your responses to StrengthsFinder. Your Signature Themes, the five most dominant, are listed first. Your Theme Sequence can be helpful to you in exploring beyond your Signature Themes. By leveraging the themes of talent toward the top of your sequence, you can enjoy personal and career success through consistent, near-perfect performance. The themes toward the bottom of your sequence are likely to be less apparent in your day-to-day behaviors. Sometimes they reflect what people don't enjoy or think about very much. Spend some time thinking about your unique Theme Sequence and consider how your themes, separately or in combination, impact your work and personal life.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Developer : A person strong in the Developer theme recognizes and cultivates the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and derive satisfaction from these improvements.

 

2) Relator : People who are strong in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

 

3) Connectedness : People strong in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

 

4) Harmony : People strong in the Harmony theme look for consensus. They don't enjoy conflict; rather, they seek areas of agreement.

 

5) Maximizer : People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

 

6) Individualization : People strong in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.

 

7) Discipline : People strong in the Discipline theme enjoy routine and structure. Their world is best described by the order they create.

 

8) Analytical : People strong in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.

 

9) Responsibility : People strong in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

 

10) Consistency : (formerly Fairness) People strong in the Consistency theme are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same. They try to treat everyone in the world with consistency by setting up clear rules and adhering to them.

 

11) Deliberative : People strong in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.

 

12) Activator : People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

 

13) Strategic : People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

 

14) Intellection : People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

 

15) Adaptability : People strong in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

 

16) Self-Assurance : People strong in the Self-assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.

 

17) Futuristic : People strong in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

 

18) Empathy : People strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations.

 

19) Input : People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

 

20) Positivity : People strong in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

 

21) Significance : People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.

 

22) Restorative : People strong in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

 

23) Achiever : People strong in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

 

24) Belief : People strong in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.

 

25) Arranger : People strong in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

 

26) Command : People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

 

27) Communication : People strong in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.

 

28) Learner : People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

 

29) Woo : People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.

 

30) Focus : People strong in the Focus theme can take a direction, follow through, and make the corrections necessary to stay on track. They prioritize, then act.

 

31) Context : People strong in the Context theme enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.

 

32) Competition : People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.

 

33) Includer : (formerly Inclusiveness) People strong in the Includer theme are accepting of others. They show awareness of those who feel left out, and make an effort to include them.

 

34) Ideation : People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

on the way to work

How Raj Thackeray’s act in Mumbai has impacted lives of Marathi ppl staying in other parts of the country, why it is better to study in CBSC & not in ICSE, how important it is for mothers to know their act before they start teaching that to their kid, how the priorities change after the kid comes into your live, which street should one go in order to buy that particular kind of dress, wats the earliest age a child can start to learn swimming and the story line of some latest releases. all this and much more. an hour in the Mumbai local train's ladies compartment(first class to be precise) and your awareness on all the worldly subjects gets better. 

 

having slept at 1 am after that long distance call :) and a game on computer last night, I slept like a log until late in morning only to be woken up by the banging on door... the clock showed 8 am and I usually have to leave for office at 7.30 to be able to reach office on time. so I was late! I rushed thru things to catch a rick to the station. There wasn’t any time for brkfast either but thankfully I reached only a little late after spending one informative hour in the fast train.

 

Some more conversations (overhearing is bad I know but it was way to loud to ignore) while coming back after a not so eventful day at work. This lady standing next to me was not bothered if her shrieking loud conversation was disturbing the fellow travellers. It seemed like her husband or whoever she was talking to had given funds to this friend of his, for some start-up which wasn’t successful even after 2 years and he therefore wasn’t able to return their money. Even though this lady was trying to be as sweet to that person as possible, she made her point clear with a pinch of sarcasm- she wanted the money back, by this way or that.

 

But why was she discussing this so loudly in the train???? 

This is life in Mumbai locals fou u../

 

lonely weekend

Its almost the end of my first wkend in mumbai with none from the family around. There were calls from them to check if i am comfortable, i chatted with a few to know whats happening that side, I cooked, ate, slept, watched movies and still there is lotsa time, making me feel what to do with it. With all this movement within the family plus dad's illness, i dont feel like enjoying anything. 

Then while browsing thru some of the pics I stopped at this one and fondly remembered that post dinner mishti dhoi Amit had got for me and with that memory I am suddenly feeling better..

I hope u are doing good my dear - wish we were together...