To AMMA...

Dear Amma,
        
      You turn an year older! Or rather should I say that you have one more year of life experience to share with me???

I wonder how you managed to switch the role from being a working woman to being the wife of Mr.Perfectionist; from being a responsible daughter-in-law to being a mother of two opposite-natured daughters!!! Hats off to your multitasking skills and versatility!!!

On your birthday week, I ennoble you the following titles for making my life simpler and easier! ;) You really deserve these titles AMMA!!!

Amma- The Alarm
Thanks for being my secondary, yet effective alarm. I think you should share the tips and tricks you follow to wake me up with the primary alarm:D

Amma- The Peacemaker
You definitely deserve this title for effectively maintaining peace at home. Thanks for equally sharing the house-work among the siblings; thanks for recommending the fervent father to sign my marks cards and dairy; thanks for coming up with a guideline on who should own the TV remote and most importantly when! :D

Amma- The Teacher
You taught me how to borrow from tens but at the same time taught me how to be contented in life! ;)

Amma- The Search Engine
Which search algorithm do you use? Linear? Binary? :D Right from searching the Tie during the school days to searching the Tag now, you are efficiently handling the role of a search engine!

Amma- The Rear View Mirror
In your presence, the rear-view mirror is redundant!:D Thanks for the live commentary on the apparent traffic threats! [Though it alters my adrenalin levels :D] I know, you also keep an eye on the odometer and sometimes perform the role of a speed-breaker too!;) 


Well, that was a funny take...

On a serious note, Amma, you are an adorable daughter, an endearing wife, a perfect mother, and above all a wonderful human being with excellent managerial qualities.

I truly confess that I can never ever match up to your level!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMMA....

 

Your's truly,

...

PS: Thatz my pretty amma!!!  

Black Beauty Turns ONE!

I was in a deep slumber...Someone tickled me and I was awakened! Voila!!! Thatz my passionate possessor...  She turns the ignition key and here I whizz along!

Today seems to be some special day.. She has a mirthful smile! Ohh here I recall - I turn one!!! I wonder how time flies  by and it has been an year since I know her...

If you are still wondering who I am, click here!!! :) 

 LIKES n DISLIKES while driving:

• She likes to drive in NICE road [Don't be surprised if the toll keeper recognizes her :P]
• She likes when her parents go flashback; when her niece talk about her school and friends; when she fights with her talkative sister ;)
• She likes swapping radio stations[BTW, her cousins hates her song collections :D]
• She likes the fact that she can survive a dog-chase, unlike riding :D
• She dislikes when her mother keeps an eye on the speedometer, but she would love to watch her mother's expression in the rear view mirror :D
• She dislikes when her cousins binges, or clicks 'N' number of photos [you see, she cant be a part of it while driving!! :D]

PS: Can anyone tell-what does the below image symbolize? ;)

Haadu HaaLeyadaadarenu?

They say "Music is the cup which holds the wine of silence"; and for people like me, who love silence, MUSIC makes silence more melodious! :)

Here are my all-time favorite Kannada songs:

Baanigondu elle ellide | Film: Premada Kaanike

An awesome song! Whenever I am too happy or too sad, I listen to this song! It keeps you grounded!!! Watch-out Rajkumar's driving skill and Aarathi's expressions!!! :D :P

Nooru janmaku | Film: America America

Ahhh!!!This song reminds me of my high-school days :D Me and my cousin have listened to this song umpteen times! Yet we aren't bored of this song....

Onde samane nittusiru | Film: GaaLipata

A typical patho song! It took quite some time to comprehend the lyrics. Great lyrics by Yograj bhat!

ee hrudaya haadide... | Film: Suprabhatha

Another lovely song!  The movie too is superb.

Hallaladaru haaku, neeralladaru haaku | Film: Devatha Manushya

bisilalli oNagisu... neraLalli malagisu... raaghavendra... 

bisilalli kempaagi, neralalli tampaagi nagunaguta iruve raaghavendra...

What an attitude! :)

Paravashanadenu ariyuva munnave | Film: Paramaathma

Great music and lyrics! My present ringtone...

Tuvvi Tuvvi endu haaduva | Film: Anand

My childhood song! :D My parents say that I liked this song very much!!! Though I don't remember much :D

What I admire now is the OLD BANGALORE  in this song... Look at the calm roads!

Baanallu neene... | Film: Bayalu Daari

I love the starting music! Look-out for Kalpana's weird costumes :D

If you come today | Film: Operation Diamond Rocket

This song is hilarious! :D  I love the way Rajkumar pronounces 'If '.

This was the first English song in Kannada movies, so I really applaud the effort!

million dreams haunt my heart million desires spring in my heart million memories squeeze my heart you pick the time....

This song is written by a Kannada lyricist Chi. Udayashankar!!!

Nagu endide manjina bindu | Film: Pallavi Anupallavi

S. Janaki's voice modulation is simply superb! I like the picturization too.. And the list goes on...

Being Obsessed...

It's kind of strange how something can preoccupy your thoughts completely and how it impacts your actions!!!

I was strolling in a park. A few elderly ladies were walking in a slow tempo... I thought, I need to overtake them. As this thought was ignited, I felt like looking at the right mirror before over taking them!! Ahh!!! Am I obsessed with driving??? I laughed at myself! :D

I walked a few steps further, a bird chirped... I checked my mobile to see if I had received any message! [Too much, I know!!!" :D]

And, I accept the fact that I am terribly obsessed with GOOGLE. I always wish there is a search engine to search the misplaced article/item at home. [In-fact, all mothers are THE BEST at handling the search engine role ;)]

Though I laughed at these instances, it made me think- why people fall into obsession? Is being obsessed good or bad??

Well, everyone will have obsessions...but what we need to question ourselves is that "Is our obsession healthy/unhealthy?? "

A healthy obsession helps you to remain focused, identify your own potential, and it brings in some positive change in you!

An obsession can turn unhealthy when they start ruling your life!

So, as long as your obsession is healthy, and you are open to accept the changes as well, enjoy your obsessions without thinking too much! ;)

PS:

I wanted to post this blog, but I wasn't able to login to blogger.com. I later realized that, I was logging in with my office credential!!! :P

Does that mean I am obsessed with office work???  ;) :D

Commuter...

A Friday morning... The very thought of arrival of yet an other weekend motivated me to get up gleefully!! As usual, I promised myself to compensate the left out sleep with an extended sleep tomorrow!!! :D Somehow this glee didn't last longer as I recalled of how the previous night I had decided to commute in BMTC!!! 

Per my mother, traveling in BMTC is one of the rarest decision I ever make, and she was very keen on listening to the reasons that I was about to cite!! :P The scooty brake had worn-out and the black beauty had turned grey!! [I now understand the difficulty of maintaining a black car :) And I am sure my sister is grinning after reading this statement of mine!! :D ;)]  

Above all, I just wanted to explore and experience public mode of transportation!!

The enthusiastic me decided to walk down the main bus-stop! [Its down-hill from my home :P] As I reached the bus-stop, I did see the Volvo passing by... But how can one expect a Lazy Libran to make an attempt to catch a running bus??? ;)  I was damn sure that the hefty traffic would seize the bus mobility! ;) I walked down a bit further, and the driver was generous enough to open the doors for me! :D

The posh AC volvo as usual didn't delight me. In addition to its jerks and jolts, the closed environment increased the suffocation, and made me nauseous!:( I was lucky enough to get a seat in rush hour...As I settled down, I began to compare the other means of commutation... :)

Company's Transport: 
Type: Suited for the people who belong to "Early to bed, early to rise" category ;)
Advantages: Stress free, On time to office [Even if not, it is acceptable at times], Sleep during the travel-time ;)
Disadvantages: Need to be on time, cannot customize the route as per your need

Public Transport:
Type: Suited for hard-workers who doesn't mind walking, running, standing, sweating!
Advantages: Low cost, Environmental friendly, kinda stress free!
Disadvantages: Travel time is more [The travel time is directly proportional to the size of the vehicle! ;)]

Four-wheeler:

Type: For people who have lots and lots of patience, and rich enough to bear the fuel expense!
Advantages: High comfort level
Disadvantages: Highly expensive 

Two-wheeler:

Type: Lazy, Impatient mortals
Advantages: Comparatively low cost, can sneak in between the vehicles irrespective of traffic!
Disadvantages: Risky during monsoon

Cycling:
Type: Environmentalist!
Advantages: Low cost, Low maintenance, Burns calorie at free of cost ;)
Disadvantages: No cycle lanes, not suitable for Indian weather, Need lot of motivation! :D 

Bottom Line...
As I got down from the bus and began to walk through the tech park [wondering why the company I join will be the last building in a tech park!!!] all that was in my mind was
"One should first witness and experience the various options that life offers because its only then you would be able to select the one that suits your interests!!!"

Jab We Met...

THUMP!!!

eek!!! My lady bird cycle thumped at a hump in one of the cross roads of BTM! :D  Needless to say of how I was physically and emotionally imbalanced!! [Yes..you read it right, emotionally imbalanced, because a scratch on my vehicle gives me sleepless nights! :P] Whilst I was managing myself to get out of this embarrassing situation, a girl, flaunting her long, silky hairs [;)] did pass by in her hero ranger cycle... In-spite of the trauma, this girl caught my attention mainly because we resembled a lot! :D Our path crossed for the first time, and least did we know that itz gonna cross again and again.. :D  

Well, for the next three years, we kept on exchanging stern looks, but neither of us didn't bother to smile, but always wondered how could there be such a resemblance! :D

As time swept by, we switched from school to college; two plaits to single plait, and of-course cycle to scooty!!! 

It was my first day of 2nd PU Maths tuition class. As soon I entered the classroom, I did spot this girl in the first bench.[I guess, that was the only day I saw her in the first bench :D] Yes, we were in the same batch and at-last we threw a magnificent smile at each other!!  Thatz how I met PRANEETHA!! :) 

PraNEETha - The chirpy, snappy, zingy and pragmatic girl I have ever met. I have nick-named her as Neet as she is almost like Geet of Jab We Met ;)

Well, what happened after we met???

• We studied and discussed Integration, Differentiation...and each time BGS [Our Maths lecturer... ahh I can see Praneetha rolling her eyes after reading BGS :D] posed a question we used to hide away :p
• We did a combined study for CET, which we regret now! :D Perhaps, our ranking would have been better if we hadn't studied together! :D [We recently revealed our CET marks and continued to laugh for next 10 mins...]
• We explored Bangalore during the process of job hunt ;)
• We have watched some N-number of movies; few disastrous to excellent. By the way, Praneetha is a fantabulous narrator...If she narrates a story its almost like watching a movie!
• We drive, drive, and drive until we are tired. [The latest record being 280kms in a day! ಅಲ್ವಾ praneetha ;)].
• We walk for hours until our beloved mothers call and remind us of time....[Ok, let me end this list without revealing too much]

From smile to gag, from chuckles to cackles, from giggles to guffaws, we have come a long way... Let us further expand our laughing territory... what say Neet? ;) [Ahem, I can see Praneetha running her fingers through her hair and smiling now :D]

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection~Anais Nin"

It was a draggy, braggy project retrospective meeting, and there I sat among the people who were deliberately exaggerating and trumpeting the very smallest effort they had made to complete the release cycle. The meeting was going out of the track and apparently I started scrolling through the project retrospective document, and all of a sudden, it struck me "How about creating a retrospective document in personal life too!!!??"


I don't know how the meeting was concluded as this thought was hovering, and my mind was restless until I came up with a schema of the same.  I had decided the document to be an excel sheet, as I have a huge crush on it!! [I really admire its functionalities, Psst...Sometimes, I even dream of colorful excel sheets ;)]


As I was grouping my scattered thoughts, I came to a conclusion that, retrospective analysis wouldn't suffice but a combination of retrospective and prospective analysis would be more effective! Therefore, I imbibed few things from the performance management tool too and named the excel sheet as BDay-BDay Tracker, with each tab being a overview of an year! I owe this excel sheet to the process-oriented companies that I had worked/working...! :P


When Do I update it? 
On my BDay, I feel great to write whats going on in my mind, along with listing the professional and personal objectives for the year, short term and long term plan, etc etc... I also spend time on reasoning why some of the previous year objectives weren't met. Along with this, I make an attempt to capture the most striking and important events, situations, characters, and how it has impacted me! 

The best part of this excel is, on my Bday, I capture a close up shot of myself and paste it!!!! Its nice to point out the differences over the years ;) 

How effective is this?
I have been maintaining this sheet from past five years, and I must say that initially it was to fritter away the time! :P But now, I second, spending some time on yourself is worth in long run! Looking back at the jotted points helps you to measure your progress, and also the lesson learned! ;) I have been promptly and honestly updating this sheet through out the year and I believe we are the manager of our soul!! After all, COMPLACENCY means a lot to me!!

The Alarm!!!

गुनगुनाती हैं यह हवा ....गुनगुनाता है गगन..... गा रहा है यह सारा आलम....

        ...Thatz my alarm tone for this week!! As usual, I snoozed it and was wondering how annoying a machine could be, and who on the earth invented this??? Click here to read the story behind the invention of alarm clock!

I usually keep changing my alarm tone/song for two reasons:

• The primary reason, of course, to incentivize myself to wake-up in good state of mind! But then I understood however melodious the song is, the moment you assign it as an alarm tone, it transforms itself to a pesky tune! :P
• The secondary reason is, if that tone is assigned for a long duration, I develop a sort of aversion towards that song!

The fact is, how much ever you lure yourself, these ALARMs neither brings a smile on ur face nor cheers you to start the day.  
 

Few quotes on Alarms :p

• “A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep”
• “Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not.”
• “You will find the key to success under the alarm clock”

 You can bookmark this page for online alarm!!! http://onlineclock.net/ 

On an ending note, I thank god for gifting me two lovely Alarms, ಅಮ್ಮ and ಅಣ್ಣ  :D, They make sure that I get up on time!!!!!!

Hobby#2: Photography

This hobby became more aggressive the day I was gifted a Digital Camera!!!! I was restless until I explored all the features!

To me, photography is an art of observation. It is all about finding something interesting in an ordinary place...and I also believe that a picture express more than words [:)]

Hobby #1: Quotes

Collections of quotes is one of my hobby. Probably, I think my granny played a vital role for me to develop this hobby.... She had one or the other quotes (ಗಾದೆ) befitting a situation!!!!

One quote that haunted me, rather keeps haunting me is:

"Life is what happens to you, while you are busy making other plans"

How true ಅಲ್ವಾ !!!!

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