And That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

Hello hello and hello! Now gimme a minute now to dust these cobwebs away.

Aah, much better now. So how have you all been?

While I stretch my limbs and figure out these knobs and controls at blogger, here are some pictures from Bombay (I call it that still, like Madras and Calcutta).

The first two are enroute to Bombay from Pune via Lonavala.



And then we hit Bombay!!


The ubiquitous taxi and buses




And all these old buildings which seem to make up Bombay. Not so much of a "big" city huh? :-)



The Gateway of India. (Did lots of other touristy things, but no pics)



Velu Naicker's boat :-) Nila adu vaanathu mele :-)

And my impression about Bombay - not so impressive!! Certainly not worth all the hype that people who live there claim. Chennai and even Hyd seems much better. :-) In fact a certain blogger once told me that I couldn't even call myself a city girl having lived all my life in Madras, as he felt Madras isn't as much a city as Bombay. And I was laughing all the time I was in Bombay thinking of that. To each their own! Peace

Ok folks, behave yourselves and you might see another post before you know it. :-)

And so ..

Here I am staring at the Create Post screen once again not knowing what to write

I could write about the time I gave the mechanic at the Bajaj service station a 100 rupee tip and got back a shiny new bike, cleaned and greased at places which I didn't even know existed.

Or I could bitch and moan and crib about work

I could talk about the one day trip to Bangalore and how I was inside an office for nearly 8 hours without my mobile and ipod and nothing to do.

I could even talk about the interesting phoren gentleman I met during the travel, who was a mathematician and an artist, who sold his paintings for 20000 USD, who was sketching all the while talking to me, with whom I discussed love, life and the unfairness of it all and who turned to be half Indian in the end

I could chronicle my house hunting adventures, miserly house owners and elaborate about how real estate brokerage is a lucrative career

I could announce on a happier note that my parents are moving to Hyd and dream about my idyllic life where I never need to cook again!

I could write about S' engagement and how I missed going to that, M's engagement which I am currently in the process of missing and K's engagement which I am going to miss.

I could rave about my new digicam which I bought in the Thanksgiving sale (thanks S boy) and how it takes the most wonderfullest pics!

Nah! Another day another post :-)

Of Trains Missed and Lovable Airlines

6:00 p.m from Hyderabad station and 6:30 p.m from Secunderabad, and of course the idiot that I am, I try to spend 15 mins extra at work and try to catch the train at Sec'bad. And then the realization that I forgot to pack my charger and so I chose to leave earlier, pick that up (nobody at home uses Moto phones) and then catch the train. And then disaster struck in the form of traffic. S.P Road is really one of the worst when it comes to this. I prayed and hoped and egged the driver on and reached the station 10 mins after the train left. Thankfully I found a Paramount ticket for the next day morning (thanks S) and so managed to spend Diwali at home.

I can't stop raving about Paramount Airlines. This is the second time I am flying them and they only seem to improve with time. They actually have people waiting at the gate to carry luggage inside for Paramount customers. There's access to a pretty comfortable lounge and people escort you to and from it too. The seats were very comfortable with just window and aisle on both sides. And the food they serve is actually edible and I managed to eat most of it. The fare is very reasonable - just 500 more than the budget ones. I haven't flown Kingfisher, but Paramount was definitely a better experience than Jet Airways despite the obvious difference in the fare

* Yes its a new post, you are not seeing things :-)

** I am not going to promise to write regularly. But then I intend to.

*** This post is intentionally short and uninteresting. Baby steps :-)

Top 10 Things to Do During a Boring Conf Call

10) Chew the end of your pen, trying to appear thoughtful

9) Play tic-tac-toe against yourself (Sometimes it can be oddly riveting)

8) Try to flip your pen across your index finger and thumb (Some people do it so effortlessly! I've been trying this unsuccessfully for several years now :-( )

7) Look at people's shoes and judge them (You could notice other things like clothes or hairdo and judge them based on that too, but I have observed that it is easier to look down than up)

6) Observe your reflection on the glass wall and fix your hair (I do this a lot as my hair is generally wavy and is cut in such a way as to fall all over my face. The challenge is do it such a way that people (read smart guys) don't see you do it and think your hair is naturally unwavy and sits quietly on your head)

5) Give missed calls to all and sundry (You might think that you can rather send smses than missed calls, but there is a two fold reason to avoid smses a) To send a sms, you will have to actually look at your mobile and type out the msg. This will take a minimum of 30 secs and doesn't show you in good light if you twiddle with your mobile for so long a time. But sending a missed call requires just a few seconds and can be done without looking at your mobile and the mobile can even be inside your pocket/bag b) Smses cost money)

4) Take your id card apart and put it back together (But remember, id cards cost money. So take care not to break the access card into two)

3) Locate new marker pens in the conference room to flick to your cube (This is a never ending cycle - I flick the pens from the conference room and bring it to my cube and someone flicks it from my cube :-( )

2) Doodle and sign your name all over your scribble pad (If my paintings are ever exhibited sometime in the future, I will publicly acknowledge my company's part in bringing out my sketching abilities)

1) Well, I guess you could try to listen to what is happening in the call and try to chip in with a few ideas. Or you could think of blogging ideas too :-)

** New look, same blogger :-) **

Happeee

:-)

I-Me-Myself Tag

Thanks Jinguchakka for waking me up :-) Here I go

I am thinking about...
taking up swimming lessons every weekend

I said...
"I don't need a home loan" to the ICICI guy who called just now

I want to...
go to Chennai right now

I wish...
I could curl up in bed right now with a good book

I miss...
being an unearning member of the society, when I could guiltlessly let others pay for my stuff

I hear...
my cubicle neighbour's ringtone right now

I wonder...
if I am really as good as I think I am

I regret...
all the things I said about Hyderbad before I came here

I am...
usually a nice girl :-)

I dance...
to my own song when no-one's in the room

I sing...
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty" atleast once everyday

I cry...
when I have not finished things I am supposed to have, but I haven't due to laziness

I am not always...
gossipy, but when I call up N we both talk like a pair of cats :-)

I write...
my name in all possible styles during every boring meeting

I confuse...
myself a lot over silly decisions like where to go for lunch

I need...
an iPod right here, right now :-)

I should try...
to get started on things instead of waiting till the last minute to do so

I finish...
reading the Readers' Digest the very day I get them

I tag...
H
Sandeep
Rohan

Blasts from the Life of Janani Sundarrajan

* I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod, I want an ipod! And I want something witty engraved on it too. Right now I have thought of just "Janani Listens", so people help me here.

* Kiwi cheese cake sucks, bigtime! Note to self: Stick to ordering chocolate variants for dessert

* Moi is planning to start a walking regimen from tomorrow. So wish me luck to wake up at 7 every morning.

* I want an ipod. Have I said that already?

* Mahesh babu rules (even if he does look a tad feminine in Murari)

* It's been more than 2 weeks since I read a book. Now that I have a cool night light and all thanks to dear ol S, I am raring to buy a book. Any suggestions? I am thinking of Shantaram.

* And S, start your blog already!!!

That's all folks! :-)