I think, therefore I write

Year: 2015 (Page 6 of 10)

Start a new life, many times over

I have heard enough cliches when it comes to change. Often in life, we all take a bold step and accept some change in our lives, albeit grudgingly. We have trouble accepting any change because we get neck deep in our comfort zones and don’t want to move. But when we stop and look back, all those changes we embraced were for a good reason. But more often than not, we do not acknowledge this enlightenment that retrospect showers us with. When I saw this topic #StartANewLife campaigned by housing.com, there were many things I wanted to write about. Love, Attitude, Career, Religious belief and otherwise etc. I am choosing a select couple out of many such things in my life to tell the world how I accepted change and how it changed my life.

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My first job took me to an alien city – Hyderabad. When I heard where I was posted after training, my heart sank into my stomach. For one, I had my parents to assure that it is safe and that I can manage. Next, my heart was in Bangalore where Adit had got posted. Then I had my own insecurities to deal with. I set about preparing to go to Hyderabad with fears in my heart and tears in my eyes. It took all my courage to not quit my job then and there and return home. It was my first job and I didn’t want to be a quitter at the first step. With a heavy heart, I accepted what life had given me and set foot in the city.

What happened in the next 20 months was a lesson to me. I learnt a lot from that life. The city gave me so many things – A new language, lot of new friends, an entirely different culture and environment, the ability to withstand pathetic food at PG, the ability to adapt, the patience to figure out things and a lot more. I left the city when finally my transfer came through. When I think back now, I have nothing but good memories about the place. The reason I still needed a transfer out of that place was the sheer distance from home and more importantly, Adit’s office didn’t have his division in Hyderabad. So the onus of moving was on me to be together. Otherwise, I had no qualms about the place. This phase changed my outlook towards life. Ever since, when I feel that I am in a pickle, I remind myself that in retrospect I will be feeling a lot better about it and that I have to just give it time.
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I have always wanted to live in a house owned by me. Rented houses were never for me, not to mention nosy owners,ever increasing rentals and compromises that come along with the fact that one cannot have everything. However, buying a house was always a daunting step for me given the cost of real estate these days. So I kept on dreaming about owning one but never had the courage to step into it. Finally, around the time I got married my dad encouraged me (in fact, he pressed me hard) to take the step. I wasn’t sure even then but then jumped into it with a rush of adrenaline telling me that it’s now or never. And I am glad I did.

The place will be ready in a few months and I cannot be happier that I stood up to it. I wouldn’t say it is all rosy because a lot of responsibilities came along with the house. The financial arrangements, budgeting were and are still a nightmare. But I don’t regret it one bit. Even if I had decided later on to buy a house, I would have to go through the same thing. Maybe even worse since real estate values only shoot up with every passing day. With this big step, my outlook towards being responsible and finances has changed. I have become a lot more responsible about my expenses. Yes, I am not yet as perfect as my parents who never wasted a single penny. But I am working towards it. I am reaching there, one step at a time.
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pinterest_changeImage Source: Pinterest

There are many more such incidents that changed my life. All of you would have had such experiences too. Every incident conveys the same point – Embrace the change and start a new life. Over and over many times. Each time, it will not only be a little better but it will also start making sense to you. You can see the big picture forming out of the small pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle. Whenever you feel down, remember – One piece at a time and the puzzle will be solved in no time.

Until later 🙂

This post is for the #StartANewLife campaign by housing.com. Watch the video to know more.

Action Replay- February

February was a month that started off in full glory as it brought my first anniversary with it. One year as a wife. It was an elating feeling to acknowledge that it’s been one year of being married to the love of my life. Just a couple years ago, I would have given anything to be where I am today. So, this month made me look back and be grateful about what I had in hand. Life gives you lemons now and then but in the end it always teaches you something and makes you better. At least that’s how it has been for me. There is not one thing that I want to change when I look back. Even the bad things. Everything happened in a way so that the pieces fell in order, in their respective places. I am very thankful for what I have and will strive to achieve those that I don’t have yet.

One more thing that this month taught me was to adapt. Although it’s been 3 months since I joined my new work, I was on a learning curve so far. Only in February did I start doing the work actually and it was a lot to take in. I had underestimated some and overestimated some other aspects of my work. I had to readjust my perspectives, start getting used to it. And I must say I did it beautifully. Yes, I did freak out and vent it all to my hubby, my ever patient listener, but I am faring well so far.

What took an enormous chunk of my effort and time was the family wedding that came towards the end of the month. It was hubby’s first cousin with whom we are pretty close and I had to work 2 days straight for it. Since I am not from the same community, I hadn’t known how elaborate these weddings could get. I had attended a couple of weddings from his side but never got to work for the fest. This time, I got the full blast of it and I enjoyed it thoroughly. By the end of it, the house looked like it had lived through a cyclone. All of us were dead tired when it was over but then again when our aunt and uncle were all praises for me, the narcissist in me basked in the limelight happily. Also, I learnt to drape a silk saree properly with minimal help from mom and also to be more comfortable in it. 🙂

Two weeks after the wedding, mom stayed with us to pamper me with her care and I was in heaven. I ate, slept, watched reruns of The Big Bang Theory and chatted with her. Nothing can come close to the bliss of being taken care of by mom. I enjoyed every bit of it till Saturday when she had to head back home. With hubby also out of town for a couple of days, I felt a little lonely but then picked myself up and started using the space and time for myself. So with a bit of cleaning therapy, retail therapy, some ‘me’ time, I am fully recharged 🙂

Belated Women’s day wishes everyone!

women

Until later 🙂

P.S: I know it’s a little late as March is already 9 days old but I had a pretty busy February eating into the initial days of March. I have so many thoughts jotted down for the upcoming posts 🙂

How to check out women?

Dear Menkind*,

We all know that you check out women when in public places. Irrespective or whether you are single or in a relationship or married, irrespective of who is with you, irrespective of time, place and context. We know that you check us out, give ratings in your mind and pass comments if you find us interesting. Especially when you are with your friends. I agree that women check out men too but more in a non-crass manner and most times our comments stop at “Ooh! That guy is hot”. So here are some tips for you to do what you do more effectively and in a civil manner. What? You thought this is a guy-bashing post? Your mistake! We know that “it’s in your genes” and that you wouldn’t make any attempt to civilize yourself (Who needs civilization when one gets pleasure by simply looking at ogling at the opposite sex? 😐 ) and no amount of advice can bring about any change in you. Our best hope is that you guys will get bored of looking at women, but that seems like a far cry for now. So if you are gonna do something wrong, do it right. 😎

1. When a bunch of you are out roaming and one of you sees a woman worthy of your interest behind you, you tell your friends and they all turn their heads around one by one, as if in some circus parade and look at her. You guys do that sequential head turning so that the woman doesn’t notice the blaring fact that she is the current subject of your discussion. How dumb do you think we are? 🙄 Your circus parade head turning and the fake looks on your faces are more than enough for us to know. So you might as well turn around together or wait till she comes into your line of vision.

2. Please DO NOT giggle. I have seen men giggling (and sometimes blushing) like a teen girl the moment her crush looked at her. And it makes my hair stand up and NOT in a good way. How can a woman enjoy the rest of her shopping when she knows that she was checked out by a MAN ( ❓ ) WHO GIGGLES? 😮

3. Teasing each other and praising each other in loud voices don’t work. We all know that whatever you are talking is for our benefit and are not believing one word of what you are uttering. We are not even listening to you. If you look closely, you will see us being interested in the price of a cabbage or trying to figure out which shade of purple will match our cream top. So do not waste your energy.

4. Try to be as inconspicuous as you can. Let’s face facts, this is obviously a time pass for you. So, at least give us the peace of mind while we are shopping without having to worry about the creep who keeps staring at us but then we we look up stares at a wall intently or picks a product and tries to see its price (without even noticing it is a feminine product).

how-it-worksImage Source: cavemag.com

I was at the supermarket the other weekend and there were these 3 guys, in front of me on the escalator. One of them looked back and told the others something and the head turning happened. And then the giggling happened. And then the teasing and praising happened alternatively and then the creepy staring happened. All of them one after the other. First I thought something was weird with me and checked my reflection in the window thinking I am missing an earring or inadvertently wearing my dress inside out or something like that. But no, I was okay! I was like “Oh my God! Here I thought guys have become cool these days” Guess that cannot be said for all guys. I was so pissed off that I took my mangalsutra out and brushed my hair so that the sindoor on the forehead is visible. That shut them up 😀 (To all the married ladies – Sure shot way of shooing away such guys, show them that you are married)

Until later 🙂

P.S: I am discovering a lot of new blogs and bloggers who are like-minded. The reader in me is happy 🙂

*P.S: Give me the benefit of generalization with this post. I have written a post about people who do what I have written about and not about those who do not. If you are ignoring my warning and taking offense, well then, that says a lot about you!

ssp

January : Gearing up

Here goes the month of January 2015 in our anniversary year, the final month followed by the big reveal of what I gifted hubby today :)

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Dear Adit,

New year started out quite well but we were in different places when the clock struck 12. Well, I blame destiny for it. We had to make do with the phone calls that started a bit before 12 so that no one else wishes us a happy new year before each of us could wish the other. It reminded me of all those late night phone calls with which we survived during college days 🙂

You joined your new job and I missed all our IM conversations, our lunch and fights over who is making it late for work everyday. We had made personalized calendars with some of our memories on display for each month. It came out so well that we made one each for adorning our work stations 🙂 I kept looking back at how different life was one year back. All the tension surrounding the marriage, the arrangements for the marriage, phew! We can safely say we have never had such an exhausting phase so far in our lives. It made me question all the societal norms and the associated hype about having to get married to be with the one you love.

The month gave me a parting gift in the form of a blogger meet arranged by Indiblogger and ASUS. I was so thrilled and you were ever so encouraging. It was my first meet ever and the experience had me rambling about the bloggers I met, the activities that we participated in, for the next couple of days. As January picked up pace, so did our lives and we geared up and are all set for another exciting year together.

On the whole, January was back in style to show us that life maybe unfair, but it’s good nevertheless!

And did I tell you? I love you 😉

Love,

Wifey

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This ends the series of love letters that I have been writing to my hubby as a gift for our wedding anniversary. So far, despite being a Monday and having to work, the day has been a good one for us. I made Gulab Jamun all by myself for the very first time and all our colleagues happily gobbled them up. But being a newbie, I didn’t know how much to make and ended up making twice the number than we actually need. So right now I have a huge box of Gulab Jamuns left tempting me to forget my weight woes and give myself a treat.

We took off a couple of hours from work in the afternoon for a lunch date 😉 And the evening awaits us with its magic. I got a Kindle Paperwhite from hubby long back which was technically supposed to be our anniversary gift. So today’s gift was a gorgeous Kundan jewelry set 😀 And here’s my gift to him, I saw this one on twitter and was hooked to the idea – The 365 jar! It appealed to me as extremely romantic. And moreover, it’s not a gift that’d get over in one day. It’s a gift of sorts everyday till our next anniversary.

tumblr_nhvuouECVW1u25jz6o1_500Image source: tumblr.com

When I thrust this into his hands first thing today morning, all he could do in his drowsy state was stare at it wordlessly. But I am not the one to let go without a reaction, hence I prodded him awake and demanded what he thought of it and you know what he said? It’s so like you!! I was like, “do I take this as a compliment or an insult?” And his reply was “As a compliment, of course!”  And that’s all I am ever gonna need my love 🙂

Until later 🙂

P.S: This also counts as my action replay post for January since this is pretty much that happened!

December : The kick-back month

Here goes the month of December 2014 in our anniversary year, number 11 on the list 🙂

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Dear Adit,

The month was a refreshing break for both of us. We were already enjoying what would be our short stint together in the same company. It was very comfortable to have you ping over the IM and have lunch together. Even though we had a very interesting year together, it went by fast and by December, we were wondering where all the days went by.

Remember how with days passing by, I missed my nephew so much and consoled myself seeing him attempt the adorable air-kicks that he was practicing on Skype? We also had our annual shut down at the end of the month. It was my first kind, I had been working in companies where there was no shut-down. we enjoyed the vacation at Trichy and got all the relaxation we wanted. We also got your health check-up and bless our stars, everything was okay. How glad were we!

The biggest surprise of the month was you getting a Kindle for me, preponing the anniversary gift by a leaping 2 months, just because I was pouting for a gift during Christmas. Finally, the kindle search materialized for us! Anyway, without much ado, our December passed by and we have stepped into the new year with high hopes – moving into our new flat, career achievements and stuff like that!

And did I tell you? I love you 😉

Love,

Wifey

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Until later 🙂

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