Saturday night

Hiya. Saturday was extremely busy. I was part of a video being shot in office. It was weird... stand here... look here... smile... walk... etc etc. It dragged on for2.5 hours. Not a lot of fun staying in office till 6.30 pm. After that there was a distributor's wedding to attend. I am not into weddings and generally avoid attending them... but some things have to be done for the show. KC returned home from his gaming session at 9 pm. We rushed to Thane, gave the gift, ate some dinner. I was in the mood to relive some memories and we went to the old house I used to stay when we were dating... in Oct'07-Jan'08. It is near Hiranandani Meadows... a very peaceful area... there are nice places to hang out. We have spent a lot of time there... either in the restaurants or just walking around. I was pleased to find a new outlet- Aromas. It has a branch in Hiranandani Powai and serves good food and coffee. It was an extremely tiring day/night and for the first time KC fell asleep before me.

We had also gone for Italian dinner to Spaghetti in Hiranandani Powai. We ordered a pasta and chicken... good food but quite expensive. I thought Little Italy was pricey but this outlet beats it.

Thats about it... month end is done. Nos have been met and I can sleep in peace. Next month is chill... it is the calm before the storm in Jan.

Adios.

Break ke baad... garama garam review

For the first time (for as long as I can remember) I watched a movie without reading the review first... and lived to regret it.

It is the story of a couple who have been in love since they were kids. They assumed they would end up together. Imran and Deepika are complete opposites... she is impulsive, he is sensible... she is sure about her dreams, he is still finding himself... she is adventurous, he plays it safe... you get it. In real life the relationship will be a disaster... complete opposites cannot stay together... it takes a lot of hard work, commitment and love.

Anyway... Deepika plans to go abroad for studies and they try to work it long distance. It is a disaster... finally, Deepika breaks up with Imran. But Imran being the loser he is... decides to stick around, be at her beck and call and try to win her back. In the process he finds his passion.

In the end, Deepika misses Imran and goes back to him.

Such a dragggggg.... why can't Bollywood ever be real? Why all the pretence? Hollywood makes a lot of crappy chick flicks but the emotions of the women can be identified with. Not so, in this flick. I do see a lot of Deepika's character in me... but... Imran is a loser. And losers never win the women.

Sahana Goswami is looking quite ugly. She needs to lose a lot of weight. I don't know why she does these sidey roles... Deepika has worn shorts throughout.... I know she has great legs... but there are choices of outfits these days. I hated her super duper low waisted ghagharas. They look weird. Sensuality is in leaving some things to the imagination. Imran is predictable. He can play the good guy quite well. Deepika is adept playing such a character. Reminded me of Love Aaj Kal.

Watch it if there is absolutely nothing else to do.

Hari Putar

This review is a little delayed. There were 3 good movies in the theatre last weekend- Social Network, Guzaarish and Harry Potter and only 1 day to watch it. Picking this one was an obvious choice. KC had actually come home to watch it with me. (Big Smile)

It has been a long time since I read the book so details are sketchy in my mind. I liked the movie. I think the recipe to a good adaptation on screen is- perfect cast which should not change in sequels and sticking to the original story.

Harry Potter has both- we can see him in Daniel, Hermoine in Emma and Ron in Rupert... also the rest of the cast is as I imagined it to be... even better.

Eagerly waiting for part 2.

Mind fuck

Hiya... I was stuck in a 3 day training session without internet and could not blog.

Here is an update:

On Monday morning I left for Malad while KC headed to Vashi. I felt bad for not being able to drop him at the bus and his constant "I will miss you" increased the guilt. I was scheduled to attend a 3 day residential training session on "Team Management" at 'The Resort' on Aksa beach. Sounds great???? It was not. The resort is located in one corner of Mumbai... the stench of fish greeted me as I stepped out of the car. It is a Raheja property and very old. The view of the beach and sea is beautiful if you can ignore the smell. The food was not too great. The pastry for dessert had pathetic cream. Remember the b'day cakes we cut as kids? The ones with the cheap cream? The pastries had those. And there were many families on vacation and weddings. I wondered how they could celebrate in that smell. I could not open the balcony door of my room overlooking the sea and pool 'coz of the terrible smell.

Coming to the training... where do I begin? 12 sales managers from all over the country had gathered for it. Thankfully, I had 2 other colleagues from my region and another 1 who had recently shifted from West to Delhi. We stuck together and gossiped.

Anyway, they put us in a conference room with a trainer and HR female and taught us how to manage our team... motivate them... delegate work to them... and understand them better. There was also a session on salsa so people could learn about co-ordination with other people.

By day 3 I was mind fucked. There is a lot of work pending and I could not access my mails/internet due to no network. I wish they would have taken us outdoors instead, divided us into teams and made us do some activities. Atleast we would have ENJOYED that. The trainer was sweet but......... it reminded me of all the HR courses I avoided in B school. Nobody would have caught me dead in them. How things have changed.

I was feeling quite homesick and am glad to be back home. I have done the washing, giving clothes for ironing, unpacking etc already and the thought of innumerable mails to catch up on is giving me a headache.

The first disaster at home was accidently breaking KC's perfume. I had been badgering him to bring it home from Hubli... he did so 2 weeks back and I broke the bottle. Poor guy!!! He must think I am taking some sort of revenge. The second disaster is that the cooking gas is over. I need to look up recipes for microwave cooking and eating rotis is out for next few days.

Ciao... I will be back tomorrow.

Naam kya hai

There is a weird tradition in India... maybe even around the world. Women have to take their husband's name after marriage. I don't know know how it began and the logic behind it. Another way to oppress women? If yes, why is it still followed? Convenience???

Before marriage I told KC I would not change my name. He freaked out a little. In his defence we were going through a tough time with parents and everything freaked us out. I avoided any further discussion and decided to cross the bridge when we reach it (this is a good way of avoiding conflict with spouse). After marriage we got a marriage certificate to prove the wedding without having to change names. There has been slight pressure from in-laws regarding this... ok, not pressure... but whenever the topic has come up (twice) I have refused to change my name citing inconvenience. They dropped it after that. Anyway, I have to sign documents to change my name and so it cannot be done without my consent.

Below are my reasons for this (I cannot believe I have to give reasons to keep my name):

• I cannot think of even one logical reason to change the name... why? why? why?
• I have been BG all my life.... becoming BC is like changing myself... and it does not sound "Me"
• How do I change from BG to BC on all documents- passport, pancard, driving license, business card, investments, facebook, email etc etc. Who has the time to run around government offices? Like I do not have to do already
• Will my hubby agree to change his name to mine? No....then why should I. 'Coz I am a woman? What happened to equality?

Ok... Maybe it is convenient when you have kids... but the same question arises. Why should my kids carry my hubby's surname and not mine? My body will give them birth and they cannot have my name? Hello.... 90% of the work in birth giving process is mine, after all. But then we will cross that bridge when we reach it. Hopefully, we never will.

The good part is nobody in my professional life expected me to change my name. It is definitely a rising trend among working women.

Everytime I come across any effort on anyone's part to change my name it infuriates me. Why do I have to fight for my own name? Why? Why? Why?

Confessions of a Listmaniac

This is the 2nd book my Meenakshi... you can read her blog on my blog roll- eM. I found the first book ok, it surprised me that she writes chick lit. I was expecting something intellectual. I shied away from picking the 2nd book since it was stocked in the kids section. But... chick lits can lighten the mood, provide the break between the heavy reading and I was more than happy to order it from the library.

The book is humorous... about a teenager Layla. It is not very different from any Hollywood chick lit flick. I managed to finish it in 1-2 days.

Not bad.

I am thinking...

• Samsung is a great company with good products and good service. We have a TV, AC, Fridge and washing machine which have not given any problems in the last one year. The fridge freezer door broke down because I do not defrost it often. One call and the engineer was at home with the door the next day at my convenient time. Wow!!! I am a fan for life.
• I am reading the blog of someone I knew in college. She was a friend's friend and is on my facebook list. I cannot believe there are soooo many dimensions to this lady. Blogs reveal sooo much
• Watching Koffee with Karan and my initial thoughts about Ranbir and Imran... 'Ranbir- Cold, manipulative, competitive, spoilt brat, playboy but a good actor. Is he a scorpion?' 'Imran- Kiddish, cool, sweet, friendly, innocent and still to mature as a actor'
• Diwali bakshish works. I have given it to my maid, cook, laundry guy and trusted watchman. They have all seemed happy and grateful to receive it
• You need to have time by yourself to be able to blog well- without TV, laptop, books or any other activity. I tend to do atleast 2 activities together at any point of time and thats why blogging is suffering. Ditto for KC

Doctor Woes

My dad has been my doc for the longest time... till I moved to Manipal. My immunity was quite low as a kid but it became normal once I entered my teens. Our B School had given us insurance in Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. This meant that instead of regular docs the interns attended to us. We had to wait for hours to see a gawky, under confident and sometimes cute doc. Thankfully in Gujarat I never fell ill... my job involved travelling to all sorts of places, eating unhygienic food basis availability and yet there was never a problem.

Mumbai has not been that kind. I have been falling ill almost every month since August. When I had malaria in August the sales targets were not met. Now my illness gives my Boss nightmares.

Anyway, I didn't know the difference between a good doc and a bad doc until now. The medical field is not just about prescribing same medicines to patients with same symptoms. It is like a salon where the services have to be customised. Unfortunately, a bad doc does not understand that. I cannot take too many pills... they make me puke. I have met 2 bad docs who have prescribed me soooo many medicines for even mild illness. Looking at the list I knew I was never going to take all of them. Then I met this doc who understands what I mean and keeps the list to the bare minimum and has a very kind manner.

Falling ill is a pain and the nights are worse. I was up till midnight yesterday feeling almost fine. As soon as I tried to sleep the puking started. Sigh!!! I hate falling ill on the weekend.

Golmaal 3

This review is a little since I wondered if I should post about it. KC has liked first 2 parts... I have not watched the 2nd one and could not understand the big deal behind the 1st part. Being the Pati vrata stree that I am... I put KC's pleasure before my logic.

The movie is usual... those who liked the 1st two parts will like it.... others may avoid. Some parts will make you laugh... just like serials on Sab Tv do even though they are illogical. There is no romantic track which is refreshing. 2nd half drags since gags are fewer.

I survived the entire movie.

Diwali Trip

KC and I headed to Goa this Diwali. Diwali can get pretty boring if you are not religious and do not burst crackers. A colleague who has recently shifted from Kolkata was also complaining about the deafening noise of crackers. KC was travelling from Mangalore and I headed from Thane. The journey was uneventful and was not uncomfortable at all.

We had booked ourselves into Cida de goa which is 10 km from Panaji. It greeted us with a beautiful view of the sea. Thankfully, we could check earlier into our sea facing room.

The food at the resort was amazing... the buffet had everything- chicken, fish, mutton/lamb, pasta, Indian, range of desserts, sausages at b'fast. Day 1 was spent relaxing. I generally like to start on the activities- be it water sports, sight seeing, going to the beach. KC is the more relaxed (lazy) kinds. During every trip the 1st day has to be spent sleeping. Even if we check into a hotel in Mumbai I am sure he will want to sleep first since he would have travelled from Mulund to ABC. (With all due respect to his hectic travelling sales job).

The beach was a disappointment. It was dirty and the tides were low. I missed having a good time on the private beach. Well, atleast the swimming pool was overlooking the sea. The beaches at Dona Silva (have been there twice- once with parents and another time with KC on Diwali 2008) and Kenilworth Resort were heaven compared to this one.

We rented a bike on day 2 and headed to Fort Aguada which is 20 km from Panaji. We have done the usual sightseeing earlier- the church, the temple, the cruise and had no interest in it. We picked the Fort since it has a nice view. Beautiful!!!

Unfortunately, the Fort and lighthouse close at 5.30 pm and we had to leave soon. There are very cute restaurants along the way. The resort had organized a Diwali Gala dinner for which they had charged us 1200 bucks. I tried to negotiate out of it but was unsuccessful. Anyway, arrangements were made on the beach... there was a dance troupe and dinner under the skies. It started raining and the venue was moved indoors. It was 9 pm by then... people were hungry and we ended up eating whatever was available. It was an absolute waste of our money and I did complain while checking out. The manager was courteous enough to apologize. When we refused his offer for a free lunch he sent a wine bottle after us- too bad it is red.

Day 3 we checked out and headed to Panaji for lunch. The rest of the day was spent lazing around in the resort since neither of us wanted to shop.

Here are some tips if you are planning a trip to Goa:

• Pick a resort with a good clean private beach. It doubles the fun
• During Diwali and New Year's you will be charged anywhere from 500- 1000 bucks per head for the Gala dinner in most resorts
• Skip the regular sight seeing... it is boring. Rent a bike and explore Goa's lanes. It is beautiful. You don't need to visit any other beach if there is a private beach
• There is a good market in Panaji behind Inox where you can shop. We came across it on the 3rd day and it was too late by then
• Relax... laze around in the sun... have some fun
• Check out timings of sight seeing places... you do not want be late and miss the view like we did
• Skip the cruise which resorts will book you into. They are total crap

I hated to go to work today... no matter how many times we part there is still the heavy feeling in my heart. I could not drop to the bus today since I had a lot of work in office and was in no mood to drive all the way to Vashi and back.

White Man Falling

Reading 300 pages of this book took me 10 days. It begins well... the story is about a typical low class family in a South Indian family with a disabled husband, his wife and 6 daughters.

It started dragging mid way and I just wanted it to end. The end is predictable and 300 pages is a lot for the simple story.

I am surprised a foreigner has described the Indian scenario so well.

Goodbye

Hey people... Just dropped to say 'Goodbye'. I am off to Goa tonight. I have spent the day finishing chores outside and inside the house. Packing was pain since I pack for all situations. I hate to think that I might not have something I need and regret not carrying it. Please pray my suitcase does not burst at the seams.

Happy Diwali to one and all. I don't generally reply mails or smses wishing me. It is quite a pain.

Expect the next post on Sunday or Monday... until YENJOY!!!

Top 5 Updates

1. Off to Goa on Wednesday... When Mom refused to let me come home KC and I decided to take a well deserved break
2. What if you realized that the bad guy was actually the good guy and vice versa... that I had been trusting the wrong guy all along. But then again, isn't good and bad a perception? My perceptions are shaped by someone else's experiences
3. Last month I was obsessed with purses... this month it is footwear. I have vowed not buy either for the next one year.... footwear from Linking Road, Bandra do not count. I believe in love at first sight when it comes to shopping
4. It has been a good month... touched the highest sales nos. I have been lucky to have handled high potential sales areas. The only bad part is work for next month begins even before the current month is over.
5. It has been soooooooooo difficult to concentrate on work. So much to do and so much excitement in the air...