I am alive

Hiya... I have been gone long... mainly 'coz my laptop was giving me problems. I was too uninspired to blog.
What has been happening? The usual- work, movies, food, books.

There is so much I wanted to talk about... but don't know where to begin.

- Books: I have read many, many books... most of them on the kindle. It is awesome to be able to carry books where ever I go

•    The growing pains of Adrian Mole: 2nd book in the series... very similar to Diary of a wimpy kid. A fast read... 

• I've Got Your Number: A book by Sophie Kinsella (my fav author). I thought this is just a chick lit novel and avoided it for the longest time. I bought it when I read a positive review on one of the blogs. I loved it... its the kind of chick lit I like. Good fun.

• The Perks of being a wallflower: This book is about a teenage guy.. he is different from normal kids... a little shy... very giving... a wallflower... he makes 2 close friends... in the end he realizes he has a psychological problem. A very good book. I even watched the movie

• The silver linings playbook: An excellent book about a man who is mentally disturbed. His wife leaves him and he becomes disturbed. He is sent to the mental institution but his mom brings him home after a few years. How he copes up with his loss and turns normal again with the help of people around him. It is not a mushy mushy book... it did not make me cry... but it touched my heart. A must read. I am going to watch the movie too

• We need to talk about Kevin: My fav book of the lot. This book is a series of letters written by a mother to her husband. He is not around... it is not apparent where he is... it seems like he has left her... and 'coz their teenage son killed a few kids at school. It is the story of a mother whose son murders. She is innocent and yet her life has become hell. I loved the book... watched the movie too but its not that great. A must read. 

Movies:

• Nautanki Saala: The story is no big deal... the heroine is ugly... watch the flick for Kunal Kapoor and Ayushman. They are brilliant...  enjoyed it. Worth one watch

• Ek thi daayan: I read good reviews and went to watch it. KC was not too keen since he was moving into a new house the next day. Pathetic movie. Indian horror movies are so regressive. Such a waste of good actors like Emraan, Kalki, Huma and Konkona

• Chashme Badoor (Old): Nope... I did not watch the new one. I had downloaded it 2 weeks back and tried watching it on the laptop... for 5 mins. The old movie is a classic... it is so genuine... and authentic. Rakesh Bedi has holes in his tee shirt ... the tee is repeated many times in the movie. In today's movies, heroines sleep with their make up on. Please do watch the old one if you have not seen it. I am so glad we can now watch such classics in the theatre. 

• The perks of being a wallflower: The movie stars Emma Watson. That was reason enough for me to watch it. A good flick. Worth a watch once... makes more sense to watch it after reading the book. It might seem like a drag otherwise

Serials:

• Vampire Diaries... The Big Bang Theory... Game of Thrones... 

• Girls: I have started (and finished) watching this series. I read good reviews somewhere and downloaded the 1st episode. Until then I thought it was a frivolous serial about girls in NYC. But, this is different... the characters are weird but genuine... the women are not completely airheads. They are all 24 year olds trying to find themselves... figuring out their goals... career, love, sex... The amount of nudity is shocking but then SATC (sex and the city) also has a lot of nudity. Unfortunately, when it is screened in India (even at 11 pm), most of it is chopped off. I have watched the unedited version and it is pretty racy. The best part is... the main character is not good looking and over weight. It is a serial anyone can relate to. After all, we all have felt like a loser at some point of time in our lives. 

More... tomorrow... 

Plays

I like plays... even though I have not watched too many of them. I remember watching a Gujarati play with my dad. I had an exam 2 days later and he was not willing to take me along. I pleaded and promised that I had finished preparing (I had... I was a geek). He relented but made me promise that mom would not be told. The play was ok kinds but I did enjoy it.

I have started watching plays. It does take a lot of effort since most of the theaters/auditoriums are in Juhu, Nariman Point etc. They require time and effort to reach.

I wish they were reviews of plays... I could not find any. This is weird considering that some plays have been running for many, many years successfully. They are also priced higher than a regular movie at a multiplex.

In the last 2 weeks, I have watched 2 plays:

- Class of '84:
  In my B-School I was part of the 'Arts and Aesthetics Forum'. Our biggest event was 'Dionysia'... an inter section play competition. Students looked forward to it all year. Anyway, our juniors performed this play. They had taken/bought the rights to perform the play. It is a good play.
Last week I noticed that it in the paper and booked tickets. KC and I watched it last weekend. The play is about a group of friends... they have reunited at the funeral of their friends. Over the period of one night, secrets come pouring out... they fight... they make up. I liked it. Please do watch it.

- Dance like a man:
  I wanted to watch this play or the movie for a long time now. Currently, the leads in the play are Suchitra Pillai and Lillette Dubey. It is about dancers... the older couple have struggled and faced parental opposition to pursue their passion. Their daughter is about to make her debut as a dancer. The various emotions.. the past... everything comes spilling out.
Awesome.

Need to watch more plays... even a bad play is better than a decent Hindi movie. 

Day 5

Skipped day 4 'coz laptop has gone for repairs... don't know whats wrong and why.
I hope it is not a hard disk issue... don't want to buy a new one.

Fingers crossed. 

Day 3

Game of Thrones season 3... yippie... I could remember every event and word written in the book while watching it.

Using my phone as a kindle... I read on the train... in the loo... sometimes at work... in the cafeteria. So awesome. Very few free books... but I don't mind paying for them. 

Day 2 of April

So, I was talking to someone very junior to me... in career, salary, age... kidding. He is junior in age... (don't know about salary).
Anyway, he is very happy in Mumbai. It is a great place to party, hang out all night and generally do "young" things. I agree. As much as I hate this city, I agree it is a good city to be young... mostly because of the safety issues. You can stay out late without fear.
I used to do that... KC and I on numerous bike rides anytime of the night.

I guess now I prefer to come home on time and sleep early.. (11 pm). Mumbai is not the right city for that. 

Day 1 of April

Hiya... so, starting on the resolution... I will blog everyday.
I work in sales... it is a job full of pressure. Life begins and ends with sales numbers.
It can get to be too much. Thankfully, I know how to switch off... not to take it too seriously... ups and downs are part of the job. In terms of sales targets, I have had more ups than downs... not 'coz I am talented or skillful or smart or anything... it is luck. I have always handled growing territories... with high potential. And I have always worked with the best teams.
But... I see a lot of people who can't handle the pressure... who only think and talk sales numbers. Not meeting a sales target gives them nightmares... they measure their successes/failures with sales numbers. This is generally the case with people who have suddenly switched to this profile/job. Such people worry even on the weekends... answering calls at all times of the day and night like their life depends on it. Burn out is not far away.
Sometimes I think what it would be like to be a writer full time. But then the realization hits that if I HAVE to write... I will start hating it... Instead of my passion it will become a compulsion... it will be measured in monetary terms. I'd rather write as a hobby than even contemplate it as a career.
It is as important to switch off from work as it is to switch on at work. Find the perfect balance and you will always have job satisfaction.

The last 5 days have been awesome. KC was here... we had home cooked meals (atleast once a day)... my bro stayed over for a day... we went to Water Kingdom (due to lack of entertainment options)... watched a play (Class of '84).

Most times I forget he is a Gemini... He is quite reliable... and then he goes and does something so stupid, I don't know how to react... he missed his flight yesterday... he forgot it was last night... 'coz he did not bother to check. And this is the 3rd time... So Geminian. Nope, I did not fight or get pissed. He was feeling bad enough without me adding to it.
I am a typical Gemini too... except that I have a Taurus ascendant which makes me extremely stable and reliable (as stable and reliable Geminis can be).

Good night. 

New Phone

I bought a new phone last month. It is my first smartphone. Yep, I did take my time to jump onto the bandwagon. I could never understand how anyone can spend 20k on a phone. After all, it is used to make calls, send text and check emails. What else is a phone needed for?
Apparently... a lot.
When KC and I first visited Reliance Digital to check out phones I was confused. What is an andriod.... windows phone? Whats the difference? Which is better?
The week after that we went to Croma... the sales guy explained the differences between the phones. By then, I had shortlisted Nokia Lumia and a Samsung phone. I did not want to try HTC or Blackberry.
I picked a Nokia Lumia 820 for 3 reasons:
- It is a Windows phone. Apparently, the apps on windows are security tested while those of Android can be uploaded any one.
- It is a Nokia. I am a Nokia loyalist... have always had one. They are the only sturdy phones in the market and can survive my clumsy fingers
- It has color options. I bought a red phone. Why don't more phone companies have color options? I would gladly pay more money to buy a phone in color.

Things I do with my phone:
- Make calls
- Send text
- Check fb, twitter, mails
- Click awesome pics
- Use as a kindle
- Use as an alarm
- Play Fruit Ninja
- Read my horoscope
- Check in at foursquare
- Use the internet
- Use as a GPS
- Check linkedin
- Make notes
- Search for recipes
- Stay online on fb, gtalk, whatsapp
- Look for restaurants on zomato
- Listen to music

All in all... I am very happy with the phone. A smartphone is worth all the hype. I am never bored or lonely with it around me.
The battery is fairly decent. I have also purchased a portable charger from Nokia (costs 1400 bucks). It needs to be charged for a few hours and can charge any phone once on the go. I charge it every night and use it while travelling.

I will write a post on the best and most useful apps on windows phone next week.