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Thursday, September 25, 2008

No words

1999.Married. New Job.Friends. Challenges. Juggle work and home. Bored. Farewell.Tidel Park.Work Hard. Team. Laughter.Tears.Anger. Promotion. Merger.New faces.Boss.Manager.More power.Miscarriage.Discrimination.Fight Back.Kick Ass.Bag a project.Palo Alto.More teamwork.Laughter.Tears.Goodbyes.Pregnant.Maternity Leave.Bubbles.Another merger.Another boss.Promotions.Territory.End of project.Bored.Pulling Along.Offers.re-evaluation.introspection.Take the plunge.Fight back tears.No more words.

Tuesday is going to be very difficult.I feel like I am leaving my nine-year old baby in an orphanage.Yesterday we went out for a team lunch and we joked and ribbed as usual.Came back to office and we gathered in my office for a team meeting and farewell gifts. All the 15 of us were silent - deathly silent until one of them said " She's not dead you know. Just leaving us". And at least 4 of us burst into tears. So much for a dignified exit.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Rock on and on !

Just for the record, I saw Rock On.

Farhan Akhtar is cool !

But Arjun Rampal is drool-icious !!! And smoking hot.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Awards and Plans





ok, this is my first blog award. Thanks Art.

Pardon me while I do the happy jig !

BTW, I make her laugh. And bubbles said to me "amma, I laav you. You are punny". I must be !!!


And I now pass on this award to the people whose blogs I haunt.

The Mad Momma - Because she is frank, straight from the heart and I am in love with the brat and the bean ;-)

Itchy - Because I love the way she logically arranges her thoughts and I love the factual fiction and Tiny thoughts series. In fact I even wrote one in her comments section right on Itchy's blog

Kiran - She articulates Krish's pranks, witticisms and her own ups and downs with parenthood beautifully.

ok , speech done. I am truly kicked about this. Art, you have no idea how I sulked that I was never awarded. Yeah yeah , I am like that !


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Now for breaking news . I have finally quit the job I held for 9 years. I plan to take a break for 2 months and then decide what to do . At this point, I am thrilled that I will be spending the next 2 months at home and spending all my time with Bubbles. It's a well deserved break after 12 years of slogging my butt ( errr digits ) off !!! My butt still needs some working so hopefully I will do that in the following months.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Waiting for Banno

Banno was supposed to come home on Friday . But thanks to Friday and Monday being declared holidays, she will come home only tomorrow.

In the meantime, I sold kutti yannai. He knew I was trying to lose him and had started acting up lately. The day they came to take him, his battery coughed out and he had to be pushed to get started. Sigh ! I hated to see him go and Bubbles said " don't want red car, wanted only gray car".

Meanwhile as I wait for Banno, I have started taking the MRTS to work. And I just realized all the fun I have missed sitting cooped in the confines of an AC car. And of course, the nostalgia of train rides in Mumbai ( I know some may think I am nuts for this very same reason ).

Nothing beats the thrill of the wind in your face and watching people go by. Buying roses from a lady with a baby slung on her back. Recognizing the teller from the bank and making her acquaintance. Giving up a seat to a pregnant woman and asking her when she's due. 20 minutes of zipping fresh air, fresh faces, sounds, laughter, introspection versus 45 minutes of mindless traffic, RJ's making trite conversation and the same old boring music. Not to mention actually walking and losing some calories. I must thank the dealer for delaying the new car !!! I may not need her after all.

Say Hello to Banno !

Goodbye Kutti Yannai




Say Helllloooo to Banno




images from the Hyundai Website

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Not by the hairs on my Chinny chin chin

Bubbles( to amma ): Chubby Cheeks, ( eyeing chin critically ) Double Chin !!!

Time to hit the gym methinks

Bubbles : ( Eyeing the growth on the upper lip ) Nool podanum ( have to put thread )

Time to hit the parlour too , methinks.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Ode to the drivers

Long years ago , I rode a Kinetic Honda. My days in college were spent zipping around in twos or threes around Pune ( yes, we didn't attend too many lectures !). Close friendships ( and potential husband ) were made on those wonderful drives .

So when it finally came down to buying a car , I was quite keen on mastering the art of driving a car. So I took the classes and got the license. And the car was bought. A driver, Raman was appointed to "assist and augment" my driving skills which he did by saying "madam, gear change pannanga.", " ippo brake podanga" while I seethed helplessly beside him. Then one day he took over the driving seat after telling my family that maybe madam was not quite upto it and promptly put a nice long scratch on the car in an encounter with an MTC bus. I rejoiced and promptly fired him.

And started driving myself around and my , what a blast I had ! I love the independence and the wind in my face , not so much the parking nightmares.

Then came the happy news that I was expecting. The family collectively plotted against me and reinstated Raman. I sheepishly accepted his services and spent 7 blissful months snoring in the backseat on the drives to/fro office , waking up only when Raman coughed politely at the destination. What bliss , except for the times I had to wait for him to turn up.

I have had a long line of drivers since then and seem to be jinxed . Read on :

1) Raman once decided the best way to negotiate Kotturpuram bridge is to follow the VIP motorcade for whom the roads had been cleared up. We were promptly stopped by the cops and questioned.

2) Vignesh once overtake an old man on a scooter , missing by a hair's width and smirked in the mirror. Only to have the old man take off after us onto Adyar bridge , force us to stop and manhandle Vignesh. Did I tell you Vignesh was training as a boxer in a local college ?!!!

3) Ezhumalai decided to leave the car running with me in it to check what the hullabaloo in the traffic jam was. And he was at least 15 seconds late in getting back when the traffic finally moved. Oh the ignominy of it !

4) Last but not least, Sekar , Raman's cohort, stopped in full traffic in front of Kapaleeshwarar Koil. Decided to jump out and assist me with opening the door. I step out and shut the door. He goes back to the driver door and finds that shut too. Car running , AC running and idiots locked out.And. Horns. Blaring. I have never been so frazzled. I got someone to open it with a ruler. Meanwhile , I asked Sekar to leave because I was almost volcanic and ready to erupt. He says he couldn't possibly because his slippers and lunch box are locked in !!

So now , I am a hands-on driver. And no plans to change.

Until yesterday that is .

I drove into a dead end and parked my car. And went in for a dental x-ray all the time hyperventilating on how I was going to get out. X-ray done and news of not needing a root canal did not gladden my heart coz I still had to reverse my car out. I decided that I had to somehow turn the car around and in doing so , caught myself in a tight spot - in between a wall and a parked kinetic. I thanked the good lord there weren't many spectators to witness the infamy of it all. But there was !! One man came out, opened his gate and helped me reverse the car and said the words "you should get a driver , madam" . Raman, Vignesh and Sekar's visage swam in a montage in front of my eyes.

Maybe I need to contact an astrologer to do some pariharam for driver-dosham.

Maybe Art is sticking pins in a voodoo doll for putting point 13 in my last post.

I am just saying.