Winter Love

#1 - Mittens are a rage in winters. Choose bright ones to bring in some cheer to the grey skies.

#2 - Aren't these printed closed boots an eye soother from their plain leather cousin? Delightful.

#3 - A striped muffler is a must have to add some drama to your old plain sweater. The multicolors in this one just make it sweeter.

#4 - Ear mufflers are cool, suave, and would keep you warm when the temperature dips its lowest. The rich colored velvet adds sheen.

#5 - Head gear in winters is a must have because I am so sure you will have more of no-head-wash days.

#6 - A overcoat in a feminine color would make all other heads turn in either admiration or envy.

DIY Files - Part III

This month's DIY brings to you something from my mother's kitchen. 

This chutney tastes best in all seasons, specially in Winters and is a great accompaniment with anything and everything under the Sun.

You need - 

Put all the ingredients into the jar and beat using the bar until a viscous paste is formed.

• Aamla
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Green chillies
• Onion
• Salt 

Offices vary, this stays

Across professions, people, organizations and generations, there are some things that always remain the same no matter which workplace you head to. 

• The water cooler gossip - the most important area where all the news would originate, and then circulate. Be it a fresh spat your coworker has had, or a new policy which is coming in soon, Water cooler is the perfect place to keep your information up to date.

• Bunch of fresher girls for the year - most of whom will have a brand new wardrobe. They would be younger, fitter, chirpier, sweeter. Of course, the world is yet to dampen their energy.

• A posh old man with an air of authority about him - usually a senior guy in the area, who has grown up the ladder and stuck for a while. Everyone respects him. He is quiet, and reserved. Each time he is seen around, people adjust themselves, and sober up.

• Brand posters that don the pillars and walls - of course, every workplace, big and small has brand posters, about the capabilities, processes, values, their products, the brand - it is an endless list. 

• One super hot woman the whole office eyes - who would dress very sharp, have perfect makeup and would around clanking her heels. Yeah?

• A noisy team that will always make much ado about nothing. Most likely the one who has the most easy work to resource ratio.

~.~.~Its a Happy, Happy, Birthday!~.~.~

Every since AllThingsSixx started, you have supported it by taking time out to read it, providing the most valuable feedback, and even contributing to it in the Sunday guest series (here, and here).

It is your birthday today, and AllThingsSixx wishes to you the best year ahead.

Happy Birthday, Dude! May God make your coming year the best one. :-)

Life of Pi

Having read Life of Pi exactly two years ago, I have waited for the movie to release as soon as I learnt it is being made, and boy, am I impressed.

• Direction is crisp, the pace is just right. Neither rushed nor slow, at any point. Depiction of Pondicherry, India, especially the opening of the movie is very warm.

• All the actors have done an outstanding job. I am in love with both Irrfaan Khan and Suraj Sharma at the same time. Tabu reinstates that Hollywood is where she truly belongs. Adil Khan depicts an Indian male and father is true colors as Pi''s dad. His performance is powerful, and moving.

• Movies made out of Books more often than not loose out what the author intended to put across but Ang Lee surprises you. Every important event and emotion conveyed in the book is put across in the movie - visuals, dialogues (though minimalistic) and performances all come together to bring out the text alive. 

• Two instances from the book were not present in the movie, and I was just a little bit disappointed there because I could not wait to see how would the director depict those. Not sure why he omitted them?  Trivia : for those who have read the book, can you remember which of the two were those?

• Much of text has been expressed concisely. Like the emergency in India from back in the 70s announced on radio. The character of Pi is also given ample time to build, and relate to.

• Some of the scenes may come across as gross, specially for herbivores like me. Some amount of flesh and blood and carnivorous-kind-of -things are depicted. But that is expected from a movie with a Bengal tiger, right?

Life of Pi is a must watch.  

The book had become one of the best books I had ever laid my hands on. Personally, the movie too has made its way to be one that I know I will watch time, and again.

Striking a Balance within the Mad Rush

This year has been a great year for me in sixx aspects.

• Great Show at work and climbing up the ladder kind of stuff.
• My first 21K.
• More quality Time with my family.
• Enjoying doing up my new home.
• Lucky enough to make a few quality relationships.
• And a perfect weekly routine coming together.

Boy, believe me that is a LOT of hard work, especially if you have a demanding job like mine and a growing son. But I have constantly believed that you can have the cake and eat it, as long as you learn to time-box the whole thing. :-) 

So without wasting much time.., presenting here are the sixx learning’s of my life about work-life balance.

• Time box every activity. 

Never do anything beyond one hour. Whether it’s cooking or doing a presentation for your boss or fixing a P1 issue at work. And most important, time-box Facebook - not more than 15 minutes in a day.

• Plan, Plan and Plan

Especially the cooking schedule. I love to cook for my family. Hence I put together an excel clearly stating what type of food we eat every day for a week. Once I had this template, it was easy for me to make sure every meal was healthy and well balanced. At work -Always have a weekly plan and weekly milestones, Never start work without a plan or a tangible target.

• Innovate,Problem Solve and Improve

Whatever you do, constantly innovate and problem solve and help others. The quality of our work goes a long way in making up for the fact that we as working mothers are available only for about 8-9 hours in a day. Always try and make a home at work. A woman can make a big difference when it comes to building great teams. Humility and a nice smile should be the ingredients to make our days brighter at work.

• Delegate and Outsource

Keep only the core with you and outsource the rest. Get a maid to completely take care of the house, and have a set routine for her. Focus only on key activites like cooking and planning.

• Fitness Routine both Mental and Physical

Running works the best for me. It clears my head and makes me more productive. Choose whatever suits you the best. But 45 minutes of physical activity in a day should be no-compromise area. Read 30 minutes a day and meditate fifteen minutes daily.

• Socializing

Limit it to 5 minutes a day at work. :-) Believe me it works.The lesser you talk, the more you work and the more people respect you. Look for quality relationships and not quantity.

Well, I am still not there yet. I still need to look at my perfect plan for the week. And I am hoping the list above will serve as a time tested tool for one and all, specially the many gorgeous women out there. So just go for it..!!

Today's guest post is brought to you by my friend Saambavi who I have known since September 2010. Extremely diligent with her work, she is one of the most productive working mom that I have (and probably will) ever met. She loves what she does, does it better than the rest, all with a smile, exceeding expectations on all fronts - personal, professional, social.

Every Sunday, the forum is open for you all to share your views to the rest of the world through this blog. The arena is unlimited, the theme similar - anything that touches you, and can help someone else, in six points should make up a post. 

I will look forward to your emails to keep the guest series going.

Safety measures in a Cab

I live in New Delhi, India. Known to be one of the most liberal, and the most unsafe city for women to reside in. Every female here, educated , illiterate, working, non-working, smart or naive have their own set of safety protocol that they follow.

Being a working woman specially means that you would have to take a cab at some point or the other, for work or otherwise. And cabs are one of the most vulnerable places to be in as far as crimes against women are concerned.

Here is my checklist that I keep in mind when I am in a cab.

• It is a good idea, always, to know the route, if not exact, then at least approximate. Would help you against being duped or being taken elsewhere other than your intended destination. Of course, this precaution is of little help if you are in a foreign land. Foreign here is any unknown area and not Only outside of India.

• Do Not Sleep to save yourself. While this may seem obvious, I have witnessed many people who sink into a slumber as easily as they do in the vehicle's back seat, specially in their office cabs. While your office may have you covered, your safety is your own responsibility first.

• Be attentive to the driver's actions, specially any calls that he makes. These are some of the perils of the mobile phone, when he can inform someone where is he headed. His informing anyone over the phone of the end point or probable route of the journey should alarm you to some extent.

• Don't curtain your ears with anything - be it music with the ear plugs or that phone call you wish to make - postpone it when your commute is done.

• If traveling at night, always keep a defense prop handy - it could be a pepper spray, a knife or even an umbrella. Like they say, 'Better Safe than Sorry'.

• Look aggressive and sharp even if internally you feel soft like a pulp and scared for life.When you cant fight them, it is better to scare them.