A-Happily-Ever-After

She wakes up to prepare tea.
About fifteen minutes later, he joins her.
Rainbow of everyday voices fill the air - clatter of utensils, water flowing, cupboards being opened and shut close.
A rushed door bell announces the maid.
Some modest breakfast later, the main door is secured with a lock. 

Both part their ways to go to work, moving on from each other in a small way for some hours.

A modern day tale of a happily-ever-after.

DIY - Charging Dock

I have been pretty nerved about the state of affairs in my room lately. The variety of charging wires has become very diverse (Apple definitely had added two cents to my frustration with their new lightening charger) and I am all the time plugging and unplugging something up. It's either the iPhone or the iPad, not to mention my office laptop. I, (to be read with a hint of sarcasm) <3 my life. After going through some quick links, I realized that there is no pocket friendly out of the box solution to de-clutter this web of wires from my room. Here is what I did -

• Found a good looking and strong shoe box. 
• Cut up a big hole (a square hole is easier to make ) along one of its lengthy Sides. Big enough to let the three pin of your extension cable pass through.
• On the untouched lengthy side, make five equidistant slits starting from the top edge. The slit should be two mm wide, and you can secure it using cello tape, do that the cut up edge is laminated and smooth. 
• Place an extensible cord inside the box, the long kind you have instead of the round variety so that it can sit inside the box. Placed all the chargers in available plugs.
• Then three pin, let that pass through the bigger hole. The individual chargers can be made to pad through the slits 
• Your covered, uncluttered charging dock in all set.

This works best if you have dedicated device chargers at home, which you do not carry to your car or work.

Eccentricity amidst the Ban

 

So I have, like many others, joined a month long shopping ban. I am a self confessed shopaholic. A recent listing of count of shoes and bags amounted to a number that would put any sane person to shame. It is my first time ever, that I have put a ban on myself for shopping, and as anyone in the same boat would agree, the weekends are the most testing. Some thoughts that I have encountered and successfully battled since the last two days. You may blame it on the lack of planning, but it made little sense for me to plan and hoard stuff, and then start a shopping ban. Let the ban come, we shall learn along. 

• Learning #1 - My kohl is finished, on the first morning of the ban. Now if you live in India or are Indian, you know it is one of the most basic things you rely on as far as make-up goes. How am I supposed to survive without it for the next 28 days? As they say, where there is  a will, there must be a way. Middle-school lessons come handy, I make up a ghee flame, and get myself some pure, home-made kajal. Who knows? I might get into a life-long habit which would save me some money for the rest of my living existence. Such high hopes, I have with myself.

• Learning #2 - My brother's birthday is next week, and I have still not decided on a gift! A workaround - I will give him cash, requesting him to get whatever he wishes. In case he refuses, I will sponsor his birthday dinner. Both the options sound good. I am so glad I picked the birthday card last week. :D

• Learning #3 - How is the idea of getting a nose-piercing? This is the level of random thoughts that make way when the mind is unoccupied from not shopping and thus not planning for shopping trips. Counter thought. If I get my nose-pierced amidst the ban, I would need to shop for a nose pin/ring too. Idea postponed. If the thought continues to float longer, shall comply once the ban is over. For now, the confusion stands sorted. 

• Learning #4 - One of my best friends of all times is getting married next week. Sudden thought of wearing my red chiffon saree with a gold blouse. Inner self supersedes - No. No. No. Save the saree for your own self. That's what it was originally purchased for. Heart sobs a silent sob. Inner voice, even stronger now - Wear the new anarkali mom gifted. Since you have to drive to and fro from the venue yourself, anyways wearing a saree is not the best of ideas. Practicality wins over style. Anyways, practical style is the best style, said the wise one.

• Learning #5 - How about the external drive which you have been postponing since forever? This is one of the perils of today's generation. Other than the usual things which anyways everyone buys, we have a compelling urge of electronics and related stuff. I am reminded of a bluetooth keyboard I had bought last year to go with my tablet, it is a definite winner when it comes to non utilized things in the kitty. Anyhow, when the external drive has waited this long, how much could one more month hurt?! Depend on the available free cloud storage for now. 

• Learning #6 - Valentine's without shopping? Are you kidding me, really. I have planned something nice to do that does not include shopping. But more on that in a different post. Of course, I have red to wear for the day. It may not be new, but I do maintain my clothes well. Smiles smugly to self. 

In times like these, do the monsters of temptation hula-dance around you as well?

February, my love.

All the people who blog have talked about one favorite month that they have. Most often than not, it is the month that they have their birthdays in or the month in which they tied the knot. My favorite month is February. Which is not my birthday month. It would be nice to have a wedding in February though! God, knock knock. Are you listening? For some reason, having a November birthday is not very comforting. The festive season in India is just finishing up, and the wedding season just starting, and thus in the middle of both exhaustion's madness, it is tough to bring on the excitement for my own birthday. The weather also is in-between sorts - the fall is over (definitely!), and the winter has still not arrived. Which leaves a lot of room (aka confusion) to pickup a sure-shot out-of-the-world birthday outfit. Anyhow, that's all about Why my own birthday month is not my favorite month. Let us talk about February, my best month of the year. 

• It brings about my brother's birthday in the first week. Yeah, at this not-so-tender-age, I still wait for birthdays to dig into delicious cakes. 

• Love is in the air. All the movie channels are playing love classics all days long, sometimes, on -repeat! I am a romantic inside-out when it comes to music and movies.

• Flowers are blooming all around. The colors of Spring in Delhi are a welcome change to the fast life.

• Its the shortest month of the year. If you are working, you know what working for two less days feels like.

• In the calender, it is one of those insignificant months with no big festival, or national holiday when I am being double checked for security at any of the public places. If you stay in Delhi, you know what I mean?! Look at the security right before Republic Day/Independence Day celebrations, and how much it adds to traffic, and affects day-to-day activities.

• The Sale season is still On, in case you missed those flat knee length boots - you can buy them Now for the next season. :P  I am, but a woman!

Btw, the Shopping Ban begins today. I am excited and nervous at the same time. Will I make it successfully is one question I have playing on my mind, what do you think?

Manage your Mailbox

I have already done a post on effective emails before. 

I recently realized that as one goes up the hierarchy, the need to manage the electronic mailbox effectively is more urgent. The count of emails to be worked upon on a daily basis goes up to 100s (may be 1000s, even). And thus the skill to have and maintain an organized mailbox is a must-have.

• Anything email that may be worked upon and finished in less than 120 seconds should be done there and then. 

• Have a strong folder structure in your mailbox and move the email to its appropriate folder immediately after you have read it. 

• Archive mails regularly depending on your daily usage. I do it fortnightly.

• Any email that needs follow up should be flagged immediately with a subsequent date. 

• Delete any emails that you are confident you would not be getting back to. They clutter not only space, but take up a lot of time later when we are trying to look for something more important. 

• Refrain from sending mails like Okay, and Thank you. Before hitting the send button, think if you would send this mail if you were charged 1$ for it. If no, then probably the mail is not needed. It is a a good idea to include Thank you in your signature itself.

The Shopping Ban

I have joined Tanvii (its the same blog which inspired me to start one of my own) in the shopping ban. Read on to know more.

• What? No Shopping – No clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, cosmetics, books, gadgets, basics, linen. Exhaustive enough? I think so. Fingers crossed. Food, toiletries, medicines, fuel are the allowed items.

• Whys – Part 1? Every Saturday, more than an hour goes into organizing my stuff. Each time I do that, I realize I have too many options of everything. Many items are underutilized, and I really do not ‘need’ anything more. Of course, these voices silent themselves each time I walk into a store with a dazzling display. I want this conflict to stop.

• Whys – Part 2? An important personal goal for 2013 reads ‘Towards a Sustainable Lifestyle’, which in essence means to lessen my operating cost on an ongoing basis. A shopping ban may just be the first step towards achieving this goal by the end of this year.

• When?  I will do it for a month to start with. I have chosen the shortest month, i.e. Feb-0 1- 2013 to Feb-28-2013.

• How? Like all the anon-forums advertise, I will not make it a goal of 28 days. I will make no-shopping a one day goal that I need to meet for 28 consecutive days. Weekends would be the most troublesome, but I am confident I shall row through. Wish me luck.

• The Result - What I think it will lead to? My wardrobe will be better utilized. I will learn some self-restraint. Hopefully, I will have something more in my bank account. I might step upon some new things to do in the time that I end up saving.

Anyone who wishes to join the ban may tag themselves into it. Let us bring it on! 

Darlingji

about
Darlingji is the biography of Nargis and Sunil Dutt, each of their lives before and after they met each other and their life together as man and wife.

rating 

3/5

up(s)

Not only is it a book about two people's lives, but also about the world of cinema 50 years ago. Many worthwhile movies of that genre are described in detail. A lot of light is thrown on the sociopolitical scene within the industry, a lot of which may hold true today too.

down(s)

The book, interesting at the start, somewhere becomes very information based, thus difficult to read and enjoy.

the plot

To write about someone's life is one of the most difficult tasks one can undertake as you need to do full justice to the people involved without being judgmental or making it sound biased. The book has interesting facts from the lives of both Nargis and Sunil Dutt. Time and again, it seeps in how all that glitters is not gold, and every human, big or small, has his or her own share of struggles and problems. And how, at the end of the day, a movie star is but human, made of blood and flesh.

verdict 

Darlingji is worth one read if the world of Cinema fascinates you.

Movie Review - Inkaar

• Inkaar is today’s movie - the reality genre’, done with oodles of panache.

• Both Rampal and Singh play their parts perfect – each of the characters convinces you that the other is at fault. The screen presence is strong, dialogue delivery and voice modulation absolutely accurate and arguments valid and logical. Visual appeal makes it an eye treat. Chitrangada looks too hot to handle in every piece she dons.  Arjun plays an achiever and a sensitive male from behind his nerd glasses. Both are perfect examples of how some people only get hotter with age.

• The movie touches upon many aspects of the corporate environment in today’s times – be it cracking borderline jokes to keep pace with the high pressured work environment, or getting attracted to a great senior. It also touches upon some important lessons how its more important to be ready for a role before taking it up, how not to cross lines at workplace, how turbulence at the workplace can make you feel like the world has ended on all fronts. The movie also touches upon the fact that there is really no well-defined line between flirting and sexual harassment. The director picks up a sensitive and serious issue of sexual harassment at the work place, which deserves a better treatment that what it gets in the flick.

• The music is good, but not something which will stay with you for more than a couple of days. ‘Alla tu maalik hai’ is hummable and shot very well.

• Many parts of the movie were not needed – like backdrops of both the parents, or the unnecessary boyfriend who flies in for New York. The side characters could have performed better. Other than Deepti Naval, all of them do more harm to the movie than good. 

• The emotional part is predictable. Very underplayed throughout the movie, and popping up suddenly in last five minutes.

The movie builds up to seem like a masterpiece, to fall flat on its face when the audience expects a well-deserved climax. You may enjoy watching two good looking people on screen but the end would leave your mouth sour. 

My rating is two stars.

A Lame Comeback, and some Work Type Tips

Sixx weeks exactly since I had last written. I am sorry, for not been able to update this space. Thankfully, the silent visitors are still coming in, day after day, reminding me gently of a pending promise.

So we have entered into 2013. Happy New Year, friends! In some way, we - You and I, are friends. Aren't we?!

So where I have been? I have been busy with work, travel, social engagements, thoughts. And though I cannot promise how frequently will I be able to communicate, communicate I will.

So today is Wednesday, the day for WWTT. And even though I have started to type, I have nothing concrete on my mind. Even as I write this here, I am still making up my mind on one of the two work type topics which I can share with you. Let's see where the balance bends.

This year, I have resolved simply - I will be present wherever I am. I will do what makes me happy. I will cut out the negative area when I can, and develop from it when I cannot. Easy? Let's see.

So here are my six work tips that I collated from few of those zillion articles which get published at year end, and make the newsletter copies expensive.

• Any email that can be replied to or worked upon and finished in less than 120 seconds should be handled there and then.

• Communication is 20% content, 40% choice of words, 40% choice of tone - choose yours optimally.

• Your Yes's to assigned work should far exceed your No's - we all love Yes's, don't we?

• 'Do what you love, love what you do.' Because any work done halfheartedly would not be done to the best of ability.

• Be approachable to one and all, all the times.

• Invest time in sharpening your axe - spend regular time to build on new skills or expertise which may aid your profession.

While all these may seem obvious to many, I am sure there are few who would benefit. And now that I have chosen the topic for today, the other topic would follow next Wednesday. :-)