Nowhere in particular...

- My entire life is upside down right now.
- Some days I'm okay with it, other days, just plain depressed.
- There is some truth to the rumour that God makes you do the things you're least comfortable with. Probably there's a lesson in there somewhere, but the only thing I've learnt so far is that God hates me quite a bit.
- I have HAD it with Indians throwing American accents. HAD IT. It's fake and obnoxious and gosh-darned patronising, so STOPPIT!
- Every person needs a bit of attention. Some recognition for past successes would also be nice.
- There's a learning curve to every job that initially goes around your neck and throttles you.
- Every person is guilty of one or more of the following: a) Smoking. b) Drinking c) Consuming aerated drinks d) Doing drugs e) Doing fake accents.
- Happily, I have done none of the above. I realise this qualifies me as a dork in most people's eyes, but most people are dorks.
- Losing your temper at the right time and in severe doses can scare the pants off people.
- No amount of money is ever enough. Not hankering after it can help a bit, though.
- I have not clicked a single picture in two months. I am a slap on the face of amateur photography.
- I don't even know where my camera charger is.
- I have alternating cycles of feeling really confident and feeling like I'm sitting on the kind of volcano that will go off and kill only me.
- Also it will burn my ass, but let's not get into that.
- I am a decent cook. The husband is still alive and actually looking nice.
- The web is a decent medium if you don't screw it up. So don't. I won't either.
- This post ends here because it was going nowhere in particular in the first place.

Bring on the crazy

I'm going slowly crazy with the amount of work being done and the amount of work still to be done. And we haven't even launched yet.

And hey, I didn't share my first copy on Indipepal with you guys. Check it here.

The timings are going from erratic to bizarre, but I keep telling myself it's only for a few months. Once the general elections are done, there should be some breathing space before the assembly elections come around. And those won't be this hectic.

In other news, I am now a very quick cook. You could actually take some pointers from me on organising and putting together breakfast for the hubby, lunch for me, lunch for hubby, doing the dishes and sometimes even kneading dough for dinner. My home life is completely in a mess, though. Bloody elections!

Wish me luck with the launch and the work.

Yikes!

Boss uncle announced this morning that the portal will probably be launched this week. YIKES!!

I have no dynamic content. I am nowhere close to having dynamic content. I won't have dynamic content this soon. Somebody, help me!

*takes a sedative and crashes*

Two years ago

I just settled the chaiwallah's bill. As usual, I suspect he ripped me off but I said nothing, since this is the last time he will rip me off. In a few hours from now, I'll pick up the bag containing the encyclopaedia I bought last year but hadn't taken home because it is so heavy. I'll cast a last look at my workstation, hand over the locker and cupboard keys to the office boy and head out into the great world to start a career afresh.

It's strange how every time I change a job, it seems like I'm starting all over again. This time I actually am. This morning, Jaan hugged me and said that just like I had a good time at Sakaal and I would have a good time at the new place too. Trust him to always look on the bright side. I hope he's right.

All through this month, my fury at how wrong things were going and why I was made a part of it through no encouragement at my side blinded me to how much I would eventually say goodbye to. My small and inconspicuous work terminal with the nicest keyboard in the office and the one computer that has not yet crashed will probably be topmost on my 'What I will miss the most' list. Add to that the wobbly chair and the fact that one gets as much privacy and peace here to work as a railway station.

I've already emptied my drawer and locker. Nothing here now belongs to Vrushali Lad, and within a few days, someone else may take my place. The uprooting seems sudden and will be mildly traumatic. But one must now outstay one's visit, and in this industry, nothing is really forever, except the associations you make.

See you on the other side.

New high jump

There's nothing better than a swift kick in the balls to a detractor who fancies himself your equal (or superior) simply because he happens to be a fossil in the industry and you're not.

A few arseholes messed with me and must now be looking like the silliest fools in existence. I have a great new job in an exciting new medium and with no fuss or worries in return. These other idiots, to not put too fine a point on it, may be facing salary cuts, job cuts and goodness knows what else, while I can frankly say I had a lucky escape in time.

I will now be working with a portal called Indipepal.com and hope to do okay there, if not spectacularly well. You can't go too wrong if your motto is, "How difficult can it be?" At the most, I'll take a week longer to learn than others do. At this point in time, saturated to the eyeballs with mediocre stories and not wanting to get out of bed to come to this crappy office, I really have a good deal on my hands.

It's going to be a bit like going back to journalism college because I'll have a lot of studying and researching to do, but everyone knows that's the part I love best.

See you'll after I settle into the new place. Wish me luck.

Like dogs and cats

The thing about Slumdog Millionaire that gripped me the most was that it was a good, long look at life below stairs. I mean, how much does a multiplex-frequenting, popcorn-chewing crowd know about toilet etiquette in the slums, or why slum kids are sharper than their English school-educated counterparts, at any age?

I didn't really agree with some parts, though. Till the end, I was a bit fuzzy about how Jamal does get into the game show, or why the riots needed to be shown in a stereotypical manner, when the rest of the film is anything but stereotypical. Yeah, it's a throwback to the 80's Bollywood with its flashes of idol worship ("Amitabhbachchan!") and you kind of guess what Maman must have done to Latika as she falls behind the moving train and can't get on fast enough. Yet, it's the kind of dizzying look at a world within the urban world of Mumbai city (and elsewhere) and which is, in fact, a bigger world than most of us realise.

How fitting that Sandy and I actually walked a short distance through an actual slum the same evening that we saw the film. It's not like I've never visited a slum before, but every time I do, it's like finding yet another labyrinth and a whole lot of open secrets.

And oh yes, Ayush Khedekar simply stole my heart. He's the kind of kid you want to cuddle because he's so cute and watch intently because he's so expressive. In fact, the littlest Jamal was the most effective.

Good background score, though not very earth-shaking. Makes me wonder again what the Academy is really looking for, but what the heck.

Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye...

It's about to be a month now since we became Mr and Mrs Vrushali Lad, and so far, things have been GREAT.

Never mind that I'm still a bit disorganised in the mornings and I'm STILL not used to not having a cup of tea handed to me first thing in the morning. The evenings are even worse, when I come tearing home and have to take 10 minutes just to list the chores to be done. But once the food is made (somehow) and I start on the rotis and the doorbell rings and the hubby comes home, somehow the effort is worth it with all the bullying him and ordering him about to set the table (I keep forgetting to do it every night) and then listening to him recount how his day either sucked or was terrific.

I even love the "Oye! Uth abhi!" routine we have every morning. Only difference is that when I say those words, he at least grudgingly gets out of bed, but when he does, I either don't hear him or just stay put.

It's been a nice time. Tomorrow I celebrate the first anniversary of the accident we had together last year. A year later, I have a deformed little finger and a cute little marriage to show for it :)

Just some stuff happening

In keeping with my reputation of being my own worst enemy, I am about to embark on an escapade that is already making those who know me completely hysterical and not helping my self-esteem one bit. Also in keeping with the way I have lived my life so far, I have decided to complicate matters inextricably, knowing fully well that I will have myself and also the boyfriend to blame.

That's right. I am about to get married.

We've fixed it for December. Because it's a cool month and it's the last month of the year and because it aptly signifies the last few days of my being single and happy. And because when I choose to marry and in which month is my business, not yours.

It's only a court marriage, so no point getting your best suit or most garish saree out, because you're going to feel (and look) silly. There is no after-party either, so bad luck there as well. Of course, Greta Garbo wanted to attend the Bachelor Bash and the Spinster Party and the Wedding Dinner, but by now, he understands. A lot of the people who now know of this strange turn of events are either questioning the logic behind such a ceremony ("It happens once in your life, do it in style, na!") or applauding our sturdy common sense. Either way, no frills and fancies.

Right now, I'm enjoying watching the shock spread slowly across the face of whichever sucker either Sandy or I give our happy news to. Also, we'll be doing up the house this month, so that should be fun.

See you'll later.

Sickness

The thing about falling ill is that there's a constant feeling of being underfoot, and that you're probably annoying your mother by just being there. And of course, you don't want to EVER go back to work because let's face it, what's so wrong about never going back?

On the upside, however, I got waited on hand and foot at all times, and there was one memorable night when the fever kept rising and my head kept pounding and both parents and the hubby were at my beck and call. Hee!

Kahan hai mera phone?

September 17, 2008

h/l: Mumbai, Bengaluru will decide for entire country

While cell phone companies may become more stringent about screening terrorists' text messages

SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai: Even as mobile phones increasingly become part of our lives, providing everything from accessibility to entertainment, the Centre may take the fun out of cell phone usage by imposing some rules.

Strangely enough, the entire country may come under the ambit of these rules though views have been canvassed only from Mumbai and Bengaluru.

"A Rajya Sabha committee on petitions, headed by BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu and six others, concluded their tour of Bengaluru, followed by Mumbai on Wednesday. The Committee was seeking opinions from concerned stakeholders after a Patiala resident, advocate Gurjit Singh, filed a petition seeking an "imposition of reasonable restrictions on the use of mobile phones" in certain places in the country.

As per Singh's petition, "mobile phones are being misused by the rank and file. There is a grave and urgent need to impose certain restrictions on the use of mobile phones, in such places as schools, colleges, vehicles when driving, places of worship, public offices and cremation grounds." He also contends that mobile phone cameras should be barred from use as some people take photographs of others without consent and 'waste time' watching video clips.

Naidu said, "We have taken meetings with students, parents, educators, cell phone operators, religious leaders and state government officials. The almost unanimous request from them has been that there should not be a complete ban on mobile phone usage in these places, but there may be reasonable restrictions."

However, Naidu conceded that some recommendations in the petitioner's plea may not be feasible. For example, Singh demands that jammers or decoders should be installed in educational institutions. Naidu said, "It becomes very expensive to fit every classroom with jammers. Also, it is not possible to bar networks in the entire building since such a system might hamper other buildings in the vicinity as well." Along with this and other points such as enacting laws barring the sale of phones with in-built cameras, increasing the penalties for talking on the phone while driving et al, Naidu said, would be deliberated on before compiling the report for submission to the Parliament.

However, the committee has made specific observations for cellular operators. "We have asked them to submit in writing if they have any mechanism to bar unwanted calls or obscene messages on the consumer's end. Also, in the wake of rising terrorism in the country, is it possible to screen messages sent from terrorists to pinpoint exact location?" Naidu said.

He also mentioned that with a lower spectrum use and lack of too many phone towers, cellular operators must not indiscriminately give out new connections to meet demand. The committee is scheduled to meet the health ministry for inputs on the harmful effects of cell phone radiation before taking a decision on towers' location vis-à-vis residential places.