Category Archives: Life

2016 Week 42 Update

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For some reason, this week turned out to be a super hectic one! In the middle of the week, I went to a DHL franchise point to send some poonal invites to my parents in India so that they can send them to relatives and friends across the country. The DHL call centre person quoted me a rate which was for 1/10th the weight of my package, which neither me nor the person who took the cash at the franchise knew. Once I reached home, I was told I had to go back to top-up the balance cash, so another trip down to the franchise to pay the difference. This took up almost half a day going back and forth!

Other than that, I have so much to do between now and the end of the month that I think I should plan on starting my Diwali prep work before my father-in-law’s shradh. I usually don’t like to do this before that, but I think if I don’t do that, I’ll be in serious trouble the day before the festival.

Have a great week folks. There’s a lot happening in my life now, but as things stand, I don’t want to spill the beans yet. Keep watching the space, some good news is on the anvil…

 

2016 Week 41 Update

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As mentioned last week, I went for another interview earlier in the week. It was quite promising and the main person on the panel (there were 3) spoke of what I would do and what I should focus on. I am supposed to send them some writing work done (they needed some help in some marketing collaterals and so asked me to do one as a sample), but I have to still hear from them on what I need to do as well as meet the top person, which will happen towards the last days of the month as that person is still travelling. So let’s see. The job seems interesting, the people nice. If I get it, it will be good, but otherwise, I am feeling quite zen….

The last two Sundays have been busy with going to S’ relatives places to invite them for BB’s thread ceremony. We decided to only go to his close uncles and aunts (parent’s siblings) and sister’s place to invite. The others, we will post the invites. The time for us to leave for the ceremony is nearing and there’s so much to do!

We also need to prepare for my father-in-law’s annual death anniversary (called shradh in Hinduism) which we perform each year to keep his soul as well as the soul of his ancestors happy for the rest of the year. He passed away just before Diwali and so I usually will wait for this to finish before I start working on my Diwali preparations. So it’s a busy month for us here….

Over the weekend, GG & BB had their annual music class concert at the nearby temple where their group again sang a devotional song in their group in honour of the various goddesses.

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Today is the ninth day of the Navratri, which we South Indian’s celebrate as Saraswati Pooja. Today is the day we honour the Goddess of Learning and so I have put a few of GG & BB’s school books plus a laptop in front of a photo of Goddess Saraswati. This honors and celebrates anything that you use to learn and work.

Have an amazing week filled with positivity!

 

2016 Week 40 Update

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Another month has gone by and I am still jobless! I did get an email from the not-for-profit organisation I wrote about last week letting me know that they are not considering me for the position I applied for. However, the person mentioned they have something I could do there and they will get back to me around the end of October. I also have another interview set up for later this week, but the position I applied for and the position I am interviewing for seems a bit different. They called me the other day asking for work samples – I wonder what kind? I’ve never been asked any before and I told them the work that I’ve done before all belongs to the companies I’ve worked for, I can’t show it to them without permission. I’ll just go for the interview, but have zero expectations here.

Other than that the week has been pretty mundane – housework and working on the blog is all that I seem to do these days. Am feeling depressed too with some money issues popping up now, especially with BB’s thread ceremony on the horizon. When we planned this, we expected to be comfortable, financially as I was still working and earning a decent pay cheque, but the contract ending was very sudden and not working 5 months down the line is making our savings reduce at an alarming rate!

Anyway, I am of the ‘glass is half-full’ camp and so believe that everything happens for a reason and that these testing times will go away soon….

Have a great weekend folks!

2016 Week 39 Update

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That’s it, I just give up….for the moment al least! When I wrote my weekly update post last week, I was full of anticipation regarding the interview I had done the previous week. I was supposed to hear from them regarding the next round of interviews latest by last Monday and I got ghosted again! I waited till around Thursday and when I did not hear back, I texted the person who interviewed me, followed by an email to the same individual. I also (inadvertently) sent him a LinkedIn request, which he accepted over the weekend! I really don’t know what to make of this? If they have decided not to proceed with my candidature (and as an employer, they are fully within their right to choose the best fit for their organisation), but it left a slightly bad taste when this person did not choose to respond to either my text message or email. A one liner saying they were not considering me would have sufficed. Anyway, I am going to write this away too and probably just reach out to this individual again maybe at the end of this week or next, but I will not hold any hopes. I am also not going to apply anywhere else till I am back in December, no point in going for any interviews now, right?

This was pretty much my week this week…..I am super excited about my India trip and the poonal and it’s all systems go in our home, preparing for the function. But before that, we need to finish exams and then there’s Navratri and then Diwali to look forward to….

Can’t believe that September is also coming to an end soon…

Hope everyone has a great week….

Happy Birthday to you….

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Today is the day BB & GG leave their childhood behind and officially become teens! They turn 13 today….

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Dear GG and BB,

Happy Birthday to you! You turn 13 today and can now call yourselves official teenagers. These teen years will be amazing years for both of you as you both learn to stretch your wings, form your lifelong beliefs, build abilities and passions and find what you want to do for the rest of your lives.

You both are growing up to become fine young people, who have a good value system which should allow you to take the vagueries of being an adult in your stride. This is an age where temptations abound all around you and I do hope that values and sense we have instilled in both of you will help you fight against those temptations you will see around you.

GG, you are my first born and when I was pregnant with the two of you, I desperately wanted at least one of you to be a girl. You are that girl. You show so much promise and over the last one year, you have literally grown up, becoming more mature and focused. You know what you want to do in school and are very clear about your goals. You may not have the perfect career idea as yet, but each day you are refining your ideas and when you do figure out exactly what you want to do in life, you are well poised to achieve those goals. You also have started blossoming in terms of leadership skills and these will stand you in good stead in life. Keep doing what you are doing with the same passion and you will always be a winner!

BB, when you were born, I was very happy. I had always longed for a brother, and when I saw you with your sister, I knew GG will never feel the same yearning. You’ve been an amazing brother and hope you and your sister be as close as you are now forever. You are such a smart boy that sometimes the things you say, scare me! You found your passion in life when you were 3 years old and over the years, this  has never wavered. This is extremely rare in people who take years in finding out what they want to do in life, with some adults not knowing it till the day they die. I hope you keep this passion alive and kicking and do all that you can to make sure you are able to achieve what you set out to be at age three! Do not less the fun of today make you lose track of what you want to achieve in life and lose sight of the end goal.

02186pcGG & BB, my wishes for you both are that you both lead happy, contented and fulfilled lives. There are not many years left when you will leave these teen years behind and become full-fledged adults and have all the responsibilities that come with it. Use these years wisely, read as much as you can, grow your mind, work hard in school to achieve the goals you set out for yourselves, enjoy life with family and friends and most importantly have loads of fun while doing all this.

I see you both and see myself and your daddy in both of you, but you are version 2.0 of us, better models, the versions I hope I would have been – more confident, focused and less OCD!

So Happy 13th Birthday GG & BB! I am so proud of you….Welcome to the best years of your life – your teens!

Love,

Mum

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