D#03 The gamer in me..

I am not that great a fan of computer games but there are a few games (simple ones) which I get hooked to. Be it NFS during my engineering days, Mafia Wars during PwC days, Plant vs Zombie during MBA days, Candy Crush during ATK days or recently 2048 during CBC days ! I have played all to the extent of spending 16 hours a day to ensure that I rest only after I complete them... and my dedication has paid off - have completed all except Mafia Wars (which is an infinite game of course). My recent victory is 2048 - a board game where we need to move numbers along the tetris to add up to 2048..and then 4096 etc. Not only did I finish 2048, I also finally got 4096 today !!! yayyyy...feeling like I have accomplished the purpose of my life ! :)

#D02 A little appreciation goes a long way !

Can't believe that I had to think so hard to find a reason to be happy on the second day itself! Finally, after stressing my pea-sized brain, I could remember the time of the day when I smiled...and I smiled real big :)

It was a routine weekly project status update call when during the discussions, the client suddenly said "Your slides were really good. I am very happy with your deliverables." This small appreciation made all my efforts and painful late night calls worthwhile. These moments keep me going through the ever challenging consulting life. 

#D01 The joys of baking - picture perfect banana muffins

I love baking - be it banana muffins, chocolate muffins, choco chip muffins or mango cup cakes ! Searching new recipes, trying them out word by word and finally seeing the picture perfect muffins. It is a delight at every step and a pound added in every cup :) 

#100happydays

Finally I figured out a way to getting back to blogging. Since past few months, a phenomenon called 100 happy days is seen all over the social media. This is an attempt to get out of the electronics world / social media which we thrive on every minute and think of real things which make us happy. And it goes without saying that we have to tag (or rather hashtag - I really never understood the purpose of hashtag though) the things which make us happy on social media for 100 days continuously. However, I feel this concept solves a bigger purpose - gives a reason to smile everyday, be hopeful again and try to do things which make us happy in stead of just wiling away time on our gadgets.

I always wanted to take this challenge but somehow didn't want to force it on hundreds' of walls. But now I can conveniently start this on my blog and trouble only a few people who would randomly land on my blog.

Looking forward to survive this #100happydays challenge!

Back to blogging - hopefully for a longer time !

Writing had never been easy for me but the day I started this blog, I fell in love with writing. I could write my thoughts, travelogues, fiction or anything for that matter within minutes. But now, after a gap of almost 3 years, I am struggling to pen down even a few words.

Last 3 years changed my life and even to some extent has changed me. Change is supposed to be good but how is it good when it makes you 3 shades darker and look 3 (or may be more) years older L I used to be a carefree person seizing every opportunity to travel, eat out, party with friends and have long talks / chats with friends. Now, before every outing I spend hours worrying about my budget, tanning, putting on weight, limited time I spend with my friends and all such crap.

I wish I could be the person I used to be and the first step to that is to express what I feel and not what I should. So, here I am – back to my blog which has always been a good listener to my random ramblings J Hope to come here more often and relive at least some part of what I used to be earlier.

5 feet barbarous giants or humans?

When I opened my eyes, it was still dark. My 2 little kids were peacefully sleeping. I looked at them for a minute, smiled and kissed them. “It’s time for morning prayers kids. Get up and don’t be late.” They opened their eyes at once, very obedient I must say. Soon all of us were singing our morning prayers when the first rays of sun beamed. The rays charged us up with its freshness and energy. We were ready to leave our house and spend the day wandering in different lands as usual. The kids already had plans of going to some other place which they had accidentally discovered once. I was going to the same place I had been going since last week.

After 10 hours, I returned home as I had done over the past so many years. But today something was different. I couldn’t find my house. Anxiously I looked around. Things had changed. These barbarous animals had again exploited us and destroyed our homes. I could see the big branches lying dead on the ground. In the lap of one of the branches was my home, lying there in pieces beyond recognition. My friends and neighbours had started returning and soon there was a commotion when they realized the harsh reality. Shocked in utter disbelief, not knowing what to do, where to go, I was just hovering over my tree when I saw my kids flying in.

“What happened to this branch? Where is our home? Where will we sleep tonight?” asked my sweet kid innocently. “Who did this? How could so many branches die at once? Were we late for our morning prayers today and God punished us?” asked the other. “No, my dear. It’s not your fault or our fault. It’s the work of 5 feet barbarous giants who live near us. Time and again, they just destroy our world for no reason. They don’t know how it feels to lose one’s home in a day. God made us small & them giants. They are just using this to their advantage. Someday a bigger giant than them would come and destroy all their houses. ” I said.

“Hmmm. I loved my cosy bed. Where would we sleep tonight?” asked one of the kids. “Don’t worry kids. We would find a new house soon. There is almost no place left on the few branches that these giants have spared. I guess we can sleep somewhere on one of the fallen branches. Don’t worry, I would be awake all night and see that you are safe.”

Ramblings of my mind

Knowing a thing and not practising it is equivalent to not knowing. Very true indeed! I had always read that what people regret the most are often things which they didn’t do/say. Yet, all these days, I just didn’t practise this. And now, whenever I look back, I feel sad about things not said/done. There have been many times when I wanted to say something but could never overcome my mental inhibitions. But from now on, I would try to speak my mind.

So, what’s in my mind right now? At this juncture of life, when I have almost all elements of a successful life (touchwood), my mind is struggling to seek answers to some everyday dilemmas faced by me.

In life, just like management, nothing is absolutely black or white. Everything is a shade of grey and it depends on us as to what colour we give to it. Speaking one’s mind may sometimes hurt other people while by not speaking it, one may hurt oneself. We may choose either but not always should we choose the same one. Consistency in situations like this could be detrimental. But then how do we decide which one to choose under what circumstance?

This is one of the many questions which bother me. If everyone cares for his/her own happiness, wouldn’t everyone automatically be satisfied and happy? What if everyone cares for some other people but still no one cares for some people? What ultimately should be our goal – to be happy or to make others happy? I know the ideal answer is to be happy by being a reason for others’ happiness but not everyone can achieve this. How do I convince myself to be happy just by seeing others happy? What should then be the code of conduct for lesser mortals like me?

Or maybe, I should just stop thinking. Maybe, the happiest people in the world are the people who don’t think!


PS – This post could be incongruent and irrelevant as I just wrote what I was thinking.