Weverb 12 - Dec 21-Dec 31

21: read [LIVE]
Did you read a book this year that left you craving more when it was over?
I read “ The girl who played with fire” series and really liked it .

22: recharge [CREATE]
What did you do to recharge your batteries in 2012?
I took leaves and more leaves from work

23: communicate [LISTEN]
Describe a conversation that you had this year. Why was it memorable?
Remember nothing as such

24: delight [HOPE]
How can you bring more joy into your life in 2013?
By being less lazy

25: give [CREATE]
What was the best gift you gave someone this year?
It was to my mother I took her to travel at the start of this year and she loved it

26: chronicle [LIVE]
Did you have a perfect day this year? Describe it. Would you have changed anything about it?
I just wish that I had a perfect day this year

27: sacrifice [GROW]
What did you, as an individual, let go of to further the greater good this year?
I let go off my career inspirations. It was a stagnant year on the professional front because I wanted to focus on setting things right on my personal front.

28: empower [HOPE]
What made you feel powerful in 2012?
I took decisions for my life on my own and that made me feel powerful

29: connect [LIVE]
With whom did you make the most worthwhile connections in 2012?
With my close friends

30: capture [LISTEN]
Post a picture taken of you or by you this year when you were happy.

31: aspire [GROW]
What is your biggest aspiration for 2013?
Good Health, career and life J

Weverb 12 dec 11 - dec 20

Dec 11: Spend/Save: Are you richer or poorer this year, compared to last year?
Poorer

Dec 12: toss [GROW]: 2012 was the last time for ________________
Being lazy ( I wish )

Dec 13: associate [LISTEN]: What blog/book/article spoke to you the most in 2012?
Blog: www.marcandangel.com

Dec 14: walk [LIVE]: Describe the path to a favorite place of yours to walk in 2012. What’s meaningful about the place or the journey
Varkala in January this year. The place helped me to de stress.

Dec 15: quote [GROW]: What inspirational quote would you associate with this past year for you?
Defeat is not when you fall down, it’s when you refuse to get up

Dec 16: replicate [CREATE]: What were you inspired to create/make this year based on something else? (i.e. a pin from pinterest, recipe from a friend, etc.)
I cooked a lot , thanks to you tube ;)

Dec 17: thank [HOPE]: Write that thank you note that you’ve been meaning to send this year… or would like to send next year…
I don’t think I have one .

Dec18: soak [LISTEN]: What have you soaked in this year? (Baths, sun, ideas?) How did it affect your mentality?
I was soaked in laziness this entire year. It affected a lot of things which I wish to change this year.

Dec 19: exercise [LIVE]: How did you live actively in 2012? What will you change in 2013?
2012 saw a lazy, sluggish and fatter me. I was so preoccupied by things going around me that I completely ignored this area. It’s an improvement area for 2013. Wish to see a fitter me.

Dec 20: reminisce [GROW] What distant memory/time did you find yourself longing for in 2012?
I longed for the time when I was focused in life. I just let the things get out of control whether it was my health, weight or my career.

Weverb 12 - Dec1 -Dec 10

9 Months it is. I even had thoughts of removing my blog and something just stopped me every time. I think it was just written, the rebirth of this blog and see nine months it is ;). The credit goes to Wishes galore, whose one link gave me the reason to start it again. I just wish that this trend continues. Amen!

Dec 1: compose [CREATE]: Write a haiku for 2012
Frankly, I didn’t know what a haiku is! So i just googled for it and here is my Haiku for 2012:
Realization
Sluggishness
Struggle

Dec 2. watch [LIVE]: What movie did you see this year that you would recommend to a friend?
I watched Barfi just because a friend wanted to watch it but ended up liking it .I cried really hard throughout the movie and was crying till the time I reached home. I don’t know what made me cry so much. Songs were fantastic and overall a nice watch (keeping the crying thing apart)

Dec 3. Stay [LISTEN]: How did you stay in the moment this year?
Staying in the moment was one of my biggest realizations of this year. After almost going insane with the happenings of life, I decided to take it as it comes. I gave myself a good break from time to time by almost exhausting 27 leaves without going on a vacation or visiting home. I cooked a lot and stuffed my fridge with it, as there was no one to eat that. I shopped like a crazy, so much so that my cupboard overflew. I hogged like a pig and went on long walks alone. But one more thing that has helped me tremendously was “Grey’s Anatomy”. As soon as my mind will start wandering I would start watching it and it really helped.

Dec 4: experiment [GROW] what did you do in 2012 that you had never done before? Will you do it again?
This year I finally start driving a car. I learnt it last year but never drove here in Bangalore. But this year finally I started driving and all thanks goes to my drunken friends. One fine day when I was sober and rests all were high my friend gave me the keys to drive them back home. It was almost 12 in the night and roads were almost empty. So I took the chance and drove. After a few hits and miss I feel I can drive , need little more practice so planning to join a driving class soon .

5. fellowship [HOPE]: What community has engaged you most this year and what did it you get out of your participation?
My family has kept me busy this entire year. I learnt that being the eldest one comes with lot of responsibility and sacrifices.

6. Cook [LIVE]: What was your best recipe/dish of the year? Share it!
I think my best recipe this year was Pasta in white sauce. This recipe was shared by my manager who is an excellent cook:
Pasta ( I use Penne): 250 gms
Butter: 1 Tbs
White flour: 1 tbs
Milk: 2 cups
Cheese: 4 Amul cubes
Herbs: Parsley, basil, Oregano, thyme
Black pepper (coarse)
Salt
Boil the pasta in hot water till it become soft. While boiling, add a drop of oil and some salt to it so it doesn’t stick. In a pan add butter and white flour. Keep whisking to avoid any lumps. Add the milk to it and keep stirring it continuously .When the milk starts to boil add the grated cheese, herbs and black pepper. Keep stirring it for a while till it thickens a bit and then add salt as per taste.
The trick here is to keep the proportion of butter: Maida: Milk as 1:1:2. SO if you want a little bit more sauce you can put it as 2: 2: 4. Cheese is as per your taste. As for the herbs, I usually use mixed herbs and don’t buy it separately.
You can add smoked chicken or mushroom to it. I usually add mushroom which are pre boiled and then sautéed in olive oil to it. I serve it with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes.

7. enliven [GROW]: Was there a book or article that inspired you to make a change in your life this year? What was the source and what did you change?
This year was very stressful and hence I reread this book “How to stop worrying &start living”. I am having this book from last year and read it once. But whenever I feel a bit down I just pick it up and randomly start reading. I can say that I have developed a little control on stressful situation by that.

8. Respond [LISTEN]: Do you actively listen to your inner voice/conscience? Describe a time this year you heard and responded to it.
Yes, I do and I responded to it by making a decision about my life this February.

9. Triumph [CREATE]: How were you challenged by a project or goal this year? What did you learn from it?
This entire year was a challenge and I learned the best way to come out of a situation is by talking and listening

10. Lose [HOPE]: Did you have to say goodbye to a person, or even a cherished object, this year? Take a moment to celebrate the memory
I was about to. Thankfully I didn’t J

Tit - Bits !

Ahha March now and I am loving it  . With the start of March, the limelight from February has finally been taken off. Otherwise every day I would have been receiving mails or forwards for celebration of the day as hate/slap/rose/hugs/kiss / valentine/ friendship and what not days! But still I think that this month (March) has some scary quotient associated with it. Earlier during my childhood it used to be final exam time and now while working it’s time for appraisal and hikes results!

Finally, my patience for the release of “The girl with the dragon tattoo” wore off. In wait for the movie I read its novel, watched the Swedish version of movie and when it still declined to get released in India, I finally downloaded it : P. Thanks to Piracy!

That reminds me that I have stopped reading from a while and the reason is that I am studying nowadays ;). Yes I needed some competency building as well as a job change: P!

The rate at which all my near and dear ones from the office are leaving is making me scared. The office is suddenly becoming one empty space of only new faces to be seen. I think if I am going to stay for a while I would be the oldest one in my cubicle!

After a tiff with God for a while I am back at Almighty’s door. I don’t know what plans has he got in mind for me but still I want to keep faith in him. He is like this small light in a dark tunnel, which you know may not exactly help you in finding a path but surly going to boost yourself that some hope is there.

And , after not doing any kind of physical activity from last two months , I think I am going to join the gym from tomorrow. I don’t know for how long I am going to continue but I as usual I have given the money for this month so I think will be going there for a while at least ;).

Things still are a bit hard on my side and I don’t know for how long it’s going to continue. I have decided to belief and trust that God would be on my side this time. Wish blessing from all of you as well. Pray for me please. Amen!

Valentine It Is !

Valentine …. Love is in the air and surly if not in the air then at least everywhere around you. My first realization came when I went to a card shop to get a birthday card for my BFF. Such is the magic/ commercialization that this one day dominated the 60 % of the shelf space of the card shop! You cannot ignore this day for sure even how hard you want to do that. I went for shopping and there it was “50% off” on soft toys and everybody in front and behind me in the queue was holding one huge teddy or other! You can see couples holding hands, dancing together, smiling at each other, sharing single scoop of ice-cream, buying gifts and almost drowned in each other eye’s forgetting the looks they are getting from the elderly and not so happily singles! I just wish this love of them continues till at least next V-day if not lifetime! No, I am not against V day, It’s just that I think this real love lies much beyond this one day of commercializing love. I was going through this month’s Reader’s digest and they have an article on real time people and their love stories. I am sure every one of us would have heard/seen some love stories in real life. Some love stories which are fondly remembered and some which are not. I too know many of them but this one is special. So here it goes.

I met her at work and after few discussions on PM, teammates and coffees, we became friends. One day while having lunch she told me” Today was supposed to be my wedding”. I was surprised. She joined an IT firm after completing her education, a bubbly young girl from a small town of Karnataka. She met a guy there from a small town of Orissa. Both were very good friends when one fine day the guy proposed her. She denied, the reason was not just that they belong to two different parts of the country but that she didn’t want to embarrass her parents in front of the entire community. Her parents found a suitable alliance for her. He was supposedly a well-educated guy and more importantly the brother in law of her cousin sister. They had a huge engagement celebration.

The problems started after the engagement. This guy used to work in the same city as the girl and would meet the girl often. Just after few days of the engagement he started dominating the girl. He would have the say in all the things right from the food they are ordering in a restaurant to the color of dress she is going to wear. She ignored it for a while but then started the mental, emotional and physical abuse. She shared this with her cousin sister (who was married to this guy’s elder brother) and prompt came her reply that every guy behave like this before marriage and even her husband was like this but after marriage everything fall in place. She was heartbroken. The abuses increases as the time passed. Her friends from office (including the guy who proposed her) knew something was amiss and finally she shared it with this guy at office. He asked her to come out of this abusive relationship but she didn’t have the courage. She was so much depressed that she even decided to end her life and wrote a suicide letter. Luckily, her brother read the letter and took the matter to his parents. The girl’s parents were too afraid to break the engagement as it would have bought shame to the daughter and family .The guy from the office then came to meet the girl’s parents and asked them to break the engagement and that he is going to marry their daughter. “What if your parents won’t agree “asked the girls’ parents. The guy asked them to give him six months’ time and if in these six months his parents won’t agree, he will marry her. The parents then broke off the engagement. The office guy went home, talked to his parents about the girl and the reason of the girl’s broken engagement. The parents agreed and they just got married few days back! His is their first valentine after wedding and if you are going to ask them what gift they received on this V-Day , their answer is “ Each Other “. Wishing my friends “A & A” a very happy married life! And the reason this one is special is because right now I am going for a party thrown by my teammates for them !

My 100th post ! Wishes Galore!!!

Wishes galore thanks for reminding me that it’s going to be my 100Th post else, i would have forgotten it like my blog's numerous birthdays. But how can I forget that I met Wishes galore through blogging after almost like a decade. So I am dedicating this 100th post of mine to Wishesgalore :)

Me and Wishes galore met when we in standard 6th! We both changed our school and took admission in this new school. We used to live in a small town and would generally walk up to the school. I along with my friend A and S would meet wishes galore on the way. Our class had only a few girls and we become friends instantly. How can i forget the walk we used to take to the school together and then again back to the home? We used to talk and talk about anything , would buy some toffees or some churan or other eatables, would find out alternate shortcuts , would gossip about other students or just talk about a new song or a movie. We would share tiffins with the rest of the girls, participated together for many cultural dance competitions in school and made “awesome khatai” during winters and enjoyed it on the school rooftops. Although it was the most carefree time of our life but still,we guys worried about our exams and marks .We both were actually very competitive: P. We were together for three years and then in std 9th I moved to a new city but we kept in touch through mails(not emails;)) for some time. We were in touch with each other till out std. 12th and after that somehow we both lost touch. She moved to a different city for education and her parents also shifted. My aunt used to work with her mother and somehow we both kept on getting news about each other. Still we never had cellphone in that time and frequently we lost contact.

Years later, I started blogging and while blog hopping one day I read this post on a blog by wishes galore. Wishesgalore has written the post about her friend D (who was our common friend in school) and mentioned places and people(though just by initials) whom I know. Still I was not sure if it’s my friend as she has not mentioned her real name in the blog. I decided to take a chance and dropped a mail to the email ID mentioned in the blog. I received the reply next day and I was right! She was indeed my long lost friend from school! It was indeed a serendipity ! I never thought if you can meet someone like that. I would have blog hopped a number of blogs that day before landing on wishes galore’s blog and it was a chance in itself that out of so many posts written by her , I read that particular post!. Today we keep in touch through mails , facebook and calls but I still cannot forget the way we met . I think it was destined!

10 Commandments for a Good Life

I am still in Self help mode and this website(http://www.marcandangel.com)shared by a friend is a savior in this tough time. There are lot of things which i really really want to post from this site . This is just one of those ;) :

I. I am not perfect and I will not try to be.
ll. I cannot, and will not try, to please everyone.
III. I will take part in something I believe in.
IV. I will prioritize my obligations and do important things first.
V. I will choose my friends wisely.
VI. I will help others when I am able.
VII. I will focus on the positive.
VIII. I can only be me.
IX. I will be here now.
X. Life never gets any better, only my perception of it does.

You can find the complete article over here.There are a lot of gem articles in this site worth reading . Hope you will enjoy :P

Disclaimer: The article has been taken from www.marcandangel.com.

Resolutions.... Mind It

Last year ended well by a nice Christmas and New Year celebrations. Though it cannot be termed as celebrations but it became one with me being in the company of my best girl gang. Went to my one of my favourite restaurant for lunch on Christmas and had turkey and wine just to maintain the tradition of Christmas ;). New Year was spent in Kerala again and i travelled to Kovalam and Varkala . I think with this trip i have almost covered most of Kerala. That trip deserves a long travelogue: P.

I just finished reading “The girl with the dragon tattoo” and that makes it my first book of the year 2012! Just got another book from flipkart and will disclose the name only when i start reading it ;). I am happy that at least till now i am actually following what i have thought of and MIND IT it’s not called resolutions ;). I think resolutions have a jinx associated with it, as soon as you tag a certain thing as resolution then for sure you are going to leave it midway :P . For this year i have just decided to TRY on few things and make some short terms goals. Reading books is just one of them. Coming back to my “TRY” list, i will try to read more books and try to be more regular at this space. My short term goal for the time being is to be focus on my fitness and to seriously think about my career. Apart from that i have few travel plans too, let’s see what happens to them :) . I just wish that i am able to accomplish some of them ;). Amen...

Be Happy !

Welcome 2012!

This year I decided for no resolution and the simple reason being this ;)



I was browsing and found this beautiful pic online. I decided to implement at least few of these things this year!

Have a Sense of wonder, Yes, I had more than enough sense of wonder last year: P. This year if any wonder I want to sense, it should better be on a happier side.
Stay Inspired, This year I have to stay inspired for things I couldn’t achieve last year: P. Losing weight and changing job are just two of many.

Help others. This thing I am good at but I expect it in “vice versa “too ;)

Do things you are good at. I never knew that I can cook well, I just had this realization last year and I want this to keep going this year too.

Read books. This is one area where I have to seriously catch up. There is still a huge backlog of books in my shelf. I bought “The girl with the dragon tattoo “almost a year ago and didn’t bother to read it. But since the movie is releasing in India sometime in January, I have decided to finish it before watching the movie.

Limit Television. Yes, I have to really stop watching TV. Perhaps I can cut some time there and invest that time in sweating out at gym: P Amen ;)

Love your work. Here comes the most dreaded part. It’s been a long time in this company and my learning curve has dipped to the dangerous low. Worst, it’s not just my good friends has left the company, even my mentor and my role model has left. I think it’s a sign for a change and that would be my focus for the first half of this year.

Exercise. I think I don’t have any right to talk about it. Every start of the month my guilt for not losing weight reach to an all-time high resulting in making a surprise visit( for my gym instructor) to my gym and paying the month’s fee ,only to be regular for two days and then being invisible for the rest of the month  . I joined power yoga for a month and really liked it so planning to continue it from this year . Let’s see for how long I can do that: P

Face your fears. I read it somewhere that whenever you fear about something then just consider the worst situation that you can face because of that fear and how you can handle that. Once you accept the situation and its solution that fear will automatically leave. So I am going to implement this principle ;)

Believe in Yourself. Hmmm I have to.

Stay close to friend and family. Yes, I am. Though my family lives far north but I consider myself happy to be surrounded by the person who gives me the strength when I need them the most.

Let you heart be your guide: I think it’s better to take some decisions in life by head and not by heart. So this year let me use my mind also while making decisions ;)

Also, it was too long a hibernation and very late to wish you all a Very Happy New Year.

Wish Everybody a very happy and prosperous new year 2012 !