Happy House Hunting!

Oh God! I am back at it again L . It has been just 9 months since I have shifted to my current house and I have to start with the entire process of house hunting all over again. Looking through classifieds, online portal and making irritating phone calls to brokers have started and finally my house hunting marathon will start by this weekend. But this is just the starting of a tedious journey and by the time you will finalize the house you would be physically, mentally and financially exhausted. Finding the house in Bangalore is a nightmare and being two times experienced I would be happy to share some details with you:

The big Catch oops classified: In my earlier two instances of house hunting through classifieds / sulekha /99 acres, I have never found a single house for rent which was from the owner and not from the broker. If you really don’t want to pay brokerage, then the best way is to ask your friends in different IT companies to search for a house for rent in their respective bulletin board.

Good Samaritan aka Brokers: There are few things which you should know before going for a broker:

The very first question they will ask you is about your budget so never overprice it, as they will show you the worst of the house in highest of the money

The second question which will come promptly is about your marital status bachelors or family sir??

If you are living in Bangalore , of course you would be in IT and by default you have enough money to pay good rent and of course brokerage!

No house is too far for them and if you say how far inside they will go in the road be ready to hear “Just”

No house is bad for them even if it’s without windows or doors “it’s for your safety siirrrr”

He will ask you to become a vegetarian for the apartment, of course, not for real but just in front of the owner.

Inquisitive Owners: Yes, it’s true that it is “THEIR” house so you should be ready to deal with the possessiveness which comes along with it. “No extra electronic appliances, no nails on the wall, no loud music/party, not coming late” are some of the few. The most common one is “are you a vegetarian?” don’t expect “Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend” to be too personal: P.

I remember an incident whereby I went to a house and as I was about to step inside, the landlord shrieked “madam, how can you step inside with your shoes on?”. I apologized and removed my shoes immediately, but he didn’t stop “You should not forget that you are an Indian, you should not follow this western tradition blindly especially when you are women.” I apologized again but he still he continued and by the time he finished, I was sure that I am not taking this house. There was another landlord who quoted exorbitant figure for the house reasoning that the house is very lucky since the last tenant got two promotions in one single year: P.

Many owners have inhibitions regarding your relatives and friends visiting the place so it’s always better to clear this before taking the house. Also, do remember to ask for the electricity and water bill whether it’s individual or combined. I have a big time in getting terms of water bill of 1800/month for two families: P

Love thy neighbors : It’s very important to have good relations with your neighbors. I know it’s difficult if they peep through their windows every time to check who is visiting your house or put the entire blame of high electricity bill on you even though they are using all the family appliances like washing machine , oven etc. if you can’t love them then maintain good distance , remember good fences make good neighbors!

So , wish me all the best again!!

Shopping with guys:Few things to remember

The DNA composition of guys just doesn’t support the element called “shopping”. So if by any chance you have ever gone on a shopping spree with a guy, you can easily tell how lazy they are about it.
The entire shopping process clearly shows the Mars and Venus difference right from the point of “what to shop for”. While we, the Venus species would be drooling over all the clothes and accessories outlets, the only outlet that would interest the mars species is gizmos. So, no surprise that while your cupboard is full of your shopping testimonials they may not be using cupboards at all or while you would be going outside with a (or may be more) huge suitcase with one dress for every occasion they would be just taking one bag pack(as small as your handbag) with them .
Difference Two: They won’t search an entire Mall or shopping street just for a best deal. So forget it if you are shopping with a guy and still wish to “window shop” all shops, probability is that his face will drop with every “one last shop” you visit and by the time you are through with your entire window shopping, you may not even find him by your side. They are one shop one stop people. So don’t be surprised if their one shirt cost more than your three dresses.
Difference Three: Bargaining is a big NO-NO; don’t even dare to bargain in front of them. Chances of his supporting the salesperson are more than supporting you.
Difference Four: Don’t ask for their opinion (esp. after u have window-shopped and tried lot of things and still not purchased anything), it would be highly biased towards pulling you out of that outlet if not a big outburst of their suppressed emotions.
Difference Five: They share the same passion for the word “SALE” only difference being that the feelings for the same are pole apart, you may be hooked to it but they just loathe it.

I have never shopped with guys except for some rare occasions, recent being when I have to leave for home and badly needed a trolley bag , I asked one of my friend to accompany me for the same , He agreed and we went to just two outlet( I still believe it’s too small a number for me). In the first outlet I liked one (which was just a single piece) but my friend didn’t agreed for the color while we were discussing the same one person took it off adding much to my chagrin. So I asked my friend that I will decide the next outlet which ( much to his disappointment ) was a hyper mart with a sale going on its luggage section( can’t help it ;) ) . My friend took a deep breath before entering and said “10 minutes and we would be out “. I picked the bag after “I hate coming here”,” I feel suffocated here”, “why don’t they just bill faster”, and “How much grocery do these people buy”. So I reminded him that he is also going to be one of those people after some years to which he just gave me the “I will kill you” look and we went out.

Second, recent occasion being when I visited Delhi, me and one of my friends decided to meet up at CP so after some chat and few coffees we were just strolling around the place when I saw Jan path. He asked me to shop anywhere except this place since he had sworn that he won’t visit this place again. After much persuasion and “why don’t you girls just shop at all these big glass structure “he agreed, we went inside and he start chatting on his phone (he need distraction he said). Following conversation followed:
Me: How much for this bhaiyya (ok this is common addressal for whomsoever u don’t know and yeah exceptions are always there;) )
Salesman: 400 bucks
Me : 180
Friend: Are you crazy ??? its less then even half!
Salesman: no madam
Me :Ok ( and I dropped the piece)
Salesman: Ok madam 220 final
Me: Nop just 180
Friend: Common buy it he has come down to 220
Salesman: Ok 210
Me:ok 200 Final
I got the stuff and my friend again swore that day that he won't visit the place again atleast not with a girl.

Things You should know before hiring a autorickshaw

My profound hatred for ricks started when one of the autowallah snatched my bag and ran away(i lost my 1 week old phone , cards and almost evry valuable:( ) , but watever is written over here is not related to that burglar , If you are a regular commuter of this Black and Yellow thing then am sure that you would be fully aware of all of these facts which are deeply rooted in an Autowallah's DNA.

1. They never have change, so forget 1 Rs. if you are paying 15 bucks for a minimum because if u gonna ask he will surly say " What Madam , its just 1 rs." ( Ya , nd i have jst started a piggy bank so m gonna put it there... so return my hard earned moneyyyyyyyyyyyyyy )

2. Special request for charging extra will only be made after you have made yourself comfortable on the seat because they know that ur probability of getting out and looking for another rick is very low when you are comfortably settled :(

3. If by any chance he asks you " You know the route Madam?" then its sure that u are on a wrong auto.

4. Don't try to show your expertise in local language if you don't know it and have just picked a few words ( Left tagoli, ille munde nilsi etc) because then in that language only he will tell you that he is going to charge extra( which obviously u won't understand) and den wen u will reach your destination you won't be left even in position to say " illa" (see... he has already told u dat he is gonna charge extra!!)

5. Don't ever think of taking a auto when its raining or else be prepared to pay extra( it can be 3 times the original fare also!!!) reason being " Its raining Madam" (Ya, and i will better get drencehd and take a 2 Rs crocin rather then giving it to u @#$%%#)

6. Be prepared to pay extra if u are comming out of a mall/multiplex, so what if u have just burned a hole in your pocket , they are just asking some 50 bucks more Madam and don't say no else they will make u more guilty of ur spending spree( " you can spend so much in a mall Madam but u can't spend sum extra bucks here")

7. Don't be surprised( and put aside all the theories that u have learnt in physics about Laws of Motion) if u find that meter is actually running when u r stuck in a jam , reason being " its waiting charges Madam" ( o.k m used to pay extra by now but plzzzz sumbody tell me how this meter runs wen the auto is actually stopped???)

8. Its alwez better that u take a digital meter auto , otherwise u will realise that the meter is running even faster then ur heartbeat and u will surly get a heartache( if not heartattack) once u have to pay the fare and plz plz plz don't dare to say that his meter is faulty or tampered otherwise he will give you the look that e1 if you have survived heartattck till now , you are surly gonna get one!!!!