Chain of Thoughts...

Its amazing how one thought leads to another...

I was making a piece of jewelry yesterday for a friend P, and started thinking about her personality and all. I thought she used to be so quiet and almost formal earlier..much better now.

Me: Wonder if she talks more to others. Oh yeah, she talks to her colleague, J
change scene to cafeteria, where we are all having lunch

J: I used to live in LA earlier
P: How long were you there?
J: *mumble mumble*...I lived East of Hollywood

Back in my work room
Me: Hmm...Hollywood...I wonder if people think everyone in Hollywood is in the movies. As if everyone in Mumbai is related to Bollywood and movies. Nah.

Bollywood...why do all Miss India's become actresses? Being pretty doesn't necessarily mean they can act. Priyanka Chopra is ok though...

Priyanka Chopra...she was good in Fashion. Who was that other girl...with a shrieking  voice...Kangna

Kangna...bangle...why would anyone name their kid bangle? Well, if they can name them Payal, then why not Bangle. And if anklet and bracelet are ok, then why not name their kid "Angoothi"

Logically, this should have led to me thinking about making "Angoothi" since I was making jewelry at the time. But the chain stopped there because the name "Angoothi" sounds weirrrrrd.

So...from how shy a person is ... to ... would anyone name their child a "Finger Ring"

I like my mind, keeps me entertained ;-)

So...what was this new thing?

I think a lot of you know what my "new thing" was...

My handmade jewelry exhibition and sale :-)

This is something very very very special to me...in more ways than I can count!
But I'll try...

FINALLY found something that can hold my attention for more than a few weeks! I am truly amazed about this. I had tried soooooo many different ways of letting out my creativity...singing (I sang at a few public events), dancing (been the attention grabber of every dance floor I have ever been to), writing (...ahem....am doing that here), photography (I still like it...but not as motivated as I used to be), sketching, painting, etc (was fairly good at it, but decided it was not quite for me), fashion design (not sure where that bug went off to...I guess its still there somewhere on the back burner), crochet (too repetitive)...and I forget if there were more.

None of these, what I thought were my passions, survived for more than a few months. And then I accidentally stumbled upon making jewelry. That's a long story for another post...how all of this came about. The short story is that I gave myself a year to have something like a shop. And I did it in 9 months! Never thought I would have the patience, perseverence and whatever else is needed for this. I am still shocked, is this really me!?

Here's the first pair of earrings I ever made (and I think these are one of the prettiest ones too...bad pic though :(()

And here are pics of some of the pieces I had put up at my exhibitiion

First Handmade Jewelry Exhibition and Sale

I have always been a very very late riser....if I could have my way, I would get out of bed only when I am hungry ;-) And, I still can't believe this, I actually wake up at 6, and some times even at 5 to work on some of my projects. I dream of it, I stare at people's ears and necks, and... well, you get the picture. I have finally found my passion. I think :-)

One more reason...I can actually put into use all, or at least most of my other interests.
I have tried using crochet in a few of my pieces, and have plans for adding embroidery, painting and sewing in the mix. And of course, I now have a real reason to sharpen my photography skills, think about what settings I need to use to make the picture look as pretty as the piece of jewelry itself, learn about lighting, shutter speeds and what not. So its all good :-)

And finally, one BIG reason I am so thrilled about this is that the proceeds from all my sales will go to Project Why. I have always wanted to do more than just donate. Tried volunteering at one place here in the Bay area, didn't like the experience. Not brave enough to actually go and do the real work that needs to be done. But this seems like a middle way, I do something I enjoy, create something beautiful (yes, i think it is, and you better agree ;-), and also help out the little kids of PWhy. A win-win for all I think :-) Maybe the thought that there was actually a purpose to what I was doing was what kept me going. Don't know...whatever it is...its all good :-)

Ending with pictures of some of my favorite pieces (for those lazy ones who did not want to click on that link ;-))

Awright folks! Have a fantastic 2012 while I wonder where this "new thing" will go in this new year!

More about the "new" thing!

Tomorrow is D-Day!
Nervous and excited and all that :-)

About the previous post: New

Its happening...slowly...not yet surely, but am making progress slowly...
Will update more when I the "sure" part kicks in.
Wish me patience again, friends :-)

New

I started this post thinking..I need luck! And I remembered my post about it a few days back.
No, I don't need luck. I need hard-work, discipline, and my creativity. And some encouragement and good wishes from my dear ones will help too :-)

Dreaming new dreams...
Hoping new hopes...
And one small step at a time, I will do it :-)

I know I will!

(Just don't ask me what! You will know when its done :))

The Importance of Failure

I know, no one likes to fail. I sure don't.

But failure is inevitable. If you have always succeeded so far, then you are either very lucky, or never done anything interesting and challenging.

Today, I was in a class: Introduction to Android Programming. Was quite new for me, since I have never done any client side work, so I was very excited. We all had laptops which were supposed to be pre-loaded with the environment we needed for development. We started with our first exercise, everything worked well for 2 people, and failed miserably for the rest. The errors were new for the instructor too. We all collectively tried to figure out what it was, googled the error, re-installed everything, got a new version...lots of different things were explored before we finally figured it all out.

It was frustrating, but in the end I thought it was interesting and quite rewarding. We found out a lot about the different things that need to be configured, all the options available, etc. We would not have if things had worked smoothly the first time.

Learnt two things from this:
1) Failures are useful, they are a good learning experience
2) Helping others in trouble helps us too. The two people who had everything running smoothly could easily have taken a coffee break, or jumped on their facebooks. But they helped. And they learnt!

In this example, failure was eventually corrected, and we reached our goal. This does not always happen. Some failures are minor, you can laugh about it, others are not...failing major exams, failing to get a good job, failing in a relationship. These hurt. Bad. But they also teach a very important lesson. You question why they had to happen. What's the purpose of it all? There is a big purpose. Teaching us to move on. Teaching us to be tough, to be brave and confident.

What do we do when we have such big failures?
Pick up the pieces. Pick up the pieces and make something out of what is left. There will be a lot of hard knocks in life, lots more pieces to gather and move on. But these pieces put together will make a beautiful mosaic of a life well lived. A flawless, uncracked piece of glass is hardly as interesting, right?


Life is beautiful, live it well. Taking failures in stride and making the best out of them is the biggest success you will ever have!

Lucky!?

The next time someone says "you are so lucky you are so fit", I am going to scream!
Lucky, my foot! Especially when they KNOW the effort, discipline, self-control and hard work that went into it!

Yeah, I am lucky that I actually decided to get fit! And that I DID something about it after deciding!

@#&^!%@!

Going to distribute warm clothing...

This is a post by a friend of mine living in Delhi. Excellent idea, needs very little organizing, and anyone that has a will can do it:


Hi there, we are planning to distribute blankets to the needy on the streets of Delhi. the plan is to buy as many blankets as we can, get out in a car at night and distribute the blankets to people who are on the streets. We don't need actual numbers to get going... we just know that there are hundreds and thousands on the dying of the chill while most of us chill out on new year's eve...

Here is his original post ... Going to distribute warm clothing (blankets)

I can laugh about it now :-)

Last night, I got quite a scare. I was doing some office work in the bedroom, hubby was in another room working on his stuff.

Suddenly I heard some noises outside, someone moving the trashcan around, and then running across the yard. I wondered why the hubby was out that late at night, and what was he throwing in the yard waste bin. And why was he running, I have never seen him run since the last 8 years I have known him! Oh well, whatever, people do strange things as they get older ;-)
I got back to work.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rings. Ok, so did he lock himself out too? No, that can't be!
Its pretty late at night, and no one ever visits before calling. So what's this? Hubby opened the door and there was a cop asking if he had heard someone run into our yard. He said yeah, he did. Cop said they were chasing someone and they think he ran this way. Could he look into our yard? We were more than happy, thankful, in fact, that he came to look.

He looked, found no one. I told him which direction I heard him running. Nothing there either. I told him I heard him doing something with the trashcan, maybe he put something in there? He looked, it was empty (it was garbage pickup day yesterday, so it was clean). He left and I was still scared. I went back to work, and soon forgot about it.

Around midnight, I was still awake, and wondering what exactly he was doing with the trashcan. There's a gate on the side, and right after you come in, the trash can is in a corner on the right. So it was not in his way. Then I realized and burst out laughing, waking up the poor, snoring hubby :-)

He had jumped the gate. I did not hear the gate opening. It opens with a loud creak, so I would not have missed it. He jumped over the gate and on the trash can :-) If only the bin was open, the cops would have got their man ;-) What a scene that would have been! These bins are big, and not easy to get out of!
The rogue was quite civil though. He fell on the trash can, the trash can toppled over, and he put it upright before he started to run away again. (I know this, because I heard it, all the while thinking the hubby was doing something in the yard). So very considerate :-)

The other thing that struck me...the thief quite happily jumped the gate, and ran wild in my yard. But the cop had to ring the bell and ask for permission. The irony of it all!

Oh well. Am glad I can laugh about it now :-)

Bah!

Life is so frustrating sometimes!
Please don't ask what happened.

Who'da thunk!

कभी हमने नहीं सोचा था,
ऐसा दिन भी आएगा

I would never, ever, not even in my wildest dreams, had imagined that I would cook SO well!
So much, that I prefer my cooking to anyone else's cooking. And I mean anyone!
Why is this such a surprise?
Because growing up, I hated anything related to food. Eating as well!
When I was a child, I refused to eat.
As a teenager, the thought of having to learn cooking literally brought tears into my eyes. I used to burn food simply so that I would not be asked to do it again! I thought cooking was for boring people.
When asked to help in the kitchen, I would have a genuine question as to why me? There are so many others! 3 elder sisters, mom, maid, they're all there. Why me?


Even now my family refuses to believe I cook.

But then, miracles do happen :-) I am glad this one did!

कभी हमने नहीं सोचा था
ऐसा दिन भी आएगा
पानी में आग लगेगी
पत्थर भी पिघल जायेगा
देखो...........
हमसे अच्छा कौन है ;-)

Bahut Sundar Hai!

After a long long long time today, I thought of this aunty we kids used to called "बहुत सुन्दर है!"
It has almost been decades since I thought of her, and I want to put down my thoughts about her before her memory fades away again...

I grew up in a small town in Maharashtra where my Dad had a forgings plant. We were one of the affluent families in town. This aunty was married to the tailor uncle who had a contract with our company to stitch uniforms for the workers. They used to live nearby, and aunty would come to visit my mom quite often. I never gave much thought to her then...just someone coming to see mom, and I actually used to get irritated sometimes too, because she used to talk a LOT! But today, don't know why, tailor aunty floated into my mind, and I realized what an awesome woman she was!

She was the daughter of a rich Marwadi family. Uncle was Maharashtrian, a tailor who rented a room in their house. The two fell in love and decided to get married. The rich family rejected the poor tailor, she insisted on marrying him and her family broke off all relations with her. I am not sure which town they were from, but they moved from there and settled in the same town as us. Uncle was a very quiet guy (I think aunty more than made up for that ;-)), strikingly handsome, very polite and nice. They had two sons making up the small family of Shakuntala, Shahuraj, Praful and Praveen.

They had a small home, one room (which doubled up as living room, bedroom, dining room, everything) and a kitchen. At the time we got introduced, the house didn't even have a toilet. I used to visit them quite often. Two main reasons: They subscribed to a children's magazine called "Chandoba". (Marathi version of "Chandamama" in Hindi). I loved to read it, so I used to go there. Sometimes aunty would let me take it home if it was getting too late, other times I would finish it off right there. The other reason was something she used to cook. Can't remember what it was, but everytime I went, she would make it for me.

Whenever she visited us, she used to talk to Mom about this and that, would admire anything new in our house (and there was something new all the time) and keep saying "बहुत सुन्दर है" for just about everything. Us kids would be really amused, thinking why is she admiring things all the time, and that's how she earned her nickname. She was genuine about whatever she said though. She would tell mom about her sister, who was married into another rich Marwadi family, and was the only one who still spoke to her. She only had good things to say about her. She spoke about uncle, how hard he works, and how good he is to her. Only had good things to say about him. She spoke about her kids, again, only good things. Both boys did not do well in studies, but all she said was, I know they try hard. They do their best.

What I didn't realize then, and do now, is her attitude towards life. She gave up a luxurious life to be with her husband who will probably never be able to provide her with what she left behind. Her love and commitment to him was so strong that she never once uttered anything in the vein of "because of him, I had to ....". Her love for her kids was so strong, she completely supported them in any which way she could, instead of comparing them with others who did better than them. Now that kind of love..the kind uncle and aunty shared, I think, is what epics are made of :-)

She knew how to be grateful for what she had, focus on the positive, instead of dwelling on what could have been, or what is missing. She had a lot of self-respect, enough to consider herself equal to my mother, and come visit her, and be friends with her. I must give credit to my mother too here...for not being snobbish like most others in her position were. Tailor aunty would call my mom "aunty" and seek advice on things related to the home and raising kids. Aunty, how should I go about doing this, what about that, what do you think of this, and so on. She never put herself across as a victim. Always upbeat, always positive, always willing to learn.

We moved out of that town and lost touch with her. I moved out of the country, and completely forgot about her. If I was near her, I bet I would go to her for advice like she went to my mom. I want her attitude, her dedication and commitment. I want to be sunshiny like her!

I should ask Mom if she heard anything about her lately. I hope she is doing well.

You are awesome, Aunty, and आप बहुत सुन्दर हो!

PS: They did build a toilet in their house while we were still there. It was a joyous occasion in their house :)

Interesting thought?

“It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil.
If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men,
the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.” - Helen Keller

The first thought that I had when I read this...was, so true. Probably, simply because it was said by the great Helen Keller. But as I think about it some more, I do not agree. At all.


The devil does not really need any provocation. He is just evil at the core, and cannot really help it. If he was bored, he would wreak more havoc to get attention instead of leaving the peaceful folks peacefully and happily live their lives. So the good people HAVE to spend time fighting the devil. That their loved ones get neglected in the process, is just sad :(

Am thinking of Gandhi's family, saw the movie "Gandhi, My Father" some time back. I felt really sorry for his son. In trying to save the nation, his father completely neglected him. In all his failed and convoluted attempts at success, all I could see was this all-consuming urge to prove his worth to his father. Not to anyone else, only to his very own father. The bar that was set as a side-effect of the "greatness" of his father was probably too high for this mere mortal. I felt so sorry for him.


And look what this post started with, and where it ended. I need to reign in my thoughts :)

Loving this!

Maybe I will buy it...
 

Wanted!

Home?

Last Friday, I reached Pune, and said I am home.
Today, the Friday after that one, I am leaving for San Francisco, saying I am going home.

Where is home? Where the heart is, right? But where is your home when half your heart is in Pune and the other half in San Francisco?

Not sure why I decided to move to the US...I think because that's what everyone else was doing. To anyone who is considering moving just for the heck of it (like me), don't do it! It is very hard to leave when you see your mom sitting like a frail rag doll, who you can't hug tight to say bye...fearing that her recently sewn together chest might crack open again. And it is very hard to stay when you know your husband is all alone at home, waiting for that 5 minute phone call every day.

So if you don't have to do it, don't split your heart into two like this!

24+ hours with myself

Am on my way to India...for a quick one week visit. Going by myself, so have to spend 24+ hours with myself. Its going good so far!

Had heard a lot about Emirates, how good it is and all. Will say, meh, not too impressed (or maybe I am just spoiled, who knows!) They did send a limo to pick me up (errmmm, yeah, I am spoiled, I traveled business class, so its included), which was nice. But apart from that, it was just like any other airline. Meh..

Oh, and they didn't have ear-plugs in that nice pouch they give away. It seemed to have good stuff (bvlgari and all), but no ear-plugs. What's the point then :( I had a nice flat bed, but I couldn't sleep much. Too noisy :(

Oh, and the food was, at least to me, unpalatable. May be just my mood, who knows!? Been sick for the past..umm..2 weeks. Some strange cold I have gotten, refuses to go!

Oh, one interesting thing though...they allow us to use cell phones while flying. I didn't try it, but they said we could. Wondering what AT&T would charge me for that!
One thing I would like to know...if its free, why is it ok to start drinking at 2 in the afternoon? I went into the business class lounge after check-in, and they were giving out coupons for 2 free alcoholic beverages. EVERYBODY used them. Kind of disgusting, no? 2 pm? Seriously!? I considered giving mine away to whoever I would see first, but then figured why bother.

This is the first time ever I am going to India with such little luggage. One small bag, checked in! I felt so light and free, breezing throught security and everywhere else with just a purse, while others were trying to figure out which arm should carry what.

This is the first time ever in my life that I am traveling anywhere without a book! Any guesses as to what I did instead? Carried my crochet along! Am halfway through yet another scarf! :)

I watched movies, lots of them!

Kartik Calling Kartik first. I had heard mehh...reviews for the movie, but I quite liked it. Farhaan is awesome, and Deepika...is pretty. I wish she could act as well as she looked!

Then was Manzi - 1979 - Amitabh and Mausamil! It started off with the song
Rimjhim gire saawan
Sulag sulag jaaye mann
Bheege aaj is mausam mein
Lagi kaise yeh agan...

Now, I am assuming you have not watching this movie. So guess what the picturization of this song would be like?

Dashing Amitabh, mesmerizing Mausami in a very beautiful locale, doing some form of rain dance.

Right?

WRONG!

It was Amitabh, wearing a kurta-pyjama and black vest on top. Sitting on the floor. Playing a harmonium and singing at an indoor wedding.

Can't imagine that, can you? Well, that's how it was!

The movie was good though, and the song did repeat again, with the two walking along Marine Drive in pouring rain. Loved it!

Then..I tried watching Lovely Bones. Couldn't. I had read the book, but the movie seemed a little weird. So switched to "The Invention Of Lying". That was entertaining for a while, but not too long.

Then...I went to Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani! LOVED it! Loved the goofy dialogues! Especially the last one from Sajid Don...pakad ke rakhna, chhod na nahi, chakkar aa raha hai! Only thing is...it was past 1am, and all the other passengers were sleeping, so I could not laugh out loud (I was anyway freaking them out with my coughing, adding laughing to that would really set them on edge!). So I will watch it again, so I can LOL  :)

Am at Dubai airport now. Didn't eat much on the flight, and am starving now. Got a banana muffin, which also I am hating.

Need to go find some food that I can actually eat...tata

Keeping fear in your heart every day is like compounding interest on a debt you haven’t even borrowed yet...

Fear does nothing more than hold you back from the life that you deserve

 Copied this from someone's status on FB

Been so tired, lost and confused lately :(

Bye Bye

We're selling off car #1 tomorrow. Am sad.

I wanted to go for one last drive in the car. It is special to me, you see. I had noticed the car before I noticed the man. We met at work, you see. One day, I drove in to work, and saw this shiny blue car that I had never seen before. I saw it the next day, and the next. Hmm..some new person in the office then. Eventually I found out who it was, eventually we went on our first date in this very car. Eventually, we took quite a few road trips. Created quite a few memories...

This didn't last too long though. We got car #2, my Dhanno, and #1 was used infrequently. #3 arrived a couple weeks ago. She doesn't have a name yet.

Anyway, where was I...yes, I wanted to go for one last drive.
Had a crazy day today. Work starts at 0830am everyday. Got out of office at 5:50 to attend the Area Level contest for Toastmasters which started at 6:00 and went on till 9:00. I got home after 930pm and work started again at 10:30pm.

We managed to get out only after midnight. Brought back a lot of life lived in the last 7-8 years. Ups and downs, good stuff, bad stuff, fun stuff, sad stuff.

Bye bye, dear, will miss you. You were fun and we loved you a lot! Hope we are sending you to a good home!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2:50AM, work is still not done, oh well...such is life! Up and down, good and bad, fun and sad!

Mean boyzzz

The boyz are being mean to me :(

The hubby took the neighbour out for a ride in his new M3, and then the neighbour took the hubby out for a ride in his Corvette.

Mean boyzzz...not taking me along :(