Living the Dream

If anyone was to make a movie or paint a picture or write a book about wishes coming true, I'd be the poster girl for it. Totally!

For as long as I can remember, I've got what I've wished for - studying Engineering, working in IT industry, living independently, International travel, finding love. Of course they've all taken time and effort - in most cases unconscious effort; because ironically - I've never believed in wishes as much as I've believed in work.

Through all of this, there was this long held desire, which I used to put off as not just ambitious but also vain - of teaching. I'd mentioned it in a few earlier posts and talked about it to some friends in the kind of conversations you remember even years later. I must admit, the idea was probably planted by the movie - "To Sir, With Love". And that may also be why it seemed vain and fantastical at the time, because .. well.. Sidney Poitier! But what was not so (and the credit for this would go to a vast number of people in my life), was the notion of good education being the solution to a whole lot of maladies.

Last year, when a friend told me about "this organization" called Teach For India - TFI for short - www.teachforindia.org; (Yes. I have pretty cool friends!) it simultaneously served as a reminder of all those conversations and an invitation to put my words to action. It was like a mysterious Karmic confluence was bringing all the broken pieces together. And hey, who am I to refuse this crazy, cosmic force when it comes calling?

Ergo - TFI.

So here I am - 2016 Teaching Fellow at Teach For India, about to start my Fellowship in a little more than 2 weeks, and still trying to come to terms with my job description. Thanks to a short volunteering stint, I've seen the perfect trailer of the routine, the challenges that lie ahead and the opportunities that we'll have to bring about a positive change. I've realized that if I am lucky, a student will allow me a glimpse into her life - touching my own in the process.

My occupational hazards have changed from laptop glare to chalk dust and mind-numbing frustration to, quite possibly, heart-breaking despair. But I'm thankful for the chance and proud to have signed up for it!

I think that wish of getting lost and looking and finding something may be on its way home too. I say it's about time!

Love, luck and hope.

~K.

ps: I read this quote by Rumi today - "What you seek is seeking you." Um.. if that's indeed true, someone should probably prepare the kids for what's coming their way. ;-)

Until later,

~K.

Ice Ice Baby!

Having a bad day? Feel like blowing off your lid? Or maybe knocking someone down?

When anger strikes... Pop some ice into your mouth!

I swear it works like magic. Trust me. It did right now.
If only I'd known this earlier, I'd have saved myself some broken glasses, a nearly broken cell phone and some things that I'm not really proud of. Basically a whole lot of trouble.

I still don't say I've learnt the art of Anger Management. It remains to be one of the ever elusive things in my life. (Another being perfect abs!). But I do think that I've got the key to delay the impulsive explosions that I've been having in the past. Hallelujah!

Life... is kinda nice. :)

~K.

psst - Jag... Bhai you're the best! Ab kuchh instant abs ke liye bhi bata de... :D

Fridays!!!

One of the most beautiful sounds in the English vocabulary... Comes second only to Free Food and of course Free Drinks!!!

Here in Seattle, the only thing I dislike about Fridays is that we are the last time zone in the world to reach Friday evening. We lag behind every other place in the world. Right now it's around Friday, 4:30 pm PST... Some of my friends in EST have already got out of office and are driving down to someplace fun! My friends in India might already have had their Friday night parties, and would probably be enjoying the aftermath of those... or maybe sleeping blissfully, dreaming about it. And me, well... I am still in office.. anticipating the party tonight!!

This friend of mine (also in PST) says the good thing about this time zone is that while people would be nursing their hangovers, we will still be getting drunk! Ahhh... now THAT is a thought to raise a toast to!

All ye people in the leading time zones, enjoy your weekend. While you guys start your work next Monday or maybe gear up for it, I'll still be having mine!

On that note, Cheers!!

~K.

Learning to Fly...

One of the 5 things I wanted to do if I had the money was taking flying lessons.. Oh well, I did get some lessons last weekend.. even though this wasn't what I had in mind.
Let me share some of these here.

Let me set things straight - the scope of this article is NOT to get into the reasons that actually caused these learnings to come by. This is just to serve as a reminder of my ... ahem... let me call it.. a momentary lapse of reason. Just to ensure that I don't get into such a situation again.

Anyway, here goes... Things to remember when taking a flight to anywhere -

1. Check the flight timing - Let me rephrase that a little - Don't just check the time... also whether it's AM or PM. You don't want to reach too early or too late. Both are equally bad. (Been there done that)
2. Plan your travel to the airport - Depending on the typical traffic situation of the route you are going to take, include a 30 minute to 1 hour buffer in your travel time to the airport. It's okay to reach an hour earlier and wait at the airport than to reach in the nick of time, miss your flight and wait a lot more than just an hour for the next flight.
3. Do a Web / Tele Check-In whenever possible - If you don't have any check in luggage, a web or a tele check in can make a world of difference. You get to skip the line to get the boarding pass and head straight to the security check line; where you can also, incidentally, ask to be accommodated earlier if you are too close to your flight's departure time.
4. Travel light - It's best if you can do without any piece of baggage to be checked in. If so, your Web/Tele Check in can do wonders for you.
5. Check your options (just in case) - If you still do manage to miss your flight (I wouldn't be the one blaming you), be sure to check all your options. The list may include buying a new ticket, getting yourself rebooked or even cancelling your ticket. Be informed with all options and the time and cost impact of each. Make sure you count your money and make the right decision. I was thankful for the salary getting credited on time before finding myself stranded at the airport. Next time I may not be that lucky.
6. Count your blessings - That, I think, is the most important and should underline all the troubled situations you land in (even those involving a broken ipod ;-)). Blessings could mean having money in the account. It could mean having friends you can call at 11 in the night, 2 in the night, 6 in the morning and so on (Remember 24 hour friendship?). It could mean having a nice book to read while spending your time in an airport terminal. It could also mean finally being able to reach your destinations instead of never being able to travel. There are a million things that are still right with the world even if a couple of them are not. Remember to be thankful for those. I still am. :-)

Hmmm.. that's the list for now. Something tells me I should take a print of this and hang it somewhere near me so that I always know things to do and those not to do. And given the number of times I keep traveling to places, something like this is one of the best gifts I can give to myself!!

That felt good. I hope I have better, safer and more punctual journeys from now on.... Bon Voyage!

~K.

Happiness is....

I don't know if anyone can ever really define that... But here's to the innumerable small things that make us happy throughout the day... We may notice them... or not... but well... if you find yourself smiling reading even one of these, you know what I mean...

• Looking at the beautiful weather and spending your time imagining yourself enjoying the outdoors instead of working...
• Having furtive conversations in the office with your friends while everybody else is working...
• Suppressing your smile / laughter in above conversations...
• The traffic signal turning green from red just as you approach it...
• No queue in the bank...
• The store you are in playing a song that you love...
• Singing in the bathroom...
  
• Finding a mail waiting for you when you reach home...
• Getting a surprise...
• Giving a surprise...
• Finding the right snacks in the vending machine...
• No crowd at the gym...
• Having a good workout...
• The TV at the gym is playing a movie / serial you love...
• A nice shower after a good workout...
• The temperature of the water is "just right"... :-)
• Journeys with people you like... (Road trips... bus journeys... flights... walks... just about anything.. )
• Smiling at a kid and the kid smiles back...
• Spending time with your friends doing nothing...
• Laughing your guts out with friends...
• Having a good cry with your friend...
• Stealing books / music / movies from friends and not giving them back...
• Getting back books / music / movies that you lent to friends... ;-)
• Sitting at the restaurant talking with friends even after the bill has been paid...
• Sending messages at midnight and getting a call back...
• Getting messages at midnight and giving a call back...
• Knowing that a friend you haven't spoken to in a long time is doing well...
• Getting a call or a mail from that friend...
• Silly "Girl Talk" with your room mate... (I don't know if boys do that too... and well... it doesn't really matter anyway)
  
• Suddenly getting the words of a song you've been trying to remember for a long time...
• A good coffee... (I am incorrigible when it comes to this!!!)
• Catching yourself smiling for no reason at all...
• Dancing.
• Flowers.
  
• Hugs.
  

And well.. a lot many more... I need to get out of office to enjoy a couple of these small things... else maybe I'd have written some more...

Anyway... if by now you do know what I mean, lemme know some of yours too...

Keep smiling!! :-)

~K.

Honey I.. er... shrunk the world???

I don't know who did... but someone did for sure...

A group of my very close friends had a reunion in NY.. ( a reunion without me???? Damn! !*&&?*%$$#%#!*) And they had a lot of fun... which goes without saying.. lotsa friends together... after a long time... one of them married... so his spouse needs to be initiated to what all the group has been up to... and that too in NY!!!
And they were kind enough to upload the snaps and send them to the lesser mortals... While flipping through the snaps I suddenly found a face which seemed familiar... and it turns out that a guy I'd met during college days in one of the college fests is the friend of the married couple... wow!!!
Wow point number 2... I see a pic of this lady who is again familiar... A quick visit to some of the sites I keep frequenting reveals that she is a girl whose blogs I've been reading a lot... and getting some inspirations from... (Amrita's musings) is a grad school friend of one of my friends again....
Whew!!! It gets tiring virtually running into friends...

And I say to myself... Is the world becoming too small or are there too few people in it???

I hope I am present in the next such reunion... wherever in the world it happens...
Amen!!!


~K.

4 guys, a girl and a minivan

No, it’s not the name of any new sitcom. Nor is it a crime report. Unless of course you consider having lots of fun criminal.
Ok, back to the story. 4 guys, a girl drove to Pittsburgh in a minivan. The travelers – Mehul, Sandeep, Shashi, Anil and I. We’d intended to start obscenely early... at 4 in the morning. Thankfully, we got late. Hallelujah!! After me preparing some sandwiches for the way while the ‘men folk’ were still getting ready, we finally left at 6.
The drive was, to say the least, awesome. We started on a great note. Mehul kept getting constant reminders to slow down. Then we got a little lost in Ohio. ;) But thanks to the great navigation skills of Anil, we got back on track in a jiffy. Throughout the drive, it was music, leg pulling and a LOT of laughter!!! Even though it was raining ever since we reached Cleveland, we managed not to let our spirits get dampened. Between the fights over what music should be played, finally switching cd’s, changing seats, some snaps and of course the stops at the service plazas, the mood stayed bright and sunny inside the dodge even though it was anything but outside.
Finally, we reached Pittsburgh at around 11.30 in the morning. The view of the downtown was stunning. It was then that I shot my first curse at the rain. We headed straight to the Sri Venkateswara Temple. And I must say I felt humbled after a really long time. Now I don’t know if it was because of the nostalgia attack that I got there or anything else. Let’s leave that as one of the unexplained phenomena that life hurls at you every once awhile.
Out of the temple and it was still raining. I suppose none of us bothered to pray for the rain to stop. Lesson learnt – be practical while praying. You never know when your prayers get answered. And another lesson – be careful of what you wish for. For all you know, it might come true and in a much larger scale. For explanations on this, contact Shashi. :D
Again, (no) thanks to the rain, we couldn’t stop at downtown. After a little mix up on our way out, we again got back on track. By now, we had gotten used to mix ups and straight ups. Experience teaches you everything. This time, even the music scene was a lot more peaceful. Reason one – the junta had grown accustomed to whatever music would be played. I guess it didn’t make that much of a difference. And reason two - the controls were in the hands of yours truly. Reason three – the driver was Sandeep. Between the two of us, we managed to play the discs that suited our interests. Talk about monopolies.

Return journey was just as rainy as the ongoing one. More, rather. Nevertheless, the inside atmosphere still remained as charged up as it was in the ongoing journey. The cartoon network road show was still playing a ‘Best Of’ series.
I guess the pattern had been established. Because on our way back we again got lost at the same place where we’d lost ourselves on our way to Pittsburgh. But then, before Mehul starts abusing me and accusing me of defamation, let me add a minor detail. Some exits on the freeway were closed, and we had to take detours. I wonder how I forgot to mention this small point the previous time. Oops! My apologies. ;)

All in all, 4 guys, a girl and a minivan had awesome fun. Came back dry, tired and still charged. A day well spent. Next trip on the cards – anywhere. When – anytime. Only improvisation required – a little more sun. Will pray for that before we start our next journey. Mr. God, you listening?

~K.

Home... Suite Home

Life in fast lane??? Hmmm ... well.. true... at least in the day time... night time is more like 'Life in the Last lane'... and what a lane... whooo boy!! Slowpoke!!!

Today I was lucky enough to get out of office at 6... a feat I was never able to manage in Chennai... And considering that the weather was kinda nice all day today, it seemed such a blessing... Ah well... I kinda counted my eggs pretty soon... should have at least waited until i reached home... er the suite rather...

Once you are back from office there's not much that you can do... without a car that is... which is what I am currently... It feels nothing less than a house arrest... again... suite arrest.... and there's NOTHING sweet about it... bahhh !!! Am I cribbing??? Well no.. not really... coz I have friends who are gifted with a car (read SSN) and a credit card (read SSN)... and are also gifted with a couple of have not friends like me who dont have a ... yeah yeah... you got it... getting smart or what....

So now I'm just coming back from the community center... after a game of pool... and guess what... I managed to pot in some 8 or 9 balls in just 4 games!!!! Am I a pool shark or what... ;) And that was followed by a game of table tennis as well... Now I dont want to show off my sporting abilities... but I'm atleast a good sport... and I guess that's all I will say....

Am back in home.. suite home... trying to figure out what to do with my time until I fall asleep. I can read... but I'll start crying coz I'll be missing my glasses so badly... I can watch TV... but somehow.. after 2 years of CAS infested Chennai, the idiot box doesnt interest me much... I guess I HAVE become smarter... or so I'd like to believe... Hence I turn to what I like doing.. writing... typing in this case... Thank God for broadband.. and the company for the laptop... ;)
I guess I could try and cook something up... something edible I mean ... but nahhhh... too lazy... So a glass of milk will have to do... I'm making up in advance for the days ahead that I will spend gorging on all sorts of awesome food.... If gluttony IS a sin, let me atone for it now itself...
All you who have the privilege of getting good food on your tables and into your mouths right down to your stomachs... stay reeeeeeeeeeally really away from me.... because just in case gluttony is not.. i know violence is most definitely a sin.... But anyhow, I shall avenge myself at lunch tomorrow...

That's all for now.
Hungrily, sleepily, lazily and bloggily yours...

~K.
(in local parlance... Khalley)