Did you know? -- V

 Yesterday, while playing a rhyme for lil Kuku, I was quite surprised to note that the rhyme and an old Hindi song had the same beginning. The rhyme was 'Three blind mice' and the song was 'Haai re Haai Neendh nahi aaye'. The song has been composed by music duo 'Lakshmikant Pyarelal' and it has been sung by Rafi and Lata for the film Humjoli. Shocker! Did you know this?

10 Common Misconceptions about Working From Home and the Truth - IV

Working from Home is not a new concept. When it was introduced, and you casually stated that you were working from home - the response varied from - "You lucky DOG, you...", raised eyebrows, "WHAAAT?", "Are you pregnant?" followed by a pointed glance at your tummy. Yes, those were the days when to ask for WFH - you had to be pregnant or suffering from an illness. It was generally frowned upon. It was fodder for office gossip mills and served as an ice-breaker when you have no idea what to say to your grouchy mentor.

Some companies and some managers are quite open and do not have issues with WFH as long as the option is used but not abused. Some managers have an issue with WFH. Some companies do not believe in WFH. Irrespective of company or manager policy, the following misconceptions still exist when you say you are working from home:

• You are probably outside having fun with friends partying and not really working
• You are at home, watching TV and not really working - and its variations
• You are incommunicado because you are working from home
• You do not want to be part of the team
• You work fewer hours by logging in late and logging off early
• Your life is so easy
• You love WFH so much that you will not be able to resume working from Office -like ever
• You must be saving a helluva lot of money by cutting out commute costs and child care
• You have so much freedom
• You do not have dress smartly

Well, honestly, I wish that was the truth. Except for the third bullet, I wish WFH had so many perks. The truth, as we all know, is quite different.

While not hurrying to catch the office cab or bus, or driving in the insane traffic gives you an opportunity to sit back and put your feet up, work-wise nothing changes. You still have the same  deadlines. You are probably working fewer regular hours but longer hours to meet your deadlines. You have to fight off distractions that can drive you crazy. And no, its not a given that you are saving loads of money, if at all. Your life is NOT easy. PERIOD. And while you probably are working in some outfit that you will refuse to be caught dead in - it  does not mean you never ever have to dress smartly. And Freedom from what? If you did not have the freedom in office environment, you are not going to get the freedom at home. And seriously, do folks who work out of office reach a point where they never ever want to work from office? I guess that would be more true of work rather than the location.

While googling this topic, I found that my write-up was no pure genius on my part and lots of folks have various opinions about it. I specially liked the article which deals with the yahoo memo and the slideshow discussing the misconceptions and the truth:

http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2013/23831/eight-misconceptions-about-working-from-home-illustrated-slide-show

Read it when you have the time and share your views on the new oldest trend in town :) And yes, I had my revenge - a long post :P

Items I would never leave home without -- III

From the time lil Kuku entered our lives, my backpack has all but disappeared from my life. Whether I am visiting relatives or having dinner at a restaurant or traveling out of town, I carry the following essentials in the baby bag:

• Diapers (Min: 3 to handle multiple emergencies)
• Wet wipes
• Change of outfits (1 onesie, 1 t-shirt and shorts combo, additional shorts) 
• Face napkins (3+ for wiping drool, food, nose and a few to spare)
• Socks (2 pairs)
• Wrap (1: You never know when it suddenly turns cold)
• Water (His sippy mug filled)
• Food (cutlery and extras in case of accidents)
• Plastic sheet (Also known as the Rubber sheet)
• General Wiping cloth (Old Dhothi cut into strips)
• Hand Sanitizer

Of course, another bag filled with his current favorite toys and a few old ones. They do not fit in his baby bag :(

II Blog Post of the Year -- and a Resolution

Woke up today morning feeling very guilty. For once, the guilt was not 'bout lil kuku-what I may have missed doing or what I did wrong etc. but actually 'bout my blog. It has been ages since this blog even featured in my thoughts - awake or otherwise. That fact was quite disconcerting and added to my guilt. So, my new  resolution is to write a post every single day, this October. Of course, I realized belatedly that I have already missed 1st October. Well, a person has gotta start when a person has got to start.

A friend of mine did this for a whole year - 1 post everyday. I am sure I can manage 1 post every day for one month. (I hope!) Firstly, these daily posts will be smaller and unlike my other posts (Stop it! I can hear the audible sigh of relief - How dare?!! I will resume writing those loong posts now :P) And secondly, I will need all your comments to get me going so do not hesitate to drop me a line on my various posts.

All the Best to me!! Oh ya, Happy Gandhi Jayanthi to all. Bye now! Talk to you tomorrow.

First Post of 2014 -- all 'bout lil kuku

Slowest start to the New Year in terms of blogging... but its a start. Lil kuku is now ~ 5.5 months and allows me some breathing space.. not much but a little. I have started working - from home. While he is angry that I spend more time with the box (my laptop), he ensures that he gets my attention by wailing :)

Time sure flies.. he was a tiny tot that cried all the time and now he is a slightly bigger tot who observes things and wants to put everything in his mouth. If he does not get anything to put into his mouth, he will chew on his fingers till they are full of drool. And then, he will want to reach for my  hand or dress. His dad and uncle shy away from his affections during this time. His grandpa and self  accept the inevitable. If its not his drool-filled fingers, it will be his spit-up, or his loo and I think drool is definitely better than the rest :D All the above are followed by his stock-in-trade gummy smile that the anger within you melts away. (Not at all times, though)

He gets frightened by the noise that the pressure cooker or mixer make. Ironically, his piercing wails  are louder and more shrill than the sound that either the cooker or mixer make :)

I have not stepped out much and yesterday was baby and mommy's day out - we visited the mall where kuku stared at all the people, the lights, the colors, the noise and everything. It was fun.

First post of 2014 -- Yeah!!

5 Statements U do not mention in front of a new momma

There are a number of things that can make a new momma smile. There are more number of things that can make the new momma cry or get really angry. Here are some gems that must not be uttered in front of a new momma. Note: These are not added based on personal experience ;)

• Why does the baby have a weird-shaped head/ alien-like head? (Fact: Most babies born naturally do not have well-rounded heads that you see in advertisements. )
• When are you due? (Unless you know for sure that the lady in question has not yet delivered, do not ask this.)
• Have you fed the baby? Why is the baby crying? (A new momma spends almost all her waking hours feeding the baby and she is likely to lose it when everyone she meets ask the same question. Fact: Babies cry for a number of reasons)
• Whoa. How many kilos did you put on? (Fact: Most new momma(s) will not look like Lara Dutta and will take a while to get back to their pre-pregnancy weight. Any reminders are actually not welcome)
• X's baby is so cute. (This kinda implies that this baby is not cute which is kinda rude.)

Feel free to share the statements that bugged you or even the ones you uttered making another new momma cry.

Thanks Dew, for your comment on the statements that bugged you :)

• Why are you looking so tired??[ All new moms dont look like they just got ready for a party. Most, for example people like me, never manage sleep time at all...Meaning even a wink of sleep during the night]
• Why is your baby crying all the time??[ Well, tell me why if you know for sure ]
• Are you pregnant? [ At the airport when I was holding an infant and still trying to lose some weight, the airline staff asked me!!!]
• Whatever happened to your long thick and beautiful plaited hair style?? [ Well... there is just no time for worries like this anymore..]
• You must have taken some care of your face... Look at all the pigmentation marks..[ Just may be.. just may be I had a tough pregnancy time and face care seemed the last priority. So why bother reminding me that I should have, could have..I just didn't. Simple!!]

Wordless Wednesday - Lil Kuku our bundle of joy

11 days old

Wordless Wednesdays - 5 Year completion bouquet from my org

... It's a Boy!

We welcomed our bundle of joy, a baby boy, on October 17th this year. Life as we knew it, does not exist anymore. Sleep-deprivation is the order of the day. TV, books, newspaper, and other forms of entertainment have been pushed so far that they barely exist for us. Food, the stuff I like, has been removed from my diet. The Arien, at least, gets to enjoy food from outside. Are we complaining? Yeah... But, would we wish it otherwise - NO WAY!

To new learnings, new beginnings, and an exciting experience.

The Arien is Back!

Yes.. the Arien has relocated back to Bangalore. After an amazing amount of weekend travel between Hyderabad and Bangalore and continuous cribbing about how much he misses Bangalore (not me, mind you!), the Arien had his first big real smile as he called me on Skype and informed me of his imminent move, a while ago.

Me? I had a goofy grin pasted on my face for a loong time. In fact, I did not pick a fight with him for quite some time and refused to disagree with any of his plans (however much I secretly disagreed with them). After he came back, the niceness got a bit boring and I went back to my usual self :D

Ohh.. and before I forget: This is my 251st post on blogger :D Cheers to me!!

Wordless Wednesdays -- Visit to Maidenahalli after a looong time

The Lunch Box -- Movie Review

Irrfan and Nawaz

Nimrat or Ila in the Kitchen

We have never watched a movie on a week day and so I was pleasantly surprised when the Arien suggested that we catch "The Lunch Box" on Friday. The senior Arien and the Taurean were also interested. However, due to really bad traffic, the Taurean did not make it home in time for leaving and the senior Arien did not want to catch the movie without the Taurean and so it was just the two of us. We were late by a few minutes thanks to the same traffic but that did not deter us.

The movie was well-shot, well-edited, and had actors who ably supported the story. Irfan, Nimrat, and Nawaz are so real that you expect them to pop out of the screen after the movie and join you as you make your way home discussing the movie.

Image Courtesy: http://www.santabanta.com/photos/the-lunchbox/16516000.htm

More than dialogues, the movie is made of a number of expressions: Irfan's grouchy expression as Nawaz disturbs him, his lighting-up-the-face smile as he tastes the food, Nawaz's failed attempts at endearing small talk to break the ice with Irfan, Nimrat's quizzical expressions and her "Aunty.." stay on long after the movie. The dialogues are equally good, and bring a smile to your face. There is also Irfan's characteristic dead-pan humour.

Image Courtesy:  www.songsuno.com/movie/lunch-box-photos.html

Irrfan -All Smiles

This is a movie which one should experience and not read about in reviews. There are so many terms to describe this love story but they have all been over-used and sound tacky to my ears now. So, I prefer to call it a love story.


If I had to sum up the movie in two sentences, as my english teacher used to say, I would say: This is a love story where food and monotony of life play the main characters while relationships and life in general, play non-supporting roles. 

Catch the movie. Enough said :)

Wordless Wednesdays -- Dessert fit for a Queen -- Yumm!