Back to one of my favorite things!

I am back. Precisely after 6 months. I am sure my readers are wondering what I was upto all this while. Why I disappeared without a trace?

I just could not write and I kept away from blogging. Is that all? Reluctantly, I can say that all this while I had a mental block towards writing. It is sad since the one thing I could always do without an effort is to write. So, the whole disappearing thing and the absence of blog posts is behind me now. I am back and will do my best to make sure that this blog is updated regularly without fail.

I would be kidding if I say that the layoff did not affect me. I thought I would be strong and survive post layoff, however, it took me a while to get back onto my feet. The job scenario was not helping either. There were few jobs available with hundreds of applicants. Interviews came up once in a while and I went through the whole recruitment process too. First round, second round and even final round. In the end, only to be still left jobless as always there was another person with at least 3 more years of experience than me. In the beginning it was exciting to have at least interviews, then it became frustrating to still not have a job in the end.

The feeling of bitterness to actually see another person who hardly works to still have a job, while I was laid off with my track record went through my mind. It made me feel sad. That was almost seven months ago. Now when I look at it, the whole thing did make me a better person. It taught me a life lesson. I know how to survive. I can survive.

Last month N graduated from his university with his MBA. It was a celebration in every way. Getting married and enrolling into business school the next month is not the ideal thing to do. However, the decision just worked out fine for us. Most MBA couples might debate this but we never had any setback in our relationship due to his MBA. On the other hand, I believe our togetherness encouraged him and helped him to do his best. Last month we also celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary in a small way. I felt it came too soon but enjoyed every bit of it.

I am pursuing even internships at the moment. Lets see how that goes. On the side, I am also planning to start a food blog. Cooking and trying out new recipes is a passion for me and I know I will definitely enjoy this. One thing I can assure you all is that this food blog will be different. I will keep you posted.

Back to Toronto!

We came back to Toronto on the 3rd of September. Now, you may all wonder what took me so long to post. Well, I have to just say that it is better late than never! So here we are, back to ‘our home away from home’. Hmm...Why do I call it like that?

My sister’s wedding was on August 16. It was very beautiful. The entire function and the day. She looked gorgeous and we were all proud of her. I stood by her side to make sure it was her happiest day. At the end of it, somewhere in me, I had an inexplicable feeling. It started when it was time for her to leave to her in-laws. A feeling like a part of me was going away. Oh don’t get me wrong here. Definitely it was such a heart warming experience to see her get married to her love. They do look good together and love each other a lot. I know for sure that she will be very happy and also taken care of very well. However, something was bothering me. Like I said earlier, I did not really know what, back then.

Now when I look back I can easily consider few things. It could be the fact that from then on, she had to stay with her in-laws more than her own family. Something, like I would not be able to be close with her as earlier. Or that, she has to get adjusted to new surroundings and new people. All of this until they go back to their own apartment, in another city where they both work. It was almost like she was being uprooted from her own family and put into new one. One, which she would have to live with, more than the other one. If only the Indian tradition could be changed. Like instead of the girl moving to her in-laws, the guy should move to the girl’s place. :)

I think now most of my uneasiness has gone away or is slowly fading away. Maybe it helps to see her happy and enjoying married life. She is also going to be here in Toronto for a short while.

So the 40 days vacation we had gave me a lot. Some reality checks, some sadness, a lot of happiness and most importantly the feeling of being ‘at home’.

After all, home is where the heart is, isn’t it?

Have a nice weekend!

Friday the 15th-eventful and long...

Last Friday was quite an eventful day, both in terms of fun and fatigue. I woke up early morning at 5, the last time I remember doing something like that; it was exams. I mean, I really hate waking up so early. Imagine, missing out on 3 more hours of sleep. Anyway, due to unavoidable marriage situations, I had to just resist the temptation to sleep and get dressed up, while asking myself various questions. Why would people keep marriage ceremonies between 7-7.30 in the morning? Shouldn’t they think that the invited guests would need some time to travel all the way to the venue and then find the Kalyan Mandap? What would happen to people like me, who stay so far away from the venue, how would I manage to reach in time? Sometimes, it feels good to crib; I mean there should be some incentive for all the trouble I was taking. Pondering over all those questions I finished all my morning activities and got dressed up. In a rush, I gulped down a glass of milk (of course breakfast was a no no so early in the morning), took my handbag and started on the quest of finding the place where my teammate was to get married.

Like I have stated earlier, I need to walk a mile to catch an auto. On the way, I could see the onlookers gape at me. I was at a loss and was wondering why I was being subject to so many stares. I soon realized that I was in this chimtak* salwar suit, all pinkish since the dress color was dark pink. How I wished I wasn’t dressed up so brightly for this wedding. Imagine me on the road at 6 in the morning all ‘dressed’ up, I guess people could easily see a dark pink object coming from the road far off itself; obviously it would call for more than stares, maybe even laughter. However, I started feeling better as soon as I realized that I am not wearing a sari, something which I had decided the previous night. Also, the dress was a sleeveless one so, that much of bright color was reduced by the simple fact that there weren’t any sleeves. I have this habit of consoling myself, when I think that I have made a fool of myself. That’s exactly what I was trying to do by thinking about the sari, and the sleeves while trying to escape from that area.

Like I have mentioned earlier, my bad luck can sometimes be really bad, that I had to walk quite a bit to finally sight an auto. Regardless the high rate quoted by the driver, I jumped inside the auto bypassing the bargaining process for the first time. I know it sounds uncanny but there were two very important reasons for that. The first one would be the obvious need for me to escape from that area. It is better to pay a little higher and reach the venue safe and sound and of course in time; that would explain the second reason. I was surprised when I reached the landmark given my S (another teammate with whom I have to go for the wedding) at 6.45. I walked leisurely towards her house thinking that I managed to reach earlier by 15 minutes. She greeted me at her door still in her nightdress making me wonder what on earth I was doing there. She reassured me that we could leave for the venue in another half an hour and off she went to get ready, leaving me with biscuits and tea. Meanwhile I browsed through the net and listened to songs in her comp trying not to even think of the sleep I missed out by rising and shining so early. Don’t get the wrong idea, she had asked me to be at her place by 7, so that we could walk to the venue which is just 5 minutes away from her house.

At 7.30, we reached the venue and end up walking briskly in order to see the “Thaalikettu” (main function), although the literal meaning of the word would be chain tying. The function got over soon and we met the couple and gave our wishes along with the gift. I was looking forward to having something as I was beginning to feel hungry but when my teammate suggested that we push off to office, I kind of agreed and left for work We reached office at 8.30 and like I had expected we were the first to enter our floor. By 10, I was too hungry to even gaze at the computer screen so I ended up ordering a sandwich from the eatery, which normally I hate. There is a saying somewhat like this, “When a tiger is helplessly hungry, it might even end up eating grass”. I wonder if actually there could be a saying like that though I kind of liked the comparison of the tiger to me. Anyways, I got back to work and relentlessly finished some bit of work I had. Trust me, it is very hard to work on a Friday normally itself, let alone forget the office annual party which was scheduled to begin at 7 pm the same day.

To be continued…
*Chimtak- very brightly dark and eye-catching