MyExperimentwithBlog

My Cooking

2010-09-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

My cooking is something which I was never proud of. I had not entered kitchen until I was in Pune and started living in an apartment with my friends. Before that, I always stayed at hostel or as a paying guest. My mom would never let me cook at home anyways.

I remember the initial days in Pune when I used survive on instant noodles during weekends and wait for Monday so that I can have food at office. After I made few friends, we would go out for food during weekend. I never had the courage to try cooking .

But you can eat only so much of outside food. So, I had to start cooking one or the other day. My first cooking experience was preparing rice!! I was scared/not aware of how to use a cooker! Thanks to my friend whom I called up and tortured while each whistle went off!, I managed to succeed in that experiment.
Things have improved over the years especially after I moved to Bangalore . So I can say I have around 4 years of experience in cooking but I never enjoyed it. I would cook only if it was necessary and would depend on friends to cook for me.

I was really worried when I got married thinking about cooking every day. Especially when you are a house wife everyone asks you about it. So, I started working hard towards it. There were times when my chapati would look more like papad and my curry would be tasteless. But , Sudhir never complained and always praised my cooking!!

I think when you want to cook for someone you love , it somehow turns out good! I never believed in this until it happened to me. Now I love cooking especially Konkani food, haven't had any major disasters in recent past . Looks like I can say I am a good cook now..

I would really like to thank Shilpa (http://www.aayisrecipes.com/) who has excellent collection of recipes and an amazing talent of explaining things which even a novice like me can follow.

On H4-Searching for a Job

2010-09-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

Getting a job on H4 is as hard as it can get . But , I feel it is not impossible. As they say, nothing is impossible as long as you want it bad and you are ready to work hard for it.

I am not new to swtiching jobs. In my 6 year career in software industry, I have worked for 3 companies , given at least 10 interviews . My last company had 7 rounds of interview which I cleared without much problem. But, I have never searched for a job while I was unemployed. My job search effort was as esay as sending my resume to a friend who will forward it to his/her HR and I would get a call.

However, when you are on H4 it is not only your work experience that matters. You need to search for the job in an organized way. I am not sure if I am following the right way, but at least I have succeeded in getting few interview calls which I feel is not a bad start considering I am on job hunt from only few months.

So, before getting into my job hunt experience , I would like to share how H4 people can work in US. You have different options like

-Do your MS and then get a H1 through company which for campus selection( Most preferred by people on H4)
- Find a company for full time job who will sponsor for your H1b
-Find a consultancy who will hire you on contract with companies and sponsor your H1

For me, option 1 was not much appealing as I dint want to study for 2 years in technical line. I would like to go for MBA at some point in my career. However, I would go for this option if I end up failing at option 2 and 3

Option 2 , I think is the hardest. Most of the companies wont hire someone who needs visa sponsorship. That too if it is new H1 (If you are already on H1 , quota system does not apply so companies will just have to transfer your H1)

But, if you find a company who agrees with hiring an H4, it is the best option. When you go to any company career site and search for a job you will see an additional disclaimer saying "No visa sponsor ship". Basically means you can not apply for that job.

So , your job hunt gets restricted by it. Also, you need to find out which companies have sponsored for H1 in the past. So this is what I do.

1. Go to site "http://www.myvisajobs.com/", here you get all the details about companies who have sponsored for H1 in the past
2. Go to each company career site(minus the Indian based companies who will not hire candidates from US unless they have green card. This makes sense, because they will have many h1 b s in India ready to travel if required)
3. Go to their career site and search for your expertise
4. See if they have additional disclaimer which I have mentioned before
5. If not,apply for the job
(Make sure you have a well documented Resume,Cover letter before applying)

I know there are thousands of companies listed there. But, I never said job hunt was easy. did I? I have been applying for these jobs from last 2 months. Each day filling up at least 30-40 forms. Believe me, filling up these forms can test anyone's patience. But , never give up.

Next best thing is searching through "LinkedIn". Here, recruiters post the jobs directly . So you can search for the Jobs and contact the recruiter directly if you match the Job criteria.

There are other sources like popular job search sites which did not work for me. I have tried it there too. I have never been contacted by any company seeing my visa status. I remember getting many calls when I was in India through these sites.

Coming to option 3- Finding a reliable consultancy is a challenge. I have tried my luck at these agencies. But when I spoke to them, I always felt like I deserved better . May be I was not lucky enough to come across professional consultancies. There are many "desi" consultancies who help in getting a visa. I am not comfortable going to them after reading all the reviews and also talking to few desi agents who have American names :) . Refer to site:http://www.desicrunch.com/ before approaching any desi consultancies.

Few things I always remember

- Not to lose hope. When you have enough experience, you will find a job one or the other day.
-Keep working towards it.
- Never get desperate and seek ways which is not legal.
- Take break whenever you feel stressed.

On H4 visa- Time to kill

2010-08-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

I want to capture my experience being a house wife and a H4 visa holder in US. I listen to my friends / read articles about the trauma faced by H4 visa holders . For me, it has not been difficult so far because I try making it easy for myself.

For people who are wondering about H4 , it is a dependent visa for H1b visa holder's spouse. As per US law, dependents can not work in US . They are allowed to study/ get a driving license/do voluntary work without pay .

Main challenge of being a house wife is lot of time in hand. Initial days were fun as I was busy watching tv, browse , chat with friends or sleep. But as the days passed on , I needed to find something to occupy myself. So here is what I am doing

- Working on improving my cooking skills
-Trying to be more regular for gym sessions
- Learn driving from my husband
- Reading books which I always wanted to read but dint have time for while working
- Playing games on play station

But, I am sure I will get bored of these too unless I find a job soon . So, I am working on finding a job which is almost as difficult as trekking Himalayas.

I feel it is very important to avoid negativity around you when you are a house wife and trying to get a job . I always avoid

- People who keep cribbing about how lonely/boring it is to sit at home- I feel the more you talk about loneliness, more you feel it. So it is better to focus on task at hand than talk about your current status.

- People who tell you how impossible it is to get a job on H4- Yes, I agree they are right. But you already know it ,so don't need constant reminders of it. When I am on job hunt, last thing I want is to be low on confidence .

- People who ask you how you kill your time without doing "anything"- this is the most difficult part , because almost all of your friends will ask you this. I wonder how they conclude that you are not doing anything when they know you are on job hunt!

Also try not to bug your poor husband cribbing about your boring day. I understand that you need to share your frustrations/feelings with him but calling him at work and crying about it is not what I call sharing(believe me girls do it!!)

Thanks to Sudhir who is always there to understand and support me . When he comes home with that cute smile of his and his eyes sparkle when he sees me(or the snacks I made;), it feels everything I have left behind in India worth ..

Long Time..

2010-07-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

Ya, it has been a long time since I wrote something here! Guess it is the time to start it again. It will be interesting to see how my views have changed now that I am married and supposed to be more matured.

My Shayari 3

2008-02-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

Zindagi mein aye khushiyon se darte hain
Unse milke khone se dartein hain
Yakin to hain Unpe
Par apni badkismati se dartein hain

My Shayari -2

2008-02-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

Milke humse gavadi unhone upni khushiyan..
Use lauta rahe hain unhe lutake apni duniyan...

My experiment with Shayari:)

2008-02-08T01:20:00.000-08:00

Atlast I have started writing my own shayari s .. without copying from others:)

Puchte hai woh humse unko chunne ki wajah
Kambaqt is pyar mein dil kya jaan bhi diye jatein hain bewajah!!

Galipata movie review

2008-01-24T22:44:00.000-08:00

short and sweet(???);) review of kannada movie Galipata :

It was as hard as flying a kite in rough wind to get the tickets for Galipata. Luck was on our side as we managed to get the tickets but of course at a hefty price L

Fortunately our efforts didn’t go in vain as the movie lived up to the expectation. Good direction, excellent cinematography combined with nice dialogue delivery by Ganesh made the movie worth the bucks spent on it.

Movie started with funny note, each time when we felt that movie is taking the usual course there was some new twist . Excluding some drama about wild pig and exaggerated emotional sequence at the end, movie can be categorized as time pass movie worth a watch. Songs were not great coming from Mungaru Male crew but it was masked by excellent camera works during the song sequence.

Now listening to one of the better song of the movie “Minchagi Neenu…” . I am happy to be able to see kannada movies and to write reviews of it without feeling that I should have gone for a Hindi/English movie instead. There is a wave of change in Kannada Film industry with movies like Milana, Mungaru Male and now added to the list is galipata.

Never Turn back

2007-12-18T02:36:00.000-08:00

Coming back from my friend's marriage,received a news which should have hurt me a lot. But surprisingly after the initial shock, I recovered from it very fast thanks to visit to my hometown. Deep down, I knew whatever happened was for the best. You need to go on in life and never turn back. i am happy that i could do so and happy for the people who have also moved on without regrets , leaving behind the memories of past which will always remain.

Given a choice i would go back and erase whatever has happened, wish I never knew the people with whom i could not keep the relation. But then, you learn from life and you grow. Try to make sure you don't repeat the same mistakes as there are so many new ones to make;);)

Good one -Courtesy Shree sudha

2007-12-12T01:47:00.001-08:00

If you're not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?
If you're not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?
If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call?
If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all?

I never know what the future brings
But I know you are here with me now
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with

I don't wanna run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

If I don't need you then why am I crying on my bed?
If I don't need you then why does your name resound in my head?
If you're not for me then why does this distance maim my life?
If you're not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?

I don't know why you're so far away
But I know that this much is true
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with
And I wish that you could be the one I die with
And I'm praying you're the one I build my home with
I hope I love you all my life

I don't wanna run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

'Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
'Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right
You know I can't be with you tonight
You know my heart is by your side

I don’t wanna run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand
If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

Experiment with Blog

2007-12-12T01:07:00.000-08:00

Each day I get a new link from one or the other friend of mine saying "Hey, check out my blog!!" . So here I am trying not to stand out from the crowd. So my first ever blog(considering how lazy I am it might as well be my last;))