Cling and Clatter

Just like that

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:13:00 +0000

So our car got stolen yesterday. Surprising? not so much. cars get stolen everyday. Disturbing? for us it is. Enraging? in many ways.

FYI

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:39:00 +0000

When I ask people for 'a brief description of the project' it does not mean that you send me the entire deliverable or copy paste random paragraphs. Instead it means, I want a snapshot of the project and since you happened to be a part of it I am assuming you knew what the project was about. Of course, based on experience I know that most people either do not know what they did in a project that ended a week ago and cannot be made to give a decent account of any project regardless of the capacity in which they were part of the project.

P.S. Yes, I do not like the people I work with.

Little boy on the road

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:39:00 +0000

I met a little boy on the road yesterday. He must not have been older than 10 years of age. He was selling one of those smiley face plasticine things that change shape when you push or pull at them. I asked him how much he was charging and he said Rs. 25. I gave him Rs. 30 and as I was rolling up the car window he tapped saying 'your change'. I told him 'you can keep it' [rakh lo] and he replied (rather offended) 'I do not take money' [mein paisay nahi leta]. I watched him walk away tall and upright. I felt shallow within. I am five ruppees richer but much poorer than that little boy on the road. I hope his principles survive through time and age.

Round the clock

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 07:39:00 +0000

I am not sure how or why but I have landed myself the same schedule I left about three years ago. Grad school was a nice break. I did not intend to juggle lots after coming back but here it is. Six months out of school and am running short of time for even meals. I think keeping busy makes sense when the being idle becomes synonymous with despair. We are living in uncertain times - the less time we have at our hands the less likely we are to realize where we are really headed.

Things continue to come together

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:51:00 +0000

Turns out the gods were listening when SAJ dropped in his comment on an earlier post. Today, has been a good day. Opportunities come in bundles. See one and the others follow. However, the door must be open.

Communication

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:55:00 +0000

I wonder why we keep procrastinating when it comes to giving out information that can offend another. I figure we do not want to be in a confrontation. Likewise, it makes sense to hesitate before passing on bad news. Nonetheless, why wait. Particularly, why wait when the longer you wait the more the other will feel offended. How about just jumping right in and coming out clean.

Things come together

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:59:00 +0000

Lately, I feel the universe conspiring in my favor. Somehow things fall in place by themselves. However, I cannot suppress the temptation to qualify current optimism. Things fall apart much faster than than they come together. For now, I am enjoying experiencing things coming together.

TGIF

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:45:00 +0000

and the work week ends today :) the good think about working is getting the weekend off...students don't really get weekends off since they have assignements and stuff piled up for some deadline ahaed no matter how close or distant that may be....working ppl get weekends off (not always but still) so the point is I am excited about not working on saturday and sunday.

The problem

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:11:00 +0000

You often fail to see the shortcomings of your culture till either they become an absolute pain or you happen to get a chance to see how people in other places do things. I was not particularly impressed by the work ethic of people around me before I left pakiland for amreeka. However, I was able to foresee inefficiences, make allowances for them and get things done without losing either my sanity or the job. The situation has become much worse since I got back. I do not - yes, I do not - get how things work here (which btw don't most of the time). Things are slow and inefficient to the point of not just being painfully unprofessional but plain simple unbearable.

P.S. Yes, this is another one of those days when I am not happy with my job : /

Random

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:08:00 +0000

Overheard at the last company wide meeting:

A: 'Why the need for this meeting'?
B: 'Kampany doob rahi hai afsos ke liyay bulaya hai'

Kampany abhi tak to nahi doob rahi albata afsos ki zaroorat aksar rehti hai.

Need a better chair

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:30:00 +0000

After weeks and months of sulking over my very uncomfortable chair at work I have found a way to vent out the frustration. I want something better. I want a piece of decent contemporary furniture. A chair comfortable enough to let me last through the long work day. In my search for something better I stumbled upon this great website for modern furniture that brings together style and comfort. You should check out what is on display. You will not be disappointed by the designs. Not to mention the 5% discount on italian furniture.

Loadshedding

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:04:00 +0000

I taught my SAT students in candle light today. The UPS dies after no more than twenty minutes. Can’t blame the poor thing, it barely gets over an hour to recharge. Where exactly are we heading with state of affairs?

Content

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:05:00 +0000

I am learning to be content with life. It takes effort but it is less taxing than fretting over what I do not have. I have enough to get through today. I will worry about tomorrow when I get there.

I need..

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:07:00 +0000

I need to hear a happy story. I know too many people who are going through tough times. I want someone to walk up to me and tell me they are happy with life. Today I want to meet one happy person.

An open book

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:07:00 +0000

My environment spills over me. The shades of my surroundings find a window into my soul. My eyes carry the shadows right through. Stare in any day and you will know where I have been.

Associations

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:12:00 +0000

It is interesting how ghazals that I first heard in DC during moments of sickening nostalgia and homesickness remind me of DC as home now that I am back home.

Why I do not call

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:08:00 +0000

I clearly remember the day she told me she was in love. I had a hunch about it days before she confided in me yet I remember the moment she uttered the words as if it was just today. We were sitting in the cafeteria during a break from science lab. I was chipping away on a samosa while she sipped her soda. It is ironic how years down the road we have banished trivial indulgences in the name of healthy living and held onto affiliations that have armor to wound us for life. Today, she is divorced with two daughters. I struggle to stir enough courage to call her for small talk.

Why?

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:11:00 +0000

Why do we keep giving in to people long after we know that they are only there to take from us? Why do things make so much sense only in hindsight? Why do we not see the cold bitter face of betrayal when it stares right at us? Why are we such optimistic idiots ever so often?

Back and forth

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:13:00 +0000

The blog keeps getting sidelined and I keep returning. There is no design to the abandonment or adoption. I keep swinging between oblivion and existence like the bob of a pendulum.

'something'

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:53:00 +0000

So, I disappeared for a while. I kept checking the blog now and then but have been too tied up to actually write 'something'. A few times I felt a strong urge to write at least 'something' but that did not quite happen. Now, out of plain insomnia i am writing 'something'.

Patience

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:11:00 +0000

We are patient people. We can fast daily for a month. We can go without food and drink from dawn to dusk. But if you happen to be on the road near maghrib or end up at a samosa shop near iftar, we’ll tear out your guts and spill out every swear word we know. Like I said we are patient people – till we get the slightest excuse to lose sense.

Highlight of the day

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:42:00 +0000

Biryani!

They served biryani for lunch on my first day at work. Today again, it's biryani day. Mostly the lunch here is edible. On some odd days it is a struggle to survive the 'intricacies' served in the name of food. But now and then, the food here is plain simple good :)

Communication

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:47:00 +0000

I can never understand what is it in people that makes them hold back information when their job is to pass it on. I so do not like the 'I know it', 'I will tell you' attitude packed with 'I still know it and you do not'. Ha!

Highlight of the day.

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:49:00 +0000

I crossed a young mother on the street with her ~5 year old daughter. Following is the exchange between mother and daughter that I eavesdropped upon.

Mother: 'Yeh kis tarah hijab pehna hai aap nay, saray baal nazar aa rahay hain'.

Work : /

noreply@blogger.com (dhoop kinara) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:31:00 +0000

I do not - do not - like it when people do not know what they are doing : /