Thank You....

Thank you for not bringing up the dreaded topic even once during the four days......

But well its 'No-Words' that hurts more than words...Hurts you especially more when u realize that this is the bigggest desire of their leaves but are still leaving it to our choice leaving me with a guilt- ridden conscience! Ha!

Thank You!!

Books N Me!

Hmm our relationship dates back to few decades now....Thnx to my dad who was a voracious reader n a gr8 story teller! He got me hooked to the books.... right from Gokulam, Champak(anybody here read it?), Chandamama, Tinkle, Enid Blyton and then M&B(Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! He was broad minded enuf to realize that one fine day am gonna hooked on to this and so decided to make the initiation himself)......... But somehwere down the line I have got stuck to 'Fiction'..... Even a highly recommended non - fictions refuse to hold me attention!

So onto the books am currently reading....well this post is not exactly a book review but something more…..


Ha "Marley And Me"! A real doggy-touching story! Na Na its not about a great or a brave dog.... But instead about an hopelessly indiscipned, lop-sided in short a very much imperfect dog! But well isnt that what Life is all about....Its never picture perfect! But its this imperfect picture that gives us lots of joy, happiness and most importantly hope! N that is what the story teaches us...No preacy long sentences but the story conveys this and drives it into the head with no extra effort at all!! The book all so touches on a few dull momments that each marriage goes thru but in a way that it doesnt leave u feeling gloomy.....instead u are left with beautiful feeling of 'hope'!!


N now to the next one....... Ha this one I picked up solely on the shop owner's reccomendation but what caught my eye in is the tag line...."Every Family has a story"..... true isnt it!  Stories not significant enuf to be broadcast on your TV or evena column in local newspaper..... But significant enuf to change somebody's life! N this exactly is what the stories in the book are!! Stories of how a young girl wins a fight with her aayah, Story of how a girl decides not -to-commit suicide, stories of how the children in their 20's start empathizing with their parents..... Ha a refreshing read! A big thumbs-up from my side!!




Ha thou I sit n write this today my mind n heart are busy raging a war..... A big unrest is what it is in! But well it woke me up to a few facts in life too.....

A letter to self!

The woman’s day @ office was the usual boring affair.....you know the blah blah blah kinda speeches! Seriously they expect people to sit thru the....But on second thots what else can they do!!

But But lemme give them some credit where its due.... They had this wonderful compilation of 200 real life stories that the top execs across the globe had written to their own younger self....Basically elucidating what they did to reach here ~~ The struggle they faced, how they balanced life (marriage, motherhood, children) and career! Quite a innovative idea hey....Ok I agree a few were pompus n blowing their own trumpet kinda letters....But most were truly inspiring....Imagine somebody who started their career just like me(no fancy degrees, no fancy job) but today are right there at the top all this while juggling the same problems that we rant about day in n day out!

So u guessed what this post is about...Yeah Yeah am writing a post to my younger self :-D (A v long one at that)....Ok I aint any top shot but this is my space n am celebrity here rt :-P :-P


To my dearest Meena (Feels so very funny to pen this),

Hmm lemme see what have we got here......A father’s pet(spoilt?), happy going, super confident teacher's pet! A padaakoo is all u seem to be completely missing ina ction in sports, dance, drama etc.... But but do I hear u complaining? Of course not! U think all the others are just a waste of time...N even look down upon all the others (snooty is it?)!! Ho my sweetie pie, How I wish U understand that all of these are so very important as you grow up in life......You would anything to be able to sing, dance, play sports, actr in a drama, drive a car few years down the line! N there is really no need for u to dig your noses into those damn books...they ain't gonna take u anywhere! All that which is gonna help u is the basic common sense u been blessed with (Thank ur stars for it)


(Few years down the line in the college)
Hmmm so u ended up in an engineering college is it (N am not surprised that u think its cause u r 'Brillaint') buit but but I say there are few things that you are better at. But too late to say it now......................

Ha ha what do I see here? A change...small yet significant enuf!! Well u still haven’t shrugged off that ‘good-student\Teacher’s pet Tag’…But now u think its cool to boo at teachers n manners n bunk your college is it!! Thanks to those sensible friends who seem to have very sensibly displaced you from your pedestal! N lemme drive it into ur brain...U R Beautiful! Stop frettinga bout it!!

N whats with those virtual - love affairs babe?? Hmm or may be I shouldn’t complain....what’s teenage days without a few silly love stories to spice it up! As long as u dont take it to ur heart sweetie.....

(Another few years n into a MNC)
Ha a relief! U hv atlast learned to kick ur shoes n relax! Thou u could still do with a bit of 'glam up'/….N seriously u should try being a bit more feminine…Kicking people, sticking gum into their heads is taking it a bit too much! Ho Ho but on flip side how about taking ur career a bit more seriously...Ok I agree this is not what u waana do, But who knows this is training u up into a job where there is no coding n u'll be thankful for this period! Job change, better salary, marriage will all happen in good time! Well well tht nonsense of an affair must have made this phase a truly v. happy affair!

So just sit back , enjoy n live in present!

Yours Loving,
Meena Menon :)

( N cut to present....)

Hmm ok I seem to have glammed -up, kicked away my 'coding job' (Am I enjoying what I waana do?? Not the 'working time' for sure as for the role Maybe too early to answer…. lemme give it some more time) but I still regret those early days of not learning to dance, sing, drive ....U says its not too late now?? May be I should stop blaming myself….I hv a feeling that it should be something to do with how my brain is programmed...I just ain't any good at this...Yeah yeha u can pour in some sympathies!!

Ha I am surprised I did such a good job of ripping myself apart but more important of conveying what was always in mind!                          

To all the beautiful women in my life.....

.....Thank You for making my life beautiful!!


Well If I start thanking each of them this space wouldn’t be enuf...But how can you let such a important day pass without a token of thanks!

So here is to

My mom ~~ Well goes without saying doesn’t it!

My MIL ~~ For being what you are! It just lets be me what I am :)

My dearest sis ~~ Hmm lemme not even attempt writing anything here! I know I know the post is due

My Cousins ~~ Well its once in blue moon that we get to meet. But those stolen moments on phone, net make up for them......Don't they!

My friends online as well as offline ~~ You make my daily life - virtual, ofice, home a little more livable! Swaram, A special mention for u here ~~ Thank you for being the most regular reader here :)

To my super - duper Manger ~~ I wonder why am I writing abt her here after she calls me 'Pea - Sized Brains', 'Lazy Bums' (Yeah yeah exact words)!! Cause she is simply 'super-Duper'....The passion n dedication of hers makes me only wonder (No aspirations to be that thou :-P). But most importantly its for the kind of person that she is!

And to my little niece ~~ The love of my life!

Ladies, you rock!

ps: 8th March also marks the first day of my corporate career....a good six years ago!!!

I Baked a Chocolate Cake!

Yeah Yeah Yeah! Stop rolling your eyes and no its not some easy breezy cake mix that you put in oven and in a zap comes out the cake!! N No its no book's name either!
This was made from scratch with all raw materials ..maida, coco powder, egg, mika, sugar n alll!! Still dont believe me...well well they say a picture is worth thousand words...then so be it!!




Hmm ok now u thinking this looks v amateurish n there is a slight probability that she made it but but but there has gotta be a catch :-D. Sad I say!!

psssst.....yeah yeah there is indeed a catch...Just hop on here to know why!! Easy huh?? N now u become a cake making pro just like me!!! Hee hee hee!! Ha N I bet now u like "what the hell!! Does this work??" Exactly what I thot but trust me it does n it truly yummily does! N u MR.Tintin am sure this would be now a part of ur showing-off-to girls routine!!

May be you could add a few dry fruits n a dash of rum to it n bake or may be have it with chocolate sauce to make it truly relishing (U impressed with my culinary ideas ha! Well well I'll pass on the compliments to my hubbs :-D)

Yours truly was so excited with this culinary discovery that I couldn’t wait to blog it! But as I write this I have my tongue literally hanging out and all salivating!! No No No, dont shake ur head n say Kodhichi(hogger in malayalam)! Its the result of a disaster tht followed!


As yours truly was fetching the bottle of chocolate sauce , there was a drop of what she thot was the chocolate n the kodichi that she indeed is , licked it clean only to realize that it was instead a god damn drop of spicy concentrated chilly n then what followed was something akin to a war dance! Tongue kept under running water, bottles of water n curd at last bought some solace!

What a start to weekend u say!! But now do u believe that am indeed being made to cook...sob sob sob! N dearies before u say it, lemme clarify in the chocolate cake the only contribution of my hubbs was to whisk it all up!!!

Happy B'day Tintin!!

Hmm usually I ponder at what should the title for a post read! But for this one...it was so very given that I didnt even hv to mull over it for a minute!

Hmm now this Tintin is no cartoon chartcer but is the name of a much loved pet dog...so the post is to mark the b'day of this dearest dog? Na na na....its the b'day of the dearest dog's dearest owner!

Hmm let me try in introduce him year....may be a testimonial I wrote for him on orkut a good3 years back  is a good point to start.....

Divyansh...the perfect Waste fellas :-). Looks big outside but hidden deep inside is a v v small boy who never wanna grows up...
The perfect friend...will always be there when u need him (ofcourse will be around even when u dont need him to wreck up things), A big dog lover, a big attention seeker(pamper him silly like a kid n he keeps yelping around like his fav 'Tintin'), a jack of all trades(n ofcourse master of none), problem slover (but excuse me who creates them in the first place) n ofcourse a big big big big fan of alll the girls(No size bar, no shape bar, no languge bar, no religion bar--------any girl in HCC can vouch for it)!!!

Hey waste fella, stop drifiting along n be a winner(u always are but by chance n not choice).....n STOP STARING!!!!
 
Hmm thts  Div(for his friends) n Tintin(for me) for you!
 
N today after 3 years, 2 years of which he is been in US has anyting changed? Yes dearest yes ......The part in testi which reads any girl in HCC can vouch for it now says any girl in Naperville can vouch for it  .....Otherwise my waste fella just remains that......A very much ladies happy-go-lucky man!!
 
N Ho yeah how can I miss the best part of his B'day...He celebrates it like once in 4 years!! Ho No No....not cause of some noble reasons...But just that it falls once in 4 years (in every leap year) :-D But But does that bother this big Imp? No sir no...he uses this excuse to celebrate it on 2 days!!
 
My dearest TinTin, Today(Ok ok now dont shout...I know I missed ur B'day (But offiicially this year u had none) I wish you wholeheartedly lots of happiness, good luck, success and also a wee bit of common sense!! N yeah yeah am waiting for ur B'day snaps where am sure u would be having this dazed expression being surrounded my star-in-my-eyes kinda girls!!! (N then U know what will happen...:-D)

Any BPL dole please?

Friday was the salary day...yeah yAH I know am paid peanuts...but still these peanuts see us thru the month(ha ha who am I kidding...It sees us thru the week)! Week1 - Pay off the credit cards, make some feeble 'save money' resolutions for the month n all goes splash the moment weekend is in vicinity - eating out, shopping movie, plays n by end of first 10 days we go back to God damn plastic money and well the vicious cycle continues!!


Hmm you say no ta new story, all of us in same bucket hey?? Then listen to my latest misery...Thnx to some miscalculation in Tax my hubbs salary for the month is well almost next to nothing....which means post the loans what am left with is few hundreds...sob sob sob! So what happens to my credit cards, mobile bills.......more sobs!!

So anybody here who can help with any information on dole for BPL(Below poverty Line) are welcome! Or maybe a few tips on how to lead a interesting 'BPL' life ....translates to no eating out, no theater, no movie, no mall visit, no travel...yeaks is it a life!