Khadhi

I was recognized in college only by my dress. I was a unique creature in my college campus who always loved to wear one and only Khadhi kurtha's. I have some kind of attachment for Khadhi material. I always felt I would have been a freedom fighter in my previous birth. I love to be simple in what I wear. I had tried out Khadhi kurtha's in all possible colors. During my college days few of my friends commented that I looked like a reporter and few others said I resembled a saint. After I started to work lot of things have changed in my dressing style. But still I have a fondness for my Khadhi dresses. Wore one today after a long time.

Hair Straightening

It is fun curling, coloring and straightening hair and trying out completely different look by changing one's hair style. As we are bit away from home, there is no restriction to cut and play a bit with one's hair. Hair straightening is comparatively cheaper in U.S when compared to India. I had a deep sleep in the evening and my sleep was disturbed when I heard our apartment calling bell buzz. All gals from our building were surrounding one of my roommates and commented about her new look after straightening her hair. We took few snaps of her soft straightened hair. She was blushing a lot but still we continued teasing her. We are now brain washing couple other friends to try hair straightening.

Skin Texture

Majority of people in U.S have a clear skin, there could be many reasons such as weather, eating habits and gene etc. for such a good texture. It is difficult to distinguish who belongs to which class of the society. Rich, poor and middle class people all look healthy. I really envy their acne free skin. I had to praise someone's skin texture today morning.

Full Swing

I will continue to write two blogs till tomorrow just to compensate for my long weekend trip. Our preparation is in full swing for our trip, we completed our final round of shopping today. I am also bit excited to visit this place. We have prepared ourselves for all worst weather conditions. Things look pretty planned for the entire day starting from this Friday to Monday. Hopefully we will have a enjoyable journey.

Cope Up

Yesterday my captain kept advising me to wear shorts while playing tennis during summer. She said it is very hot here and as your parents are not around, I think you shouldn't have any issues wearing shorts in U.S. She was very concern that I would get heat stroke if I covered myself completely in this muggy climate. I was explaining how conservative people are from the southern part of the India. She was very insistent to adapt to American culture and climate when needed. And today one of my clients is willing to pull me to taste alcoholic drink. Sometime I really find it hard to cope up with such extreme culture difference in India and America. It is a big challenge for me to be firm and inviolable and stick to our rich Indian culture in U.S.

Recurring Problem

I was sitting next to the meeting room door. Door opened quite often due to wind or lose contact of the knob not sure which one. Every time the door opened I closed it patiently. At one point even I got bit bugged to close the door frequently during the meeting. The very next time when the door opened, my manager and one of my friends quickly rushed to the door. My manager banged the door with full strength while my friend placed a trash box next to the door to keep the door closed till the end of the meeting. Might be simple solutions from both of them to put an end to this door banging problem, but their responsiveness to fix a recurring problem is much praise worthy and is a lesson for me to generate ideas to find a fix for such simple recurring problems in life.

Tennis Glory

Tennis Glory
Today when my manager recognized me by saying I head your tennis glory. I was happy but at the same time I didn't want my name be tagged a lot with tennis when I am in office. Probably now is the time to share how I got pulled into tennis. I was a athlete during my school and college days and played every possible outdoor sport but never trained myself dedicately in a single sport. One of my close friend was very keen to learn tennis and desperately approached me to pair with her for a practice session. I was not too interested to learn this sport as tennis being a rich man's sport in India. I was sure my parents would not like spending money for court fee, racquet, balls etc. Accordning to them sports in general is something a gal can not continue forever. I had many fights at home with my parents on this topic. My friend was very determintant than I was to pull me to learn tennis. She kept shuttling between my home and hostel to meet my parents and convince them to allow me to learn Tennis.

Finally I got a nod from my parents on 12th May and that was the first time I touched a tennis racquet. As I respected my coach a lot, I was very sincere and dedicated during my learning period. I slowly got tremendous interest in tennis and was absolutely crazy playing for 4-5 hours on weekends. I never visited my relatives, attended family functions or hanged out, my only chant during weekdays and weekends was tennis and nothing else. Whenever my mother gave me something to cut in the kitchen, I would first toss the vegetable in air as if I was practicing my serve in the court and later would continue cutting them. I was hitting balls on the living room floor to strengthen my wrist. No matter where I stood, I was always kept moving to and fro to get a proper foot work. My parents were bit afraid on seeing me get mad on this sport. They tried putting me off saying Ashwini remember once you get married you have to get along with your husbands interest so better stop getting much involved in this sport. I ignored their words played played and kept playing.

Once I got into a tough project, I couldn't stick to my old routine of having a regular morning practice. This was the time tennis completely faded out of my life. I hardly found time to play during weekedns. I made up my mind saying probably I would never get another chance to touch my racquet. That was exactly the sametime corporate companies launched olympiad. There was mail a seeking participants for different sports competition. I learned tennis as one of my favorite hobby and never ever imagined to participate in tennis tournments. So I ignored the mail and almost till the last day of the registration. One of my friend knowing my strength spoke with me for hours and convinced me to participate.

For some reason I wanted to win the gold medal in this competion. Afer seeing the number of participant I also thought I could win the medal with ease except for one person i.e my opponent. Everyone who witnessed the practice sessions guranteed that my opponent would win the match, as she had a perfect stroke and powerful shots. I had a tough time to gain self-confidence when there was absolutely no sign of hope on me. I was bit shattered at the start of the match. I only said to myself every single point counts and played very hard from the start of the match. After a tough fight I won the match. This event was a big turning point for me. My name topped the list in the e-mails circulated in office. Few of my colleagues on seeing my name, teased me for saying you didn't have much competition that's why you won etc. I pretended deaf when I heard such things as I knew what I faced.

Only afer this incident my parents supported me to play tennis as much as I wanted. Might not appear as big record achieved by Sania Mirza, but given the circumstances and chances I think I have utilised my potential to a greater extent. That is the story behind my tennis glory.

Abbreviation

I went to meet someone this morning to say I missed to do one of my assigned task. I was very afraid to even mention this to him. I prayed God several times today before opening up this matter to him. He was cool and completely understood my situation and said never mind even I have done such things in the past. That was a sign of relief to me. We later continued to talk about abbreviations and he expressed his difficulty to understand the short forms such as 2mrw and mwc. I took a piece of paper and wrote down the full form of the shortened word. I still remember my first e-mail to one of my clients stating "PFA document". I kept mailing several times with the same abbreviation and assumed they knew the full form of PFA, after couple of months when we met for the team outing, she quietly asked "Ashwini" what does "PFA" stand for and said She came across that word quite often in my mails, that made me understand that not many people in U.S are accustomed to abbreviations.

Approachable

Not that everyone feels comfortable with everyone when it comes to brushing basics. It matters a lot how approachable a person is, to make one comfortable to shoot the silliest question. I was figuring out, whom I should approach to recall and reinvest my interest in project related technologies. I was only listing down the set of people with whom I express things naturally without bothering about what they think of me. Finally I fixed an appointment with the person who topped my list. I spent couple of hours with her today and I definitely had lots of take away from this person. She was very patient to answer my questions and guided me wherever I needed help. I know that she is pretty busy with her work and personal activities but at the same time I was very glad that she spent couple of hours mentoring me. Out of many learning’s today I truly believe she was very approachable in helping me out.

Kids

Whenever I saw American dolls in India, I always wondered how the dolls resembled a blonde and appeared chubby and cute. U.S kids are very attractive due to their healthy skin, fair complexion, pinky lips and colorful dress. My tennis partner was accompanied by his kids for today's morning practice. Both of my friend’s kids were cute and simple. Now after being in U.S for sometime I can correlate that the dolls are exact miniature of American Kids.

Good Habits

I was very excited to meet this person during the happy hour. We both had the same opinion as far as taking care of one's health was concern. She had more knowledge about calorie value, fat types and hormones. She follows a restrict diet compared to what I do. I was glad to know that there are people like me who are very cautious about what they eat. She had many good habits and planned tasks for each day which is exact replica of my nature. She is very particular about sleeping for at least 8 hours every day to maintain a healthy look. For the first time in my life I was hearing someone from IT industry say that they get time to sleep for more than 8 hours. Most of the people working for software companies completely spoil their health by sleeping for 3-6 hours a day. It is very important to focus on one’s health when one is young so that one can stay fit and independent as one grows old. My good habits routine has become even more stronger after talking to this person in the evening. While my colleagues had a great time enjoying their drink and I had my best time discussing about healthy habits on the same table.

Whatever is Meant

One of my friends had got flowers for her parents in India, as her luggage crossed the specified limit; she had to leave few things here. She purchased the artificial flowers with so much of love for her parents and that was one of the things her parents wanted her to carry for them. Without any choice she had to leave the flowers with me. Sometimes I always think whatever is meant for you in life will for sure reach you at the right time. I believe the flowers were meant for my new cube. Decorated my place with those lovely flowers.

Relationship

When we know for sure that we can just shut off the other person by passing on some rude comments when that person is trying to annoy you, it better to control our anger and temper. All that matters in life is relationship no matter who the person is. In corporate world it is important to have a broad smile whenever you want to say something polished. Fighting and arguing is absolutely not advisable as that would ruin our healthy relationship with our colleague. I don't like pretending being good always but when I have to think of maintaining bond with my co-workers I act like a best person in the world who controls all my free emotions. My feelings were kindled today but I just ignored it for this one word "Relationship".

Strange Exp

This morning I could only view the hair of the person standing outside our apartment through the lens. As I was rushing to leave for office, I never even bothered to inquire and quickly opened the door thinking it was one of my friends. To my dismay I saw a middle aged lady holding a crushed piece of paper. She politely asked if she could make a call from my phone. I was not willing to take even 0% risk of letting a stranger in our house; I made up some stories to get rid of her. I locked the door and left to office. On the way I was only thinking what if I lost my mobile in an outing and had to reach my friend, for sure I would have also begged a stranger to make a call. I felt little bad for not helping the woman who knocked our door today but at the same time I cannot risk my personal security in a foreign country. It was a very different and unusual experience for me with the lady.

Many thoughts

My mind is preoccupied with many thoughts today. I am bit disturbed and confused.

Disturbing Mixer

Sometimes I really feel sorry to operate mixer and vacuum cleaner after 8 P.M, but many times we are helpless. We quiet often disturb our neighbors either by making boisterous conversations or by operating noisy electric device. It is said Americans are early sleepers and arousers though there are many exceptional cases. As our apartment is completely constructed using heavy wood, one can hear A-Z of what is happening around in the close by apartments. The wooden walls only serve as a means of partition between rooms and do not absorb any sound generated. Today we operated two mixers at the same time after 8 P.M and ensuring our neighbors were completely troubled.

Genius CC

I prefer watching documentary movies compared to usual ones. After a long time I am staying at home for the whole day. I tried watching the following movie based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. Some are born genius and Charlie Chaplin is one among those. He has been so creative and comical in his profession. Few scenes in this movie are just stunning, to name a few when little Charlie performs at the age of five to rescue his mother from the hit, bread fork dance on the table during the lunch conversation and Charlie becoming short all of the sudden etc.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/101893/chaplin

This movie is worth watching only if you are interested to admire and know the megastar Charlie Chaplin.

Lovable Hug

First time when I saw my client hug my X onsite coordinator in one of the send of parties, I was thinking how come American's can be so affectionate. As far as Indians are concern hugging is something done only among close ones. Giving a hug to a colleague is definitely unimaginable in India. I did not initially like this culture of hugging people to indicate one's affection but later after closely observing the emotions of people, I felt there is nothing wrong to hug when one's mind and heart is free from lust. It is also scientifically proved that touch treatment in any form i.e. hug, kiss, holding hands etc. helps one to be healthy. My building infrastructure in-charge lady gave me a lovable hug late afternoon when I informed her that I would be moving to a new place from Monday.

Rain Rain

It rained again today. In the afternoon it appeared as if it rained heavily. But in the evening I found the parking ground to be dry indicating no sign of rainfall. At least in MN, the place where I am residing the water drainage system is very well constructed and well planned that no water stagnates even after dense rainfall.

Concern of Hair

Hair loss is a big concern for many Indians in U.S. Climatic conditions make our scalp dry which in turn helps in the growth of dandruff. This exfoliation causes tremendous hair fall. Sometimes Indians worry about becoming bald very soon due to excessive use of lead water and drastic change in weather. Someone was very concern about their hair and was keenly inquiring about hair treatment this evening.

Point Five

I can't imagine how people can be sooooo good when it comes to helping me out. I was reluctant to join 3.5 team for the only reason I had no car and was absolutely unwilling to depend on someone for my ride to the indoor courts. My captain insisted me to join the team and asked me to stop bothering about my transportation. As my captain was out of town for today's match, until yesterday I was only planning to book a cab to reach the court. One of my team members knowing my state dropped a mail yesterday night stating that she would give me a ride to and fro. I was shocked, stunned and happy to know there are people who are willing to keep my tennis spirit. I still remember the days of fight that I had with my parents when I started to play tennis, my friend’s encouragement and support made me get associated with this sport for few years now. Sometimes fear surmounts when I think, I might have to give up this sport if I get married to someone who has absolutely no interest in tennis or if my health gets spoilt.

In U.S it is easy to keep up once tennis hunger as one can find people through USTA, Medtronic etc. I was winning all the matches in 3.0 leagues and now I am losing all matches in 3.5. It is just a difference of point five in the rating but that speaks a lot about the players. In 3.0, one can score points by focusing on the opponents weak points, but in 3.5 your opponent is equally proficient in volley, lob, drop, serve and returns. One can experience long rallies and movements in 3.5 leagues. One has to be very fit to compete in 3.5. It is mix of stamina, stroke and slice in 3.5. I have been playing singles for the past two weeks and I found the matches to be very challenging. Today's match I ramped from a score of 0-4 to 7-5 and later lost my stamina and completely gave up the second set without scoring even a single game point. We winded up the match after playing a neck to neck tie break. I was not worrying much about losing today’s match but felt glad for knowing my areas of improvement through many amazing tennis players in 3.5 league.

Still Under

Weather plays a crucial role in determining the deadlines for any construction. I have been noticing orange tags and sign boards in most of the streets today. Unlike Indians, people here use many sophisticated machines to get their construction done easily, quickly and safely.

Surf Excel

I found many Indians in U.S, who still value anything given by their parents, so do I. I am very sentimental when it comes to any small thing given by my loved ones. My parents had packed minimal amount of food items and detergents for my trip to U.S. At any given point of time I didn't ever feel like trashing any of the items given by my parents. Today I threw the emptied surf excel pack which I carried along with me couple of years back. Bit satisfied for the fact I kept carrying surf excel pack for the past two years, even when I moved from one apartment to other.

Active Day

It started at 6 today morning running actively to visit wet tennis court and later marching to Temple. I cann't express how much I enjoyed cooking and serving food for people visiting the temple this afternoon. I now completely know how to handle and treat people after today's incident. Cricket, bean bag and reception party made me have a racy evening. Overall few clicks of group photos and interaction with different category of people has made me become more active and naughty.

G Friend

Few years back, I was shocked to see my client’s son with his gal friend in one of the photos placed at her desk. I was questioning your son is just sixteen years old but still has a girl friend, she grinned and conveyed teens in U.S mandatorily have a gal or boy friend. I can not ever imagine having a boy friend when I was sixteen. Probably most of Indian teens would have undergone the phase of having crush on someone during school and college days but for sure we would not have expressed such matters to our parents. In U.S, teens share their puppy love with their parents. In a way I strongly feel parents should help juveniles to come out of such temporary feelings when needed. Highlight of today's dinner was when I heard my little friend say he doesn't have a gal friend and that is a problem.

Initiative

It is always a question mark when it comes to keeping in touch with our old friends or extending our hand with a new friend.
I quite often think my friends are busy and never ever bothered to mail or talk to them.

I believe my friends do have similar thinking which restrained them to keep in touch. At least I take the responsibility to occasionally mail across people to know what is happening on their side. It is usually me who puts out the hand to introduce myself to new people or to converse; today someone else took a bold initiative to shake hands with me. I like such personalities who are proactive in maintaining and establishing quick relationship.

Red-hot

These days I am bit concern whenever I get a big pimple on my face as I have plans to visit my parents in couple of months. I don't want to hear saggy comments from my parents such as "why I was not taking care of myself", “I look weak/pale” etc. I am eating well and not worrying about gaining weight. Now I am only thinking of impressing my parents with all my learning’s from U.S life style. Not sure how many gallons of water I drank today to keep my body cool. Feeling very stressed out and heated up today.

Nite out

After a long time I am doing a night out today.

Making a Wait

I do not actually like people waiting for me but most of the time I land up making people wait for me. I would have said "yes" to my friends to leave home and the very next minute either someone would have called me or stopped by at my desk. I can not be rude to the person talking to me by saying "hey listen I got to pack home now, talk to you later". I have to spend couple of minutes chit-chatting and later convey the message you know what my friends are waiting for my arrival to disperse home. Today I disappointed two of my friends by making them wait for 20-30 minutes.

Veggie

It is sometimes difficult to explain how few vegetables such as avocado, celery, broccoli, artichoke, jalapeno and asparagus look like to our relatives in India. U.S has a mix of vegetables and fruits from all over the world, few of which we could have never heard, imagined or seen in India. Explained about broccoli to someone today.

Pets

Pets such as puppies, kitten, rat and mice etc. have a great and cherishing life in U.S. Americans really treat pets as one of their family members. Today most of us were either hiding or running to protect ourselves from the site of gigantic and different varieties of dogs on our expedition to pot hole in Taylors falls.