CABS - What's your pick??

Life has been annoyingly hectic and I’m big time complaining about it to almost everyone. I’m beginning to get scared if people will find it depressing to be around me because I’m mumbling curses every other minute. To add to my agony, I have had some really bad experiences with cabs in the last two to three months and I would want to bore you guys with it.

So I generally book a cab when hubby or I want to go to the airport or when I have to go to IIMB early in the morning. Meru Cabs was my first tryst with the Cab world. I had heard a lot of good and bad things about them and decided to try my luck with them. So I booked a cab to the airport and I was mighty pleased to find out that the service was really good and I and hubby reached the airport on time. They had earned my respect and from then on Meru it would be for any long distance intra city service.

A couple of months back when I was booking a cab over the phone, I was baffled by the recorded voice instructions telling me a lot of new things and the one that really caught my attention was the fact that they would charge me Rs 25 as convenience charge if I wanted to book a cab in the next 30 minutes and Rs 50 as convenience charge if I wanted to book a cab later than 30 minutes in addition to the fare charges. It also said that there would be no convenience charge if I booked online. So I immediately disconnected the call, logged into their website and booked a cab and while it was processing my request, I really had a bad feeling and Voila!! I got a wonderful message in Red text that there were no cabs available and they were sorry. Well this was the time when I was ignorant about other alternative cab services and I called up their customer care to book a cab, I really did not care shelling out Rs 50 as long as I got to my destination. What really surprised me was the fact that they confirmed my booking when I called them after informing me that they would charge me Rs 50 as convenience charge. Now where did that extra cab come from?

There was this time when I had an exam to write at IIMB and ended up booking a Meru cab for 7.00AM. We are supposed to get an SMS half an hour prior to the pickup time about the cab details and I realized that it was 6.45 AM and I had still not received any SMS and I started to panic and trust me 90% of the time when an SMS does not arrive on time, it means something is wrong. I called up the customer care, got the number of the driver from them and called him up and the damn idiot very calmly told me that his vehicle had broken down and he doesn’t know how much time it would take him to fix it. I blew my top, how irresponsible of him to not call me up and inform me. I called the customer care and shouted at them but my husband thinks I am too well mannered even while shouting at people so he took it upon himself to give them a sound beating. Thankfully I made it somehow to IIMB on time that day, I’m not going to give the details of that fiasco.

This was when I realized that I had enough of Meru cabs and it was time to change to a different cab service and that is when I started noticing Easy Cabs patrolling the roads. Whenever I would call them to book a cab, I would find it really weird when they would say that my booking would be confirmed 30 minutes prior to pickup time. I mean it was completely irrational of them to inform you 30 minutes before the designated time if your cab is confirmed or cancelled. I mean just imagine that there is no availability of cabs and they send a cancellation SMS 30 minutes prior to your pick up time. That would be nothing short of a disaster if you are going to the airport at 3.00 AM in the morning or you are on your way to write an important exam. So I presumed that they wouldn’t be so foolish to come up with such a stupid policy and whenever the person on the other side said, “Your booking will be confirmed 30 minutes prior to pick up time and we will send your booking ID in the next 2 minutes”, I always thought they meant that my booking is confirmed and they would send me the cab details 30 minutes prior to pick up time. Everything was going on well with Easy Cabs when on one fateful day I realized that I had not received any SMS about the cab details and I called up customer care and to my horror they informed me that they had cancelled my booking due to non availability of cabs and they sent me a cancellation SMS. What the hell?? And this was exactly what I told the customer care guy and where the hell was the cancellation SMS, I never received anything. When the guy told me that it was their policy to inform the customer about the booking status 30 min prior to pick up is when I realized that my assumptions were all wrong and these people’s policies totally suck!!

I immediately had a change of mind and decided to switch to Meru Cabs, at least they let you know immediately whether your booking is confirmed or not even if you have to shell out some extra bucks unlike Easy Cabs that keeps you hooked onto them till the last minute just to inform you that your booking is cancelled and you can go to hell for all they care.

Ripping The Decade

Well it is that time of the year to retrospect on all the important events that have happened so far this year. Coming to think of which, it is actually the end of a decade. Ten long years have just gone by and do I even remember what all has happened all these years?? That is when I thought I will push my retrospection to not just this year but the last decade. So here goes,

2000 – Fresh out of school and ready for college
Ten years ago, I was still a teenager; all excited about getting into college and saying good bye to my school uniforms, lunch boxes, polished shoes and regularly trimmed nails. Sweet 16!!! An awkward age for everyone. Overly conscious about pimples, trying to act pricey with guys and a receiver of prank calls. Thinking of which I don’t remember studying at all but I’m sure I must have studied a bit or else I would have definitely remembered flunking that year. So I basically just stayed pretty and gossiped my way through the whole of 2000.

2001 – The longest year ever
With the board exams coming up, I had no choice but to study and get bored to death. I pretty much made up for not studying the previous year. It was an extremely bland year and I felt like a complete geek sitting with books all the time either at college or at tuitions or at home. The only time I listened to music was probably when I was finishing my record work, how sad can it get?? I finally passed the boards with flying colors and put an end to the boredom that had consumed me the whole of the year.


2002 – My first step towards becoming an Engineer
Like every other person of my age, the next big career move was to get into Engineering and make everyone around me proud. The buzz word around that time was’ Biotechnology’ and luckily for me ‘Biotech Engineering’ was just introduced for the very first time in Karnataka and I thought these were signs for me to get into the field. Quite honestly I don’t think any other stream would have suited me better enough. So the mid of this year saw an enthusiastic and nervous me with an admit for Biotech Engineering at Sir MVIT, Bangalore.

2003 – Realized I had made friends that would last a lifetime
First and foremost, there are a lot of people who are not present in the picture below and that does not imply they are not my close friends. They may not be part of this picture but they are still in my thoughts. Engineering without you guys would have been like food without salt. Apart from the professional education I received in college, there were so many life lessons that I learnt from each of my friends. I can write a book on how I met each of them and how they became an integral part of my life.

2004 – Year of Confusion
People around me were already preparing for GRE and planning the next stage of their life and I was absolutely clueless about what I wanted. Was I interested in getting a good job after engineering or was my inclination more towards higher studies? Like the rest, even I started preparing for GRE, joined coaching classes but I knew I lacked the passion that one should have when they are sure about something. It was all about being in the rat race and not getting left behind.

2005 – Still in college but unemployed
Till now I was happy that I was doing well in Engineering and had even managed to get a distinction in all the semesters. However there was a worm in my head that was not letting me live the happiness. I was in my third year of engineering and this was the time when different companies would come to campuses to recruit the best of the lot. I saw people who got lower grades than me getting selected in more than one company and I was still “Unemployed”. My ego was hurt like never before, I remembered all the times I did well in the exams and sympathized with the ones who hadn’t done so well and destiny had totally turned the wheel upside down on me now.


2006 – Welcome to the Corporate Culture
A few months after I started cribbing about my unemployment status, I got hired and by a company that was offering a better pay than the rest. Finally I could roam around with my head up in the air and went around telling all my relatives that whatever happens, happens for the good. I was still in college and my company was kind enough to give me the final year project and also paid me for it. I was in awe of the corporate culture, the way everyone would call each other by their first names irrespective of the age or designation and the fearless attitude of the techies who always thought they would sell like hot cakes even if their current company threw them out. This year was all about learning the new culture, wearing formals, gaping at managers and trying hard to get out of the college mode and behave more professionally.

2007 – Is this what they call love?
Along with me and several others who joined the company, there was a special someone who caught my attention with his antics. I was amazed by the way he would openly flirt around with me but it was only during this year I realized that it was love. I have had crushes and infatuations before but was always confused and skeptical about how I would recognize that one person whom I truly love. After knowing him for more than a year now and being in a confused relationship with him, I decided that we both were just wasting time by not defining our relationship and only after I broke it off, did I realize that I was truly in love.

2008 – Marriage jitters!!
I guess marriages are really made in heaven. On April 18th I got hitched to the same guy I realized I was in love with. We anticipated some drama from our parents but surprisingly they were pleased with our choice and immediately gave their thumbs up. There was a brief period of marriage jitters where I and my future hubby successfully freaked each other out but it ultimately ended in a happy marriage. This was most definitely the most significant year of the decade as it gave me a partner who I am confident will hold my hand and walk beside me for the rest of my life.

2009 – The world outside India
The perks of being in the IT industry is that you get to frequently travel abroad and it was during this year I finally got my chance. This was my first trip abroad and I can’t explain the excitement and anticipation of visiting a new country and experiencing the culture. On the day of the flight, I got really nervous and emotional about going alone without family and was even wondering why the hell I agreed to it. Once I reached USA, it was a completely different experience, loved every bit of it. Strangely I loved the fact that I was independent and had to make my own decisions, I enjoyed the long flight watching movies at a stretch, I enjoyed shopping in a new country, I enjoyed talking to new people, I enjoyed the food. In short I enjoyed the whole experience.

2010 – Am I really brainy or am I just stressed out??
After working in the corporate field for a while, I realized that I wanted to do my MBA but was just way too lazy to prepare for the entrance exams. This year I decided that I should at least start preparing for the exams and with a lot of hope wrote the entrance for PGSEM at IIMB. What distinguishes PGSEM from the rest of the MBA programs is that it is specially designed for IT professionals who would want to work and pursue the degree. This seemed like the ideal course for me as I did not want to quit my company to study. After giving the entrance exam, my hopes were shattered as I knew I was not up to the mark but I guess fate had something else in store for me because not just did I clear the entrance but even got selected for the program. It was a great feeling to finally walk the corridors of IIMB as a student but little did I realize about the stress factor at that time. This year I realized that if I’m capable of managing work, studies and family, there is nothing in life I cannot face.

With this I end my retrospection of this decade. It has truly been a whirl pool of emotions and experiences and I eagerly await the new things in store for me as I welcome 2011.

The Race

After a long wait I’m finally having my end term holidays for a week. When I mention a week, it just means that I will not be attending classes for a week because as I have mentioned in my previous post, I’m still working so that doesn’t leave me with any “Holidays” as such. Well I don’t want to talk much about the exams, it was a traumatic experience and I hope I don’t get scarred for life with such experiences every quarter. Last Sunday when I was relaxing and enjoying the sweet pleasures of freedom, I happened to notice that the movie ‘3 Idiots’ was playing on TV and I wanted to watch it again. The last time I had seen the movie was just after its release in the theatre. I knew it was a great movie with a lot of emotional moments sandwiched between some really hilarious scenes which I’m sure the audiences were really able to connect to.

When the movie was playing on TV, I couldn’t help but notice the difference in me. I was not just laughing when there was a funny scene nor did I just have a lump in my throat when the scenes got really emotional. I was thinking about each and every thing that was said or shown in the movie and my thoughts were profound and deep. My heart specially went out to the two protagonists struggling to make it through in the college. One is bombarded with the stress of providing for his family and being the only savior of his poverty stricken family and the other is caught in a web of parental pressure to do something he doesn’t feel passionate about. How many times haven’t we been in similar situations? The race as they call it in the movie begins very early in life. I’m sure 90% of us are not what we aspired to be when we were young. As we grow old, the realities of life cave in on us; we start thinking about things practically. It’s all about money and not about passion anymore.

Thus begins the never ending race to join the best school, best college, and best university all in the quest of finding that perfect job that will flood our homes with so much money that there is no such word as “Want” in our dictionary. Just the very thought of having so much money makes me so happy right now. What scares me sometimes is everyone feels that they will become rich and famous some day. At least most of the people I know feel that way but if that were to be true, I’m sure the world would be populated with rich people. Well what happens to those countless people who feel that they will be rich someday? They just realize that they were immature to think that way at one point in their life and they just get practical in life and accept the harsh realities of life.

Nevertheless the race still continues and the number of engineer’s, doctor’s and MBA’s keep growing at an exponential rate harboring dreams of success and a better tomorrow.

I Will Be Back!!!

It feels like ages since I have posted something here. The reason is I just joined an MBA program at IIMB for working professionals from the IT industry called PGSEM. So this gives me the flexibility to work and study at the same time which is definitely a good thing or thats what I thought when I got a call for interview from IIMB. I have to attend classes on Fridays and Saturdays and work the rest of the week.But now I have realized that it is really stressful, balancing work and study is a painful act because you cannot ignore either. After 4 years of leading an almost stress free life after college, its hard to get back to the grind and believe me the IIM's have mastered the art of grinding students. I know in the long run I will be benefited and everything will be just fine but right now its really hard for me.

On one hand it gives me a great high to be studying at a prestigious institute and every time I watch a scene or a song from the movie 3 Idiots, I cannot help but recall where the scene or song must have been shot on campus. On the other hand, I really miss the good ol days where I eagerly awaited Fridays as I knew there was nothing much to do than laze around. The worst part is I'm not getting any time to blog, I hate to see the same blog post every time I open my blog page.

I just need some time to get used to this routine and after that I'll definitely chalk out a plan to get my life back on track and most important of all to blog regularly. Adios for now but I'll be back very soon.

Won the Caption Contest!!!

One of my dear blogger friend Lazy Pineapple  had a caption contest on her blog last week and guess what, I won it along with two other bloggers!!! Yippee!!
She was kind enough to send over a trophy which you can see below.

It was a very innovative contest, where we had to give a funny caption to this picture.

Well my caption was "I wished for a man whose heart was as pure as a child's but looks like there's none left because this is what I got. "
Thanks Lazy Pineapple :)

The Icing On The Cake

I would like to call myself a great thinker because there are so many random thoughts that come into my head out of the blue. When I’m supposed to be concentrating on my work, I suddenly start thinking about the movie I saw the previous night or when I’m actually supposed to watch a movie, I start thinking about the unfinished work at office. So basically I have a wandering mind that keeps me very pre-occupied most of the time.

Today happens to be one such day when my mind is wandering at dangerous speeds into infinity, eternity or just call it what you want. I suddenly realized in the midst of some important work that there is really no time that we can devote solely for the purpose of being happy. The mind is imprisoned because we do not really follow what it tells us. If it asks us to just take an off from work, it comes across as a highly irrational suggestion or if it asks us to just slap the person who is bragging in front of everyone, it comes across as the most foolish thing that anyone can think of. However the beauty lies in the fact that though we cannot devote days together to do what we want, there are sudden unexpected moments in a person’s life that brings so much of happiness and joy. Probably it’s moments like these that really inspire us to believe that life is indeed really beautiful. These are moments that are like the icing on a cake.

Let me take you through some of these amazing icings in my life,

1. As a blogger what I cherish the most is receiving comments on my blog. Be it a bouquet or a brickbat (but I definitely prefer the former), I love it the same as long as it comes in the form of a comment. The way my face lights up when I see one on my blog is something I cannot describe. Thanks to all the beautiful people out there who make my day just by making their presence felt on my blog.

2. I know most of you like sunny weather but I definitely do not belong to that category. I hate it when I wake up with the sun right in my face. I work in an air conditioned office, all credits for being in the software industry and as you all know the windows are probably more for accessorizing the place and have become vestigial. The only purpose of a window in my office is for people to catch a view of the lovely cubbon park right outside. What would we have done if not for this amazing view? So there are moments when in the dead of summer I lift my head to peer over my cubicle and I see this really amazing cloudy weather coupled with the wonderful view of cubbon park staring right back at me. All the frustration and stress just take a back seat and life seems so much more beautiful that time.

3. If you have read one of my earlier posts Of Sleep And Repairs you will have a fairly good understanding of how weekends can totally go for a toss at times. Fortunately life is not always cruel to me and there are times when it shows me some mercy in the form of weekends when I have absolutely nothing to do. It’s all about sleep, movies, wine, food and all the good things in life.

4. Sometimes I get really temperamental when I know I am going to eat stuff that I do not like. Just when I am getting used to the fact that dinner would be a very boring affair, hubby announces that he’s in the mood for Italian or Chinese. You won’t believe the sudden transition in me from “Not at all hungry” to “I am so hungry, I can eat a horse” but I keep those emotions to myself. It’s always better when the dinner plans come from the hubby’s mouth so it gives me a chance to pick on him the next time I want to eat out and he’s not in the mood.

5. There have been very few times when I have laughed so much that my stomach would hurt so bad that I would have to force myself to stop laughing. I always look forward to the next such moment.

6. What could be better than waking up in the middle of the night with sleep written all over the face, checking your mobile to see the time and realizing that it’s just 2.00 AM and there’s a long way to go before you have to actually wake up. There are times when I do the same routine and realize that the next day is a Saturday or a Sunday. The slothy smile that comes on my face at that time is probably one of my best expressions.

7. I have mixed feelings when it comes to cooking. I love cooking what my hubby and I like but not the routine stuff. I absolutely love it when my hubby and I make Pasta and Stir Fried Mushrooms and Bell Peppers together. What makes it all the more special is the fact that the recipe is totally ours and we love it every bit. Thinking of which I will probably give out the recipe sometime soon here.

8. I love watching movies but I totally hate the melodramatic kinds where the characters cry at the drop of your hat. I’m sure all of you have seen movies that are so beautiful that some scenes just bring tears to your eyes because it feels like you are living the movie. It is quite embarrassing to shed a tear when everyone’s around and you will find me looking at the ceiling most of the times to hide my tears but I totally love giving in to the movie when I’m watching it alone. “Roman Holiday” and “Green Mile” are by far the best movies I have seen.

9. I love reading novels but there are some that leaves you in awe after you finish reading them. There is a sense of satisfaction that you have just finished reading a breath taking novel. You can’t help but retrospect about this novel immediately and instantly share it with someone. I love this feeling.

10. Ahhh!! The satisfaction I get when I have just given it back to a person I hate the most is indescribable. Don’t I just love sarcasm in situations like this? It feels like I have just won a battle. I do feel bad for the person a lot of times but I have ways of consoling myself in such a way that I finally end up feeling like a Good Samaritan.

These transient moments make life what it is for me and life is definitely beautiful.

A Special Post

This is a special post dedicated to my best friend who has stood by me through thick and thin. I do not want to reveal this person’s name but rather describe this person. This person has been my support all through my school, college and professional life. In school this person was the one whom I would pick on my birthday to accompany me to every class to distribute sweets to the teachers. My day would not be complete without calling this person after school and talking for at least half an hour despite the fact that I was with this person all through the day in school. Life would have been drab if I did not have this person to discuss about rumors, gossip and how can I forget, long talks about cute guys and endless rants about teachers who messed up our happiness. This person was my accomplice when I transformed into a detective trying to find out my secret admirer or the mystery caller who would torment me by his calls and put me in trouble with my parents. You my dear friend were the source of my encouragement when I did not want to slog in the workshop during engineering and instead wanted to get the wrought iron models in some workshop outside by joining hands with me in this endeavor. I cannot imagine my engineering days without our giggles and pranks. You were the person who lent your shoulder for me to sleep on when I was unwell, you rejoiced when I did well in my term exams and you cried when I cried.

Should I even have to mention the episode on the library terrace when you endlessly threatened the person who stole my phone? I couldn’t help but smile even in that state of mind. I also remember the ugly SMS’s that were sent to this person to return my phone. I hated the time when you would get so scared when I raised my voice and then pull my leg about the incredible temper I had. You were so jealous when a new person wanted to be part of our group. I remember bunking classes with you in the name of doing something eventful for the college fest, laughing at your playfulness and careless attitude with the teachers. I always wondered how you would cram everything in the last minute and still do better than me in the exams and how can I forget the disgusting names that you would call me in front of the entire class. You would claim that I was the only person with whom you would actually gossip but otherwise you were a very non-gossip and non interfering type of person. I still do not believe that.

Only you know how much I would love bunking half a day of office just to gossip and shop and have lunch or watch a movie with you. I can’t forget the time when we had nothing to do so we just ate and ate so much that we walked like pregnant ladies. I admired the way you drove out an unwanted, obsessed pest out of my life with just a single phone call. At first I thought you were extremely quiet, I off all the people had to make an effort to strike a conversation with you and then there came a point when I had to ask you to shut up. . I still remember the time when we all went for a movie and you just went dumb, I was cursing my stars for sitting next to you because all you would talk about was regarding the schedule of when each movie would release in the future. I was so bored and just when I was about to judge you, you sang the happy birthday jingle loudly and very melodiously (Sarcasm to the core) to me over the phone on my birthday. I was surprised by the diversity of your nature.

Your flirtatious nature intimidated me; I started believing in the adage that looks can be deceptive only after seeing you. I must admit that I hated you at first but no words can express how much I’m attached to you now. I still remember the time when you lost your balance and dropped a whole glass of cake shake which I was eagerly waiting to have in front of everyone in the mall. God wasn’t I embarrassed!!! All your stupid antiques actually came across as cute to me and your temper is something even Lord Shiva will shudder to think about :)

I still can’t forget the time when you came to India just for a month and were eager to meet me and I couldn’t meet you due to whatever reasons. Only I know how guilty I felt and it was like the sky had finally taken its rightful position and was no more resting on my head when I apologized to you.

You were the only one with whom I had an instant connection. I could just be myself, talk gibberish and be foolish with you. Most of my photographs with you are indicators of the wild, crazy times I have had with you. I have never felt so emotional when I dropped you off at the airport. I was already planning a trip in my head to meet you again.

I could go on and on describing about this special person for days or months or years and what makes it all the more special is that the person I have described about till now is not just one person. I have described all my special friends who have made a profound impact in my life in this post. They are extraordinary people who have given me great memories to cherish all my life and the least I can do is dedicate this blog to them. Cheers to all of you!!! You guys have made me laugh, cry, scream, angry to the extent that I have pulled my hair out, bored, irritated, authoritative, sympathetic , made me look like a fool and I can go on and on. In short you guys have brought out the best in me.