All in a Day's Work: Lost in Translation

So I am working on a project on employee benefits in a certain country....in South East Asia and I am trying to translate the content on one of the websites to understand the health cover offered by the Statutory benefits.

Now I come across the maternity benefits offered and the literal translation of one of the lines is labour action.....I stare at that for 5 minutes and then I realise its actually delivery!

Blame me if you can for laughing because ironically thats a better translation than the word deliver....yeah it can get pretty violent! :-)

2 A.M. Flash!

You know how in life there are some things you are absolutely sure you should do, and there are some things you are absolutely sure you shouldn't do.

Then there are some, which you can't be sure whether to indulge in them or not. Though they add some stress to life, the day you stop having those things in life that fall in this category, is the day your life probably ends as there is no edge, no mystery, no uncertainty that adds the spice to living!

So keep stumbling along, all your decisions are half chances anyways. So are everyone else's!

Delhi Diaries 3: Of Old Friendships

This post has been ebbing and wanting to see the day light (or more like my desktop) for long. But ah time! Wish there were 48 hours in a day....but I digress. So the third post on my experiences in Delhi is to a lovely one hour that I was able to steal with a really lovely friend of mine, who was kind enough to travel an hour and a half one way, to come meet me because I was a stranger to the city.

I clearly remember the last day of college, almost three years back, when we had gone to collect our marksheets, photos, certificates and other paraphelenia which were to become the longest lasting bonds probably with Xavier's (ahhhh Xavier's). That was the last time I had seen Radhika, someone I had shared some classes, some common thoughts and a lot of great memories with. We've been in touch with each other over the past three years via email and occassionally over the phone, but being in different cities, it had been quite some time that we had actually seen each other.

Meeting Radhika was like being engulfed into a warm memory like the one that comes you on a rainy day when you are curled under your blanket and can smell the wet mud. It helped me go back to a time, a phase of my life that I really cherish and in a way miss like hell. There were memories and there was catching up, but most of all there was the comfort of a friendship and common "heritage"...a fresh breath of air.

Thanks Radhika for that wonderful hour, I really really appreciate your gesture!

Delhi Diaries: The Story of My Induction

 DAY ONE:

.

 DAY TWO:

 DAY 3 ONWARDS: TILL DAY 7

Survived through most of this due to great company!!

Delhi Diary: Day One

Its one country, but two different worlds in two different cities. Delhi and Mumbai are starkly different, and these differences start to emerge even from the air, before you've landed. But I digress..... I should talk of my experience from morning to evening, and not at some random point.

Let me first talk about my first ever experience of air travel. Planes are beautiful! The speed they catch when they're taking off, the way it just throws you back on your seat! Wow! And how surreal is it when clouds are below you and..its like some weirdly animated fantasy scene from a hindi movie come alive! I want to now learn how to fly one. And I learnt today I am not a nervous flier! I am soooo proud of me! Yay! And I must give a mention to Indigo for the beauty of their service....its a no frills airline totally, but in my books, it totally rocked where it should've...the timeliness....it managed to reach Delhi aiport just a little before schedule though it had left Mumbai airport later than scheduled. Good job guys!

Oh and when I saw the ground crew and pilots roaming about at the airport in general, I found the answer to a long time grumble me and my friends have always had: "Where are all the cute men in India???!!!" And my greatest luck? My neighbouring seat co-passenger was a pilot! What a great first flight ever to have! With a knowledgeable person telling me all about it! :-) :-) And another thing I realised is that running an aeroplane takes a lot of team work, and what better than to have a great team backing you up? There was something about the way in which the ground crew said goodbye to the pilot with a thumbs up that we have you covered and a have a safe trip wave! It was touching...

Then Delhi...first impression? Wallop of hot dry air @ 45 degrees Celsius!! I tried not to make any impressions based on what I've heard...good or bad about Delhi...and was I right! Touchwood, no men stared at me like I'd heard they would. Or grab their crotches on seeing me, for that matter (a blog I had recently read forwarded to me by a Delhite friend. However there were a few things drastically different than Mumbai: Chillar, Chutta (a term for monetary change) is khulla here. People are not as helpful, or glad to help as they are in Mumbai. Cabbies are not helpful here either as they are in Mumbai....funnily enough, they hadn't even heard of my hotel (and I thought Courtyard Marriott with the Mariott name would be famous enough!). And there were no warm smiles, no may I help you.....no happy to show you in the right direction...people just stare at you like you're an alien even if you say a warm thank you. Phew! I prefer Mumbai people!

Coming to Courtyard Marriott: my first experience of a five star hotel. Wo-ow! I can't believe people actually live like this. And get to travel around like this. Professional staff, luxurious rooms and beds, interesting bath, great food. And great service. I am happy I am getting to experience all this. I mean wo-ow! Its like a chapter from a dream diary come true today for me! :-) :-)

Thats all for my first day. Keep tuned for further updates of me enjoying the capital!!! :-)

I Am A Girl!

I am a girl!

I don't need reasons to be complicated!

I am my dad's princess

I can spend hours in the bathroom with no one to judge

I always smell good

I always look good too.

I am multi talented

Chocolate is my birthright.

I can hug my best friends in public without people questioning...umm... things or tendencies!

I don't need reasons to dress up....I do just because I can!

I am a girl! And enjoying it...

I. Just. Want.To

I. Just. Want. To. Snuggle. Under. My. Blanket. And. Not. Come. Out. For. An. Entire. Day.