Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Of Teething, Sleep Regressions and more...
I'm a zombie...a diaper changing, breastfeeding, babyfood churning zombie. Why is it that they always tell you motherhood completes a woman? I'm losing my mind...and my hair...I do feel a tad bit incomplete. I have given birth to a screaming banshee with the attitude of a teenager. Nothing and I mean nothing makes him happy these days. With the exception of Mommy making silly faces that is. Sleep is a much desired, scarce commodity these days. My lil fella is teething and has officially turned into a monster. If I could, I would get those teeth marching out right now. Alas, like all good things, these pearlies want us to suffer before they make an appearance. On a brighter note, he's stopped smearing his cereal over his face. Guess he's realised it doesnt do much for his skin and its kinda boring since Mom just wants to scrub him down later. I need a break so bad...actually no, I just need to sleep
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
I'm Back!!
I'm back ...after a hiatus of over a year and a half. And guess what...I'm a mother now!! My little munchkin is almost 6 months old and boy is he a brat. I love him to death but he's a handful and keeps me on my toes. I'm now a SAHM and hope to be a lot more active on the blogging front. So watch this space for more!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Susan Boyle Rocks!
Like everyone else who’s read about her or heard her sing, I too have an opinion on the lady in question.
Thankfully, I’m not one of those cynical people touting this as unwarranted blitzkrieg. And I’m thankful for that because it’s shameful how some of us feel the need to take away from her moment of glory. Let the woman enjoy her fame, let her enjoy the adulation – god knows there are less deserving people out there who we idolize. I think she deserves all the attention and more! Not just because she sings well, she deserves it as much even if she didn’t.
It takes guts for a 48 year old woman who has lived a secluded and lonely life to do something like this. It takes guts for a woman to survive on her own. I admire her more for her courage and her ability to be happy with the cards life has dealt her. And yes, she does come across as a happy person, not someone you need to pity.
While we may want to project her as the underdog and put ourselves in her shoes and feel sorry for all the hardships she’s been through, she doesn’t seem to want that. We feel emotional when we see the video – we are all thinking now she’s going to be happy, things will change for her and become better now that we have recognized her talent. But the fact is, she doesn’t seem unhappy to start with! She seemed perfectly content with her existence. Her confidence, her joie de vivre were so evident as she took that stage and answered those questions. Damn all those who pity her for being a 48 year old virgin with a cat for company, living a lonely existence in a village. This woman has chutzpah and she really did kick ass!
Thankfully, I’m not one of those cynical people touting this as unwarranted blitzkrieg. And I’m thankful for that because it’s shameful how some of us feel the need to take away from her moment of glory. Let the woman enjoy her fame, let her enjoy the adulation – god knows there are less deserving people out there who we idolize. I think she deserves all the attention and more! Not just because she sings well, she deserves it as much even if she didn’t.
It takes guts for a 48 year old woman who has lived a secluded and lonely life to do something like this. It takes guts for a woman to survive on her own. I admire her more for her courage and her ability to be happy with the cards life has dealt her. And yes, she does come across as a happy person, not someone you need to pity.
While we may want to project her as the underdog and put ourselves in her shoes and feel sorry for all the hardships she’s been through, she doesn’t seem to want that. We feel emotional when we see the video – we are all thinking now she’s going to be happy, things will change for her and become better now that we have recognized her talent. But the fact is, she doesn’t seem unhappy to start with! She seemed perfectly content with her existence. Her confidence, her joie de vivre were so evident as she took that stage and answered those questions. Damn all those who pity her for being a 48 year old virgin with a cat for company, living a lonely existence in a village. This woman has chutzpah and she really did kick ass!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Eschew Obfuscation!
Ok so what is it with IT really? I admit I’m the last member of the non tech savvy species left on this planet, the sole surviving being for who anything beyond the basics is confounding…so sue me! Really makes me wonder if anyone speaks regular English anymore. Gone are the days when you asked a question and got a straightforward answer. All you get now are IT dudes strutting around using their own brand of lingo like some sort of alien language for higher beings. Making poor souls like me feel like we need to go back to school and get a refund. I don’t know what a widget is and I don’t know what it does. Its sound like an icky insect one would squash under ones feet but I’m guessing that’s not the correct interpretation of the word.
Similarly, the server to me represents some box somewhere which keeps crashing and having these subtle effects on my entire life. It’s like a cranky,unfriendly cat…only with more lives. And you can blame anything on the server…I mean it, anything. Why didn’t we send our proposal – the server crashed. Why didn’t we complete our reports – the server crashed. Why didn’t you send the mail you were supposed to – the server crashed. Why are you taking 3 hour lunch breaks – the server crashed! And no – I don’t understand acronyms either! SOA, SSID, RUP, OLAP, NTFS, FDSG, YTEWTY, VBCNB, OPJO (I made up a few of those last ones incidentally, my fingers seemed to have a life of their own– but I’m sure ye IT Gods can ascribe meanings to these newbies) are like the word unscramble game in the morning newspaper.
Sure we management types use jargon too. But there’s nothing awe-inspiring about paradigm shifts, core competencies, SWOT, brainstorming, 360 degree feedback and the like anymore. Kids learn them in in nursery these days. Movie stars use them in movies. All of us use them everyday…like yesterday…when I did a SWOT on whether dinner was going to be from McDonalds or from Dominos. So easy and helpful in making life's decisions. Let’s see a widget doing all that.
Similarly, the server to me represents some box somewhere which keeps crashing and having these subtle effects on my entire life. It’s like a cranky,unfriendly cat…only with more lives. And you can blame anything on the server…I mean it, anything. Why didn’t we send our proposal – the server crashed. Why didn’t we complete our reports – the server crashed. Why didn’t you send the mail you were supposed to – the server crashed. Why are you taking 3 hour lunch breaks – the server crashed! And no – I don’t understand acronyms either! SOA, SSID, RUP, OLAP, NTFS, FDSG, YTEWTY, VBCNB, OPJO (I made up a few of those last ones incidentally, my fingers seemed to have a life of their own– but I’m sure ye IT Gods can ascribe meanings to these newbies) are like the word unscramble game in the morning newspaper.
Sure we management types use jargon too. But there’s nothing awe-inspiring about paradigm shifts, core competencies, SWOT, brainstorming, 360 degree feedback and the like anymore. Kids learn them in in nursery these days. Movie stars use them in movies. All of us use them everyday…like yesterday…when I did a SWOT on whether dinner was going to be from McDonalds or from Dominos. So easy and helpful in making life's decisions. Let’s see a widget doing all that.
This isn't just another story...
While I wanted my first post to be on a fun-filled, light, frothy topic, it seems I am no longer in that frame of mind. Read a disconcerting book today. Since I don’t want to dwell on the book and author as much as I want to on the subject, I’m going to refrain from any direct mention of the same.
The story was based on a topic we all seem to readily take for granted these days…Freedom. For me, this book was a jolt. I’ve always known that the liberated thoughts and ideas, the freedom of making my choice and moulding my own destiny have not been offered to each individual. I’ve walked the planet long enough to know life isn’t fair, that not everyone is accorded the same opportunities and life for some is more bearable and enjoyable than for others.
However, what was different about this book is that it exposed you to extreme and flagrant violations of basic human rights. Since it was a reflection of true incidents in our society today, I couldn’t help but treat it more seriously than one would read fiction. I couldn’t help but put myself in the situation and wonder why even after years of contributing to development and advancement, women were treated worse than animals in certain parts of the world. Hell even animals are better. They only prey on each other, they don’t debase or humiliate each other the way we humans do.
What kind of a life does such a woman lead? Born to reproach, leading life through a series of restraints, never finding the courage to break free from any. Even if she did find the courage, where would she go in a land so neurotic about the honour of its men. No freedom to education, no freedom of movement, no freedom to talk, laugh, sing, dance. No freedom of choice. Brought into this world only to first silently bear the contempt of a father, and then a husband…and god forbid if she happens to bring another daughter into this world.
If this wasn’t enough persecution, the law of the land ascribes these very same women who gave birth to them as the root of all vices. To be punished if she breaks even one of the various dictums that are viciously suffocating. To be punished if she tries to defend herself from the atrocities she’s put through. Do these women have any choice but to end it all?
Of what use is a life so dark, it’s like being chained to the ground covered with a shroud that cannot be penetrated with even a glimmer of hope or happiness. Of what use is this advancement and growth we all stake our small, petty little supercilious claims to? We take great pride in all that we have transformed and contributed towards as a society…the skyscrapers, laws, governments, industries, medicine, financial markets, space shuttles. However, our largest failure is that even today, we have not learnt that as long as we don’t grow together, as long as even a minority of us fall to such depravity, we will continue to remain on the lowest rung of evolution.
The story was based on a topic we all seem to readily take for granted these days…Freedom. For me, this book was a jolt. I’ve always known that the liberated thoughts and ideas, the freedom of making my choice and moulding my own destiny have not been offered to each individual. I’ve walked the planet long enough to know life isn’t fair, that not everyone is accorded the same opportunities and life for some is more bearable and enjoyable than for others.
However, what was different about this book is that it exposed you to extreme and flagrant violations of basic human rights. Since it was a reflection of true incidents in our society today, I couldn’t help but treat it more seriously than one would read fiction. I couldn’t help but put myself in the situation and wonder why even after years of contributing to development and advancement, women were treated worse than animals in certain parts of the world. Hell even animals are better. They only prey on each other, they don’t debase or humiliate each other the way we humans do.
What kind of a life does such a woman lead? Born to reproach, leading life through a series of restraints, never finding the courage to break free from any. Even if she did find the courage, where would she go in a land so neurotic about the honour of its men. No freedom to education, no freedom of movement, no freedom to talk, laugh, sing, dance. No freedom of choice. Brought into this world only to first silently bear the contempt of a father, and then a husband…and god forbid if she happens to bring another daughter into this world.
If this wasn’t enough persecution, the law of the land ascribes these very same women who gave birth to them as the root of all vices. To be punished if she breaks even one of the various dictums that are viciously suffocating. To be punished if she tries to defend herself from the atrocities she’s put through. Do these women have any choice but to end it all?
Of what use is a life so dark, it’s like being chained to the ground covered with a shroud that cannot be penetrated with even a glimmer of hope or happiness. Of what use is this advancement and growth we all stake our small, petty little supercilious claims to? We take great pride in all that we have transformed and contributed towards as a society…the skyscrapers, laws, governments, industries, medicine, financial markets, space shuttles. However, our largest failure is that even today, we have not learnt that as long as we don’t grow together, as long as even a minority of us fall to such depravity, we will continue to remain on the lowest rung of evolution.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
To new beginnings...
Finally!! Never thought I'd get around to it..but here's my very own space in the virtual world. Now all I have to do is go out there and make enough interesting stuff happen to me so there's food for blog! Baby steps...one thing at a time. All this hard work deserves a treat..and nothing treats me better than chocolate!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
