Dear Diary, I am sorry for the ignorance but I am back in action now…

It’s been almost half a year since my last post and yes I can list 500 excuses but truth be told – I have been too engrossed in my life here in India… Back after 9 years, first time in the capital and a fresh start AGAIN… This would be the n-th time I am in a new city and starting afresh, seems to have become a habit now and I am not sure how good that is or how well that speaks about my stability in life. But as a wise man once said, THE ONLY CONSTANT THING IN LIFE IS CHANGE! And with that I am back to blogging about my new experiences and encounters in my new home called Gurgaon (NCR or Delhi for those who are unaware of this commercial hub of the capital)

To be honest, I don’t even know where to start on this post – so much has been going on and there are so many experiences I’d like to share especially for those NRIs wanting to move back to India. But in a gist, for now, I made a wise decision by prioritizing what I wanted with my move to India and came in with an open mind of accepting this place the way it is. Having lived outside during my adolescence – I have fairly strong influences of the western culture – which sometimes restrict my ability to reason why people are the way they are here. Ofcourse, there are occasions (read ‘all the time’) when people are just plain stupid – try driving here, or trying to pay a damn phone bill or standing in queue – correction – make a queue and you get a look saying “what the f*&$ do you think you are doing, this is India – find your way around me if you can”. Oh the joys are unimaginable!

If you have played one of those car games like NFS or GTA or one of those games where you get points for driving over people and cows (growing up with a brother has its amazing advantages) – just multiply that a hundred fold and think about it as you are not the only maniac on the road anymore, every car you see is YOU! Firstly, it is the wrong side of the road for me and now i need to shift gears with my left hand rather than the right. Not to mention keeping in mind that u need to keep left and thats your natural turn – not that anything is unnatural to drivers here .. left or right – everything is right! I bet not even 60% of the drivers on the road have a valid driver’s license that they obtained through a proper driving test. This is where you want to write to the PM and tell him the obvious reason for accidents in the country – a news article in the times of india recently read “14 people die every hour in road accidents in india” and then they wonder why… really!? Not even talking about a lay man – my friend who works for a big MNC and a rather reputed one did not know until last night what the purpose of an Airbag is .. actually, I stand corrected, my friend was unaware of what an air bag is  Yeah, how comforting is that for someone like me who is already super freaked out about road safety here. The problem is the lack of basic road/driving education – a Driver’s school is a must and its about time that these people realize that. To add to the mayhem are the cab drivers in Gurgaon who are more fit for derby than regular road driving – to come to think of it, I feel Delhi is a much safer place to drive than Gurgaon because of the menace of the cabbies here…

My driving experience here is quite entertaining – you should try driving with me and you will see my evil side shine in its full glory. I will not be surprised if someone recommended road rage classes for me soon

a piece of me …

Sometimes when your luck decides to shine on you, you get some things in a platter, some things that you don’t actually work hard for but they come your way, you like them and you accept them and they become a part of your life.
And sometimes all of a sudden, it gets taken away or it disappears from your life … I have always believed that everything happens for a reason and events are signs from god (if you can see through them) … I also happen to believe that if you really want something you must work hard towards achieving it and not give up easily. These two concepts have gone hand in hand without creating much conflict before .. but today as I disect a peice of my life’s puzzle – I cannot help but wonder …
When something that comes to you in a platter, something that becomes a part of life, when that something all of a sudden goes away or stops existing in the realm of normalcy – is that a sign that you were never supposed to have it OR is it a sign that you need to start appreciating what you have (even if you didn’t have to work for it) and put effort into keeping it ???

London Sign Off (Nov 1st, 7:40PM)

3 months back when I flew into London I didn’t know the next time I would be back at the heathrow airport and here I am today, moving yet again. Like the last time, I am excited for this new move and not having lived in Asia for 9 yrs now, it is defnitely the beginning of a new adventure.

Besides my parents being ecstatic about the fact that I am moving so close to them, trying to start a career in Asia is going to be a completely new book, not just a chapter.

At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and something tells me that I wasnt meant to be in London. Ofcourse I could have stuck it out a lil bit longer but there was a part of me that did wanna be closer to home … I guess the timing worked out perfectly – because this year I am going to be home for Diwali … Diwali is the equivalent of christmas for the indian .. atleast thats my explaination of it to my non-indian friends

London was an exciting time with its own ups and down – on one hand the city is filled with INSEADers that are always ready to give you company and on the other hand I was missing out when so many of these people talked about their work day. But I used my time here to explore the city and really get the true feel of one of world’ most happening cities. I kept myself busy with my job search (ofcourse) but also coupled the days with frequent visits to some of the best restaurants, stores, musicals, runs by thames and strolls across the popular areas of the city. My recommendations of my fav. places will have to wait for another blog post but if you are moving to London, you must learn to love the rain. That was one feature of the city that I could not live with and def. wanted to change. But I guess thats what makes London…

For now, signing off with my last post from London in 2010. Cheers to yet another start !!!

 

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 4 fully loaded ships.

 

In 2010, there were 19 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 64 posts.

The busiest day of the year was May 31st with 119 views. The most popular post that day was Adobe Flex 3- adding items to a datagrid at runtime.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, ljuwaidah.blogspot.com, inseadblogs.blogspot.com, inseader.wordpress.com, and google.co.in.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for flex image resize, flex resize image, insead interview, flex datagrid additem, and namrata shergill.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Adobe Flex 3- adding items to a datagrid at runtime June 2008
19 comments

2

HTTPService (Adobe Flex) July 2008
15 comments

3

Flex – resize image to fill available space September 2008
2 comments

4

Semi-bold fonts in Flex March 2009
1 comment

5

INSEAD Interview 1- Class of 2010 November 2008

this must be london…

Tonight as I left the National theater, having witnessed the much acclaimed production of Hamlet, walking by the south bank – the impressive St. Pauls’ commanding the visible skyline of the north bank above the Blackfrairs’ bridge, leaving the signature London Eye and Big Ben behind me … As I walked past street artists at 11PM singing songs about life and spreading the merry holiday spirit as the cold weather dawned on us and people walked around hiding under scarfs and hats … As I heard the loud siren of the ambulance and saw it penetrating through the roads on the north bank … As I savored the memories of experiencing my first theater play, wishing I had a better understanding of Shakespeare’s work … I thought to myself – this must be london!

 

think you know circus, think again!

Most of us at one point in our life (mostly as kids) have been to the circus. The thought of circus used to initiate a chain of images in my head – big tent, animals, clowns, balloons, candy, popcorn, lions – and today the images still flash but the traditional circuses are long gone. I don’t complain about it because the likelihood of me actually going to one of these circuses is minimal since now I don’t need an excuse to ask my parents for a big candy bar or extra cotton candy or the unhealthy soda. I can buy all of this myself at anytime and anywhere with the added benefit of feeling guilty after – so who wants to sit through the same roaring lion and animals jumping hoops or the trapeze act.

INSEADers, don’t hate me for what I am about to say but two professors at INSEAD came up with this theory of Blue Ocean and Cirque du soleil was a perfect example of the theory. Basically, the theory talks about new innovative business ideas where you can possibly take an existing product but modify it such that you get rid of things people don’t want and add things that now are crucial to the buying decision. CDS was such a product which is a big step away from its traditional cousin but offers a lot lot lot more and ofcourse you have to pay a lot more as well …

But anyways, what this post is about is a new show that I saw tonight at the Sadder’s Well Peacock Theater in London. It’s called 7 Finger Traces and it qualifies itself as a circus. Now, an act that claims to be a circus but is performed on a theater stage with only 5 characters … The moment I had seen an add for this show, I decided to book my tickets and go see it. Afterall, I needed a break from watching all that TV at home. And I left the theater patting myself in the back for coming out for this show. The unique thing about this show is that the 5 acrobats who perform the acts actually talk about themselves and put a lot of character into what they do on stage. In addition to having individual performances where each highlights their own talent, there are group acts which leave your heart pounding. The ease, the grace, the energy, the soulful performances are a must see. On one side you see a new twist to the usual pole acts, hoop jumping, singing and dancing; and on the other hand you see a story being enacted without words, use of mannequins, live cameras, projection screens, and lazy boy chairs to set the show apart. The best part is that you don’t have to dig holes in your pockets to go see this 1hr 45 mins long (perfectly timed) show, a mere 10 pounds will get you a good seat in this small theater. My review: this is a great bargain for a theater act and an entertaining one, so if you are in town for a few days or live in the city… go watch TRACES.

+1 … say no more

Yet another year passed me by and yet another increment to my age … When I was younger, I always pondered why birthdays didn’t seem like a big deal to the older age group and year after year I find myself shifting towards that group – when did I stop planning my birthday weeks in advance and when did I stop making such a huge deal of the 15th of september. Well, to be brutally honest I still make a big deal of it but the enthusiasm is much more subtle now – goodbye harassing my mother to bake me the perfect birthday cake (she is a brilliant cook btw), goodbye dragging my parents to every single shop in the city to find my birthday dress and goodbye planning a party weeks in advance. I wonder where that enthusiasm goes over the years – do the numbers actually influence our degree of happiness or do we just look for something new and fresh and end up taking a more poised approach to our special day?

My first birthday in london – I knew I had to do something different and within minutes it hit me exactly what I wanted to do. Embrace the new country, its culture, its traditions and voila we got ourselves a nice afternoon tea session at Mayfair by Hyde park! When I made the reservations, little did I know that my perception of tea at The Atheneaum is going to be blown away by something much more fun and entertaining – a 4.5hr tea session starting off with rose champaign, followed by a 4 course “snack” meal and a fine selection of teas from around the world. If I could recommend one “must-do” experience in London, besides the theater, it would have to be an afternoon tea at one of the award winning hotels.

The hours of planning for birthdays might subside over the years but the special treatment that one owes to oneself on their birthday should never die. Every 365 days (WARNING for geeks: don’t go into the technicalities of the number of days in a year)… Every 365 days, there comes one day which should be about you and one that you should celebrate with friends and family who cherish your presence in their life. Happy Birthday and remember ‘Age is just a number baby’

A Full Circle

365 days later – A full 1 year later- on the 8th of August I land in London at the Heathrow Airport and the first thing I see is a Singapore airlines plane… coincidence ?!? It was like deja-vu and a rewind to 9th August 2009 when I first landed in Singapore. And we all know how that went .. well atleast people who follow my blog know (I hope there are atleast some out there.. somewhere.. maybe.. anyways not important)

Three weeks old in this awsome city of London and here I am reporting my first blog from the UK. For the first time in my life, I am actually unemployed and looking for a job. Never knew what it felt like coz I sorta always had everything planned and laid out. I am a ‘J’, what can I say. I did not realize what a planner I am until the end of INSEAD when I just left everything to fate and to what life throws at me next. I’d say its been pretty okay so far. Spent a week in France, 3 weeks in Canada, and now moved to a complete new country hoping to find my next adventure/job/home…

I have to admit that not all days are fun and joy, there are days when I just want to go home, there are days when I just want to be lazy and do nothing, there are days when I feel lonely, there are days when I want to prove that I am strong and can make it in this new city, there are days when I get my strength from my family and friends, and then there are days when they make me weak and make me want to just take the easy way so I can spend more time with them, and then there are days when I just want to turn back time to last year… All said and done, I have realized that it is easy to feel lonely even when you are in a crowd and it is easy to loose sight of your goals when things get tough … BUT all you need to remember is that you have come a long way and you chose your destiny, and it is how you live this journey and what you make of it – What you make of YOU. To new adventures and new challenges – here’s one for LONDON!

some things just gotta go … but how!??!

As I scan through my emails from my initial days at INSEAD and spend hours reading them AGAIN and reliving the moments that gave me memories of a lifetime, I find it extremely difficult to delete these emails … I know it is rather stupid and emails seem like silly things to hold on to but what do you do when you know that you can relive those moments just by reading through some of these mails …

I just finished sorting my folder for club activities which contained most of my emails from social rep stuff and welcome week. It feels like yesterday when I was in Singapore and trying to organize section dinners and End of Period parties, endlessly texting people and sending out emails from my iPhone… what’s more entertaining is the email responses I have for some champaign fund fines… if you are from INSEAD, you know about this age old tradition of champaign fines – if anyone in the class breaks these set of rules (being late to class, asking “silly” questions to which you already know the answer, asking a question in the last 3 minutes of class, etc …) they pay to this money pot which pays for the champagne party at the end of the period A super-fun and amazing concept except that the social rep (i.e. MOI) sometimes get shit from the classmates for it coz they feel that the fine is unreasonable .. anyways the point was that it is hilarious reading through these emails again and just thinking about those days.

I just read an email that I sent to a friend of mine back in ottawa at the end of the first week of INSEAD – that email literally brought me to tears, the fun and craziness that is INSEAD =) the people and the sleepless nights, the cab rides from heritage to school, the lineups at the bar for your morning doze of caffeine, the super-packed schedules, the rush to finish school work, the excitement to go out to yet another party/club/bar in singapore with your class … the experiences were endless and so are the emails … I am sure I am gonna save a whole bunch of them that remind me of the best year of my life …

Signing off – Paris(1:30PM, July 17 2010)

Sitting at the CDG airport and counting down the last minutes of my stay in France, I cannot help but wonder about my 5 months here – how I totally did not see as much of Paris in daylight as I wanted to; how INSEAD fonty turned out to be so different from what I had imagined it to be; how I so did not like the French (no offense anyone); how I surprisingly fell in love with mozzarella and tomato salad; how I hate the customer service in this country; how I love the country side in the summer; how I gained some great friends and leave with everlasting memories; how I  fulfilled a dream to live in France one day; how I never improved my French even after living in the country; and how I now leave knowing so much more about France.

But at the end of the day, no matter how many good and bad days I have seen in France, it is the home campus to the school that gave me a new family and for that I will ever be grateful to this country for making this experience truly French even in a truly international school like INSEAD. My friends at INSEAD would know what I mean when I say this – the IT support, the taxi service, the store operating hours, and I could go on for a while but I think we all get the point – it’s French On the good side, the struggling attempts of the French to speak English or what they call English; the fine European cuisine; the sunny days in the forest; the knowledge of forest boars and deers and rabbits; the experience of driving through the woods being a drunk passenger; the efforts to sleep when there is a rakoon on your roof all night; the feeling of being in the middle of bubble-F@$# no where… and lot of sweet bitter memories make up my time in France …

There will be many more posts about France and my experiences here but this will be  my last post from Paris, France … until we meet again… Au revoir et A Bientot!

J’adore paris et “Je serai de retour” !