A Smile :) A realisation!

I was trying really hard but somehow my mind was not able to get a grip on itself. It was all over the place trying to chase every shard that flew off from  my emotional disintegration. Call it the irony of life, amidst this deep anxiety, I chanced to witness the smile of an ill-clad child who waved at me sat by the corner of the bar. It was cold and windy and the boy had hardly anything to wear but for his smile. I could not understand how he did it.

 It is a paradox that people well brought up and endowed,  cannot manage to put up that genuine smile . I was envious! My sorrows are ephemeral and so is happiness. A kind act or two doesn't really harm and I could actually be happier and self satisfied if I were able to reach out to the kid and ask "Hello, I love your smile , will you go to school from tomorrow? How could I help ? " My worries all of a sudden reduced to a pile of self made prejudices and relentless pursuit of material joy! I could visualise how mean I was in not appreciating what I had already.  When we think of our sorrows, we tend to be very selfish thinking why are we chosen for this? We fail to assimilate the immense science involved in human life as we are blinded to the sorrows of others. It's only when we shove ourselves, we realise it's not just us. Every man has to go through pain and suffering and it's best to bear in mind that it wanes with time. It is always nice to be patient and help such people in need. You never know when you might need help!

 The next day while I was walking past the bar, I did manage to smile at kid and ask... How can I help?  I handed him some cookies. The child was ecstatic and couldn't thank me enough. From then on I realised charity is not just giving alms  but also about lending a patient ear or  exchanging 'genuine' smiles. Whenever I'm low, I do something good to others and make myself happy. 

Driving in the UK!

I have been schlepping my cart filled with heaps to unload; trying to find my way through this maze where I was confronted with the likes of  'deficit', 'inflation' and 'crisis' at alternate roundabouts! For this very reason I have failed to rustle up a single decent meal, leave alone writing something sensible for the blog. I am about to drop dead , someone please help!

Amidst this madness, I took up driving lessons in Edinburgh! Driving in UK is insane as there is a bucket load of rules to follow. The notion that I was good at driving (in India) was soon washed-up to reveal the harsh truth: "YOU CANNOT DRIVE (in the UK)!!!"

I signed up for lessons with RED driving school and my instructor was quite a gentleman named Jim. I have been taking lessons ever since, each lesson lasting 2 hours. The best thing about it is that I get to have a 2 hour break from the several other worries in life, and concentrate on driving which if went wrong would be perilous to two lives, my instructor's and mine! It's still fun with the occasional funny rhetorics coming from Jim about his other students and his children. To acknowledge, that is the only two hour decent conversation I have with a human otherwise it's purely virtual (over Skype) with my beloved family!

I commit inadvertent mistakes while driving which does not mean I'm not paying attention. There are so many things to concentrate on at the same time that I fail to multitask (again something I thought I was good at!) I'm particularly bad at the roundabouts where one is supposed to give way to the oncoming traffic from the right, follow lane discipline, signal to the rest of the traffic and maintain speed. It's a hell of a complex task, and I must say I buckle under pressure. I have managed a flawless roundabout manoeuvre only once. Besides , one should drive on the left hand side of the road in the UK unlike in India, so I did have some teething issues initially, but the markings on the road make it quite easy to understand.

Theory test was a cakewalk, but I know I'm not ready for practicals yet! I might have a practical test next month. So long!

P.S. I will write about my practical test experience very soon, not if I fail :(

Just two more weeks!

It's a week here and a week there, I'm talking about being a week in Edinburgh and a week in Bangalore. These two weeks are crucial, but going to be fun and nerve wrecking as well. These are the last two weeks in my current company and yes I succeed finally in securing my livelihood with another bank.

Laundry list for the week in Edinburgh includes:
1) Signing the lease for the new house at Ritchie Place and collecting keys.
2) Boxing and packing stuff at Dalry place
3) Arrange for movers to drop it to the new destination
4) Unpacking the boxes
5) Cleaning the house at Dalry and handing it over
6) Packing for Bangalore for 10 days
7) Saying goodbye to my office colleagues here in Edinburgh
7) Flying to Bangalore :)

Laundry list for the week in Bangalore:
1) Arriving and finding a place to put up in Bangalore fjust for 10 days.
2) Meeting my siblings
3) Meeting my friends
4) Hurtling to office
5) Running amok in the office for exit clearance
6) Saying goodbye to my office colleagues in Bangalore
7) Going out to parties so long missed in Bangalore
8) Saying goodbye to my siblings and friends
9) Boarding a flight back to Edinburgh - this time to Ritchie Place

In this ruthless list of tasks, I have one thing to smile about. I am shifing to Fountainbridge where Sean Connery was born! Some solace to this otherwise dejected being :)

Job Hunt!

I was well into my reveries when someone knocked on the door and dropped a letter. This brazenly pulled me out of my dreams into reality which wasn't quite pleasing. I'm so obsessed with my job hunting these days, that in my conscious world I only have that on mind, save eating! The job at hand itself is so oppressing, that it has become quite a schedule to manage responding to the numerous calls and emails I get all day. Now that I was awake I was thinking what would happen to the interview that I had appeared the previous day. Suspense kills even before the murderer actually executes it. Well this has been my story these days.

I have been a bit finicky about the place where I want to work leave aside the pay and position. I want it to be a proper city with all amenities like a gym, movie theatre, shopping centres etc to be around. In some of the cities, I travelled to for interviews, I did cast a glance around if it met my whims and developed a desperation to the quit the place soon.  I'm being quite difficult and have to be a bit less judgemental of a place. Hopefully, I will soon find a job of my dreams in the right place with the right pay and the right position. Have you heard this ever happen ?????

I'm coming home!!!

Its been seven months and feels like ages that I've ventured out of this place! This is too long to be held in work without a break. In these seven months, a dear friend tied the knot, friends celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, went on trips ,had fun and I missed them all. Can I get the time that flew past? A hell no ! :( :(

Well its pointless regretting, but I have planned a small vacation with my family and booked tickets already . I can smell the pertrichor already of monsoon hit Indian soil. I'll fly away from all drudgery to be home all pampered and cared. Anticipation itself is just so lovely, how will it be getting there! I hope it turns out all quite enjoyable and doesn't disappoint me. I promise I will switch off my phone and my holiday will be mine :)

The Fire descends!

I had been to church this morning after having missed it for two consecutive weeks. It was a more of a guilt than an inclination that I woke up early and treaded towards the church. Little did I realise that it was roughly ten days over forty past Easter. In Christianity, we do believe that Jesus resurrected after death and stayed with His disciples for 40 days after which He ascended bodily into heaven . Ten days later He sent The Holy Spirit which is symbolised by 'Tongue of fire' and also by the white dove. This day (7th Sunday from Easter) we celebrate Pentecost commemorating that we always have company in the Holy Spirit.

This is just for a background.

Coming to the point, I was still drowsy from the previous nights movie, but the short and crisp sermon delivered by the Bishop opened my eyes! There was a very beautiful line in his speech which I'd like to quote

' Fire is considered to bring about destruction but if you look carefully it brings about transformation '

This had depth enough to stir me.

 I also got to witness three different sacraments today- Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. It was wonderful to see how people from different age groups , with a splash of water on the forehead were baptised. Though I have seen people attaining these sacraments, never caught the three at the same time. It was a welcome experience for me and a very good start to the week.

Brown's brawny!

Not an avid religious, but I sometimes chance to grace the nearby church at Palmerston Road. I had been there a couple of times, majorly drawn to it owing to its vivid architecture. Exquisitely intricate! I was so awed, that amidst the sunday service I was sitting, fabricating pleas to the Almighty for but one sunny day, that I could go click the magnifique in peace.

As I believe, God hears prayers and lo! I was obliged too. Grabbed my camera for a kickass shoot as my muse stood waiting! With a little cajoling she did agree to flaunt her contours..Check her out =>

http://kluelessshicks-muse.blogspot.com/2011/06/browns-brawny.html