It's a tricky question, almost a hobson's choice on most occasions, you have to say yes! :)
And at most times, you happen to be on hold for eternity (almost!)
In the meantime that you're on hold, the other end might be genuinely trying to solve your problem or chatting with a colleague, fixing up a drink, laughing at you with other people who have put a lot more people on hold so that they can laugh at you and so on.
Whilst at your end, you normally get to hear a song, some good, some not so good.
And if it's either Hutch or ICICI you're trying to call, then you might end up hating those tunes however good they might otherwise sound….[I must say you'd better be ready to be on hold for at least 30 minutes before you can say hello to their customer care person]
The help desk in my office is nice, they're a good bunch of people almost have answers to every query (duh…they must have one heck of a search engine!)
And they play a very nice song….'She will be Loved' by Maroon 5.
In fact, last time I called I was hoping to be put on hold just to listen to the song again and once the call was over, it was almost heart breaking to disconnect :(
But I had to and then switched to the same song on my ipod…hehehe

P.S: I typed this post when I was on hold trying to call ICICI customer care
P.P.S: Still on hold!

Song On: Hum hai na (ICICI)
Mood: Irritated

Labels: Office

Posted by Sat at 8:34 AM
30 comments

….is completing this tag! Me unfortunately, not an exception

1. Were you named after anyone?
Nope!
2. Do you wish on stars?
Nope! :)
3. When did you last cry?
Almost every night; at least every night that I chop onions when I cook :P
4. Do you like your handwriting?
No way!....in fact it turns out to be different everytime I write.
to quote my mom ‘un thala ezhuthu maariye kai ezhuthum’ (!!!!!!!)
5. What is your favourite meat?
Meat?...if it’s meat it has to be chicken….but if you can include sea food it’s gotta be CRAB :D
6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?
Backstreet boys’ Millenium
7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
Don’t think so; first thought would have been ‘what a b*tch!’…that’s everyone’s first impression :D Later may be, I might have become great friends
8.Are you a daredevil?
Sometimes yeah…other times I’m plain Devil!! hehehe
9. How do you release anger?
Punching bags. That’s either those who caused the anger or those to whom I can pulambify. Either ways it’s bad :D
10. Where is your second home?
B’lore?
11. Do you trust others easily?
Nope!....hardly a handful I really trust
12. What was your favourite toy as a child?
I used to like those cookery toys, the one you get in Madurai temple….packed in baskets woven out of palm leaves I guess? Love the whole ensemble
13. What class in school/college do you think is totally useless?
I am thinking what WAS actually useful!
14. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
ME?...Sarcastic…no way! ;)
15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit?
No…
16.What do you look for in a guy/(gal)?
Eyes, voice, attitude
17. Would you bungee jump?
May be, but I’ll check the length of the rope first!
18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Nope
19.what's your favourite ice cream?
Vanilla with a hint of banana caramel and butter scotch topping...yummmm
20. What are your favourite colours?
Red, black and white
21. What are your least favourite things?
waking up in the morning before 9!
22. How many people do you have a crush on right now?
Right now, none!
23. Who do you miss most right now?
a very tiny person
24. What are you listening to right now?
The sound of my key board and the whirring sound of our antique printer….what do you expect, I am in the office….no beethoven symphony!
25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Red
26. What is the weather like right now?
Freezing, but there’s a little sun shine
27. Last person you talked to on the phone?
The most irritating, pain in the wrong place team mate in the world
28. The "first" thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Charm/attitude!...or the lack of it :D
29. Do you like the person who sent you this?
Should I give a diplomatic answer?....yeah, fun in blogsville, never met in person though
30. How are you today?
so-so. It’s Monday :(
31. Favourite non alcoholic drink?
Coke Zero
32. Favourite alcoholic drink?
Don’t drink much, but a sucker for Pina Colada(if it qualifies!)
33. Natural hair colour?
Black
34. Eye colour?
Black/Dark brown, never really noticed!
35. Wear contacts?
Nope!
36. Siblings?
Elder Sister
37. Favourite month?
Feb!...short, light and a lovely weather
38.Favourite food?
Juicy fried crabs….yummmm….am drooling
39. Favourite day of the year?
none in particular
40. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?
Nevah!!!!....but ppl are scared to go out with me :(
41. Scary movies or happy endings?
Scary movies
42. Summer or winter?
Summer!
43. Holi or Diwali?
Both!...no i am not asking for too much!
44. Do you like your name?
used to it now
45. What book/magazine are you reading?
shifts between Kumudam and Sherlock Holmes stories compilation
46. What's on your mouse pad?
er...mouse?
47. What did you watch on TV last night?
didn’t watch TV last night
48. Favourite Smell?
Fresh brand new currency notes….Show me the money!...a hugo boss deep red comes a close second.
49. Have you ever regretted breaking up with someone?
Let me find someone, see him around, and then break up. I’ll let you know then!
50. Most tiresome thing you’ve ever experienced/done?
Everytime, trying to run on the treadmill for 15 minutes, guess they’re always the most difficult 15 minutes in any day!!!

Phew!...I'm done!
I don’t think there’s anyone I know in blogsville who’s not been through this tortuous tag. So I rest my case :)

P.S: noticed; every blog’s got this one up now….what a common sight!...aaama ithana questions-yum yosicha maha paavi yaaru?

Posted by Sat at 7:21 AM
42 comments

Another Yippeee this time.
My best friend's family's had a new inclusion of a tiny pair of feet :D
She's been blessed with a baby girl.
I still can't believe 'Loosu' has become a mom...

Posted by Sat at 6:26 PM
25 comments

How often do we find a lucky coin on the road which we pick up and keep as a keepsake? For a few lukcy ones it's a whole note. Mine was never more thana a single rupee until one day. I am talking about this incident in my twelfth standard school days when me and a couple of my friends bagged ourselves this absolutely free (!) treat of ice creams! I won't get straight to the topic, I would beat around the bush for a while, so hang on!
Now my twelfth standard wasn't very good (if you're wondering what's it got to do with the topic, give me some time, like I warned you, am getting there!), neither was eleventh, but then I was at least my own brat-tish self. But the twelfth in all it's gory self was tortuous and tuitions and coaching classes took a large chunk of time off our life which we would have otherwise spent fooling around/bunking classes/checking out guys :) Add to that the plight that after a life long stint at a co-ed I was landed up at this god forsaken girl's convent which was run by sisters who quite prided themselves as being second only to Hitler when it came to cruelty.
You get the idea now don't you?

So in comes this school day when we 'Super Seniors' are given the royal treatment before being finally chucked out.We don't have to be in any one of those disgusting awfully boring plays (heck we couldn't act in them, how did the audience watch it!), didn't have to bray shamelessly in those chorus songs, and definitely no MC-ing! We can sit in our abode (which was behind this rope barrier, lest the 'boys' from outside must try and pick up a chat with one of us girls…I tell you, looking at us that day no sane boy would ever try and do that!...obviously that fact was lost on our dear sisters) and watch those juniors make a complete ass of themselves and laugh our heads off.
But that's all that we're supposed to do, sit and laugh…nothing else.
But we girls went a bit over board with all that unseen attention and praises like 'our beloved seniors who'd be leaving us soon' (we ignored the sarcasm), that we actually dared to stand…and not just anywhere, but on the chairs…And scream, and dance, and whistle…and much credit to the front benchers who tore down the barrier completely. I could have bet I even saw one teacher faint and the rest were fanning her…guess it would have been from the worry how the school was ever going to repay the damage being caused to the chairs!
As a direct result, an emergency meeting was convened the following morning and a long lecture of how unruly and un-ladylike our behaviour was the previous evening followed. We slept through it while others tried their best to show the 'guilt' on their faces (er…they were the front benchers ;) ) As a punishment we were asked to clean up the seating area and remove the chairs (their way of saving on labour costs and fixing the chairs I bet!).
And on this mission, I happened to spot a Rs 100 note lying at the bottom of a chair…another girl happened to spot it as well….I pounced on it and the rest of the crowd followed. After a lot of cat fights and some concrete support from my friends, I got to keep it. :D
Pesama poi irukalam…periya paruppu maari avala paathu oru line 'finders keepers, losers :P'
Ava poi sister kitta pottu koduthutta!
Unawares, me and my band of friends took off to the nearest ice cream parlour, Milky Way on Promenade Road*** and had a yummy time :D
A small bottle of Eucalyptus oil solved what lay in store for us back in school…!
Free lunch; There's no such thing as free lunch…ha what do they know?!
We had free desserts if not the whole lunch :P
(well, tricking a fellow human being into this evil ritual called 'treating' and hogging a whole week's food at once and robbing the person blind is not free lunch…it's not free anything…as someone is having to spend :D but we love doing it still don't we?!)
P.S: Now how many got that twisted thought when you saw the title?! ;)....and thanks BSK for bringing back the good old days' memories!
P.P.S: ***I did most of my schooling during my teens in Trichy, between R.S.K in BHEL and that stupid convent that I still hate.

Song On: Goodbye Nanba
Mood: Nostalgic

Labels: DML

Posted by Sat at 11:58 AM
14 comments

I hate that question….I hate that look!
Okie, I’ll explain...
Of late it’s been quite some marriage season…at least among my friends.
And you turn up to any wedding, even reply that scanned invitation mail (I still prefer the 'hard copy', makes you realise they took the pains of hunting down your address!),
the one question you have to answer is ‘So when’s yours?’
With that supposedly naughty smirk on the face, emm...smiley of course in a mail.
Nothing gets on my nerve more than that.
I have a strong urge to retort…’What bloody business is it of yours?’
But I am forced to answer with the same smirk…
And then the conversation just goes from being bad to worse and usually ends up with me throwing yet another one of those unbelievable excuses and sprinting out of the room.
It's never a nice feeling you know, when people get away with crimes like that...
And this is the case in most social occasions and for most people in my age group ....sigh...
We have something common now to brood over!
It's almost replaced the usual Hi Hello greeting line...
Friends, relatives, very distant relatives , papa's friends, momma's friends, friends’ friends…
And some people whom I haven’t spoken to in the past god-knows-how-many years!
You meet someone after a longtime at this point of time in life, and all that they have to do is question about your marital status;
and if u're sinlge they have an abnormal interest in knowing when you'll get married!...
I am reminded of an old joke in which an old woman pesters a young man at every wedding by nudging him and whispering ‘You’re next’...
The young man fed up with this habit put up with her out of respect.
But even his patience had it’s own limits…
So at a funeral of a mutual friend, he walked up behind her, nudged her, ‘You’re next!’
Now that would make me feel so good...

Song On: Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho
Mood: Irritated!

Labels: General

Posted by Sat at 7:08 PM
23 comments

No it's not about matrimony or commitment :)
It's about those mobile phones and the irritating ring tones. Of late I've started hating the mobile. Just when you think you are all relaxed and have time for yourself...bam...there you got a call. And it's so irritating that I tend to run through the call hurriedly only to find that the 'moment' is lost :(
Add to that those weird ring tones you keep hearing. You got one hit song this season, god help you coz you're going to hear that almost everywhere thanks to them wicked ring tones. And as if they thought these weren't enough, some really bad bad boy came up with those hello tunes. Uggghhh! You make that call after postponing it at least a hundred times and what do you get to hear?...
Jhalak dhiklaaja...ek baar aaja aaja aaja aaja...
or worse
Aayiye...aapka...intezar tha!
:- or worse still, some cheesy song playing and it so happens these days people either take their own sweet time to pick that call or don't answer it at all (at least the first time)...are they actually proud of these tortuous hello tunes?! And why do all these tunes have to be some sappy love song...the one I heard most was that 'Tere liye' song from the absolutely unbearable Veer Zara.
Alright may be I am over reacting, but guess the whole mobile thing has got to my nerves. These days when I get a call, I simply don't pick it and then switch to silent mode (well people have this irritating habit of calling you continuously at least twice or thrice if you don't pick the call the first time around...as if you're hiding from them somewhere and it's their way of telling that they won't be that easy to get rid of...they kinda get the message though )
These days my mobile stays at home...hehe...kind of beats the purpose I know but what the hell!

P.S: I was reminded of this long-due post by this incident in this crammed fish market near my house; husband and wife come to buy fish...the mobile around husband's neck rings, call's for wife, wife pulls it and talks while mobile still hanging from husbands neck...the fantastic duo block the entire passage...leave the poor man carrying the huge crate of fish stuck behind them, shouting in vain asking them to move!...Man gets fed up puts the basket down...husband turns and starts looking at the fish(!!!) and almost asks the price when he notices that murderous look in the man's eyes...! :D

P.P.S: That's one hell of a long P.S!

Song on: None!
Mood: Sleepy

Labels: General

Posted by Sat at 11:44 AM
37 comments

Ages back I had this mostly non sense post about winning over your crush...
And it's mostly men who have to don this role of chasing the OOA (you know what it is if you read that crush post!). But of late I met some curious girls who wanted to ‘nail’ down that good looking guy they saw somewhere. The icing on the cake was this recent post on the internal discussion forum in my office where a young lady wanted to know of ways to get in touch with this young man (pls note…he was cute; apparently) that her friend had seen and liked in the food court. Now both the ladies have managed to track this guy down and are waiting to ‘make’ friendship with him *ahem*!
For most of my friends who were quite amused at this discussion, it was more of a relief as the burden of the chase was starting to be shared by the fairer sex…for some however the word ‘cute’ looked rather depressing. What stuck me was the fact that the lady decided to openly admit that her friend (rather non existent friend?...coz in most cases the word ‘friend’ is used to cover up the fact that the ‘friend’ in question is actually the person who’s asking such questions!) fancied this guy she saw for a moment at work place. May be life could have been easier had she been born in the west as all she could have done (if she was not faint hearted and thick skinned enough) was to walk over and strike a conversation. In India though this could have resulted in the guy calling out for help!
Another friend of mine who had a monster crush on one of the managers in an account, ended up dragging me along for a Sudoko contest because her gut instincts told her that he would turn up (thanks to their mutual love for sudoko!). But it was an anti climax coz despite securing a seat exactly behind his, she had to rush out mid way as I had buckled to that rising fear and nervousness thanks to the fact that I had never really attempted to give this game a try and ended up bolting out of the door…apparently she was all set to borrow a pen from him and to this day holds this against me! Much more similar missions were thwarted by the fact that I got paranoid that the guy suspected that my friend was interested in him and that she would end up getting both of us fired. Of course much of that paranoia was ‘fuelled’ by the dislike for his flashy coloured shades and flashier accent; god awful really…love’s really (colour?!) blind! [‘Friend’ quoted here is not a pretext..it really wasn’t me as I would not fall for people in those shades in my worst nightmare]
With women trying all kinds of tricks in trying to get to a means of contacting that mystery man they found attractive. Gone are the days when stalking was majorly attributed to poor guys. Question is, how do the guys feel about this start of a new trend?...flattered?...embarrassed?...relieved?

Interesting:
A few months back a local news paper in London featured this section which had messages from it’s readers to people they saw while commuting in the underground tube and found interesting. The messages varied from the like-to-know-you to the regular commuter on a particular route to compliments for their looks to the occasional sightings underground. Some had even quoted their number and one lady even apologised for apparently scaring a guy she tried to start a conversation with :D Over all, it was cute and definite rom-com material

P.S: Post title inspired from a song by the band Police (which Sting was earlier a part of). Apparently this song was written after the break up of Sting's (first?) marriage. On first look, it might look like a heartfelt love song, but the actually implication is that of a stalker....scary stuff :D
For more details 'Police + every breath you take' udan google-aandavarai anugavum

Song on: Seven nation army
Mood: Cheerful

Labels: Office

Posted by Sat at 10:17 AM
8 comments

New year eves...for some it's that time of the year when every club on earth reminds them so painfully that they're single and it's definitely not a favoured status that time of the year...

ask my friends, they'd tell you it's almost impossible to get a stag entry in any happening joint :D

And for some it's one of those rare occasions that they can get drunk and they don't have to pay a cent! And for some, it's staying awake beyond the normal 9:30 time at night. For a few more wierdos like me, it hardly makes a difference, just that there's more interesting TV programs to watch, people look insanely pleased, every place is lit up with serial bulbs, and of course the long weekends.

Sometimes people remember to invite you for their party sometimes they 'forget' thanks to that small lil rift that you had 12 weeks back... In fact, i find it odd the first month of the year, it's way too tough getting used to writing the new year in the date, there were times I had signed the date as 2005 well into June'06! It's a whole new problem if that happens to be a leap year..! You have a tough time planning those holidays and looking up the leaves for the year so that you get to take lesser LOPs. And of course one month into the new year it's time for filing IT returns...yawwwn!SO what's so new about these new years?!

And not to mention the resolutions; they're always meant to be broken!A friend of mine took this resolution to give up smoking, saw him puffing away gleefully this morning at the smoking zone :) I, for my part, have one as well...try not to swear. Let me see if I live up to it

P.S: All you bloggers, wish you all a great year ahead...

Song on: Cornflake girl

Mood: Okay

Posted by Sat at 10:42 AM
14 comments