Lunch Date With Myself

It wouldn't be wrong if I said I am an independent woman. I am completely capable of taking care of things on my own without seeking help from my parents or siblings or a friend or my husband. But I don't really like them to know that I can handle it all...especially the husband. Anyways, before I digress...there is one thing that I just have not been able to do alone - eat in public by myself and more importantly be comfortable with it. Whenever I did it in the past, it was only because it was unavoidable, or I was terribly angry with my now husband, then boyfriend for ditching me or maybe if I was at an airport and had to grab a quick bite before the flight. But in all these situations I have always been extremely uneasy with having a meal alone.

My sister who spent a few years in the US always told me that you can get used to it. But however independent I am I was not inclined to 'getting used to it'! In my head eating by yourself means you don't have friends and everyone in the restaurant is going to stare at you and wonder what is wrong with you. At this point, before you make any judgement I would like to remind you that the name of this blog is Drama Queen.

Moving on. So 4 months back my husband and I moved to Hong Kong to explore better opportunities at work. In the first two months my colleagues took me along with them for lunch everyday. I remember there was a week when both my colleagues were not in office and I had to do lunch on my own. My remedy to deal with that situation was - one, to eat at my desk, two to pester my husband to join me for lunch (Thank God for me, not him, he works close by!) or three to skip it!

At the end of that arduous week, I was so happy to get back to lunch with my colleagues. Phew! No one would think I was a weirdo with no friends. Again, don't judge my extreme emotions (refer name of blog).

But with time I realized that day in and day out lunch with the Hong Kong Chinese is very very hard on an Indian vegetarian soul. My intention of being a vegetarian was challenged in every meal where I know I have eaten some oyster sauce, beef broth and fish sauce...not to mention the extra dollars I had to pay for all the meat they ate and the few leaves I nibbled on. And so I knew I had to start eating on my own if I wanted to have a decent, healthy and filling lunch.

Then began my discovery of the lunch date with myself. Initially, I remember I would just walk around work for sometime depending on my footwear (walk for 5 minutes if heels or for 15 minutes if no heels), then just grab some milk or juice and some biscuits or sandwich at a 7 Eleven and get back to eat at my desk. I slowly graduated from bringing in food to eat at my desk to eating very quick meals (within 20 minutes) at a Starbucks or Pacific Coffee Bean.

None of my lunches made the full use of the 60 minutes I get here. So one day I decided to go to this Italian restaurant where my colleagues had taken me. I went there by 12.30 p.m. so that I was sure to get a seat for lunch. I walked in and was gestured by the waitress, "How many?". As I raised my hand, with just the forefinger out to signal one I think swalapa I died. I ordered a mushroom and tomato pasta and as I waited for it to be served I quickly plugged in my ear plugs and started watching a show on my phone. Despite this crutch to look 'normal', that day I enjoyed my lunch and my break lasted all of 50 minutes.

Over the last month, I have a list of places that serve vegetarian sandwiches (which is my staple diet for lunch here), one place for pasta, one for a veggie burger  (basically grilled veggies, no patty burger) and even a lone Indian restaurant for some Indian tomato soup and palak paneer. I do lunch on my own every day and pester my husband maybe once in 2 weeks to join me for lunch. I have also graduated from desperately staring at my mobile screen to look busy or normal to not looking at a screen and just observing people around and more recently to even reading a book (something I always saw in the movies and thought was cool but was never comfortable doing it).

I guess moving out of your comfort zone (for me it was Bangalore) to new unknown environments (Hong Kong in my case) where basics like food and communication can be a hindrance really makes you discover new things. In my case it is the lunch date with me...which I now look forward to and thoroughly enjoy. 

I am told I maybe still consuming fish sauce and beef broth and other not vegetarian ingredients, but well for now I am an individual with the intent to be vegetarian who believes many many times ignorance is bliss!

Photo A Day: June

It started with a friend's sudden increased activity on Facebook in May. She uploaded a photo everyday (initially) and seemed to be following some kind of a list. This caught my attention and that is what led to the discovery of Fat Mum Slim and her photo-a-day challenge.

It sounded interesting and I was getting the new Samsung S4 so I decided this was a fun way to discover my new phone and my new city, Hong Kong. Some rules I set for myself were to publish photos within that particular day plus ensure that the content for the photo is from that day (no snaps from a trip before). There was one miss but I will tell you about that later.

The hard part. Taking a photo everyday with a fixed theme and making it look good is not easy! There were days when it was almost like a last minute assignment where I just randomly picked up a subject from the stuff lying around at home. Well, that did remind me of school and college...somethings never change! 

What I learnt. This challenge allowed me to look at even the most mundane things with a excitement to capture something creative. It made me stop and actually observe people and my surroundings. It helped make memories of small moments that sometimes just pass you by.

Well, all that being said here are my 30 snaps from the month of June.

B is for...Bus Stop.
I took this one at Nathan Road as we waited for our bus to get home after some grocery shopping. 

A moment.
This is my husband laughing away as he has a conversation with his brother in London about Frieda Pinto's over-hyped style quotient!

On my table.
My favorite Indian dance show had just started and I was catching the episode on my laptop as I had my favorite curd rice with pickle and chips for dinner.

After dark
...the street lights come on.
I captured this image as I walked home from the MTR station.

Environment.
This one had been quite baffled. I took this snap again as I walked home from the MTR station after work. It was a last minute attempt :-)

Transport.
I wanted it to be a Junk, but well I did not see one on the 6th.
So I took a picture of a horse carriage on the Gone With The Wind movie poster.
Another last minute attempt.

Bright.
These glass paintings were made by my mum ten years back.
I have them at my desk at work and I love how their brightness just livens up my day.

Animal.
This was a Saturday and we had spent the whole day at home with no animal sightings. When we headed out for dinner this was the closet thing to an animal I saw at the K11 Art Mall. The funny thing is like 30 minutes after this snap we saw a Husky being walked in TST!

From down low.
This was the easiest theme for Hong Kong considering all the tall buildings. We stay on the 5th floor so for a 30-story building a picture from the 5th floor is from down low!

You!

Well, the idea here was to use the songs You & Me from Lifehouse to have both of us in the snap just goofing around.

Something funny.

Nothing funny happened on the 11th, but I did read this blog by Stupidus Maximus which really made me laugh. Especially the bit about Chetan Bhagath.

11 o'clock.

It was a holiday for the Dragon Race Festival in Hong Kong and we were out all day. So at 11 o' clock I was tucking myself into bed.

Kitchen.

Made some rasam for dinner which if I may say so myself smelt heavenly!

Texture.

I was having another lunch on my own at the Pacific Bean Coffee shop below my office. It was a nice rainy day and as I was early for lunch I got the red couch!

From above.

This was at Megabox where my husband and I spent another weekend buying stuff for the home from Ikea as well as the much needed blender, sandwich maker and hair dryer.

Family.

It was Father's Day and this is how I wished my dad...thank you Face Time!!

Centred.

These are shots I took at the Quarry Bay MTR station. I was lucky to have found it empty!

Street.

Another shot on my way back to work from lunch. With all the traffic around, I was plain lucky to have captured the mother and son walking up the street. I only used the blur effect here.

Currently reading.

The only reading I had done that day was work stuff. Plus I have not read a book since December, which made me feel quite bad (side note: start reading). So what I put up was a picture of the screen where I was reading a letter from my childhood friend who is now moving to the US.

Cute.

This is where I cheated. The picture was taken on the 20th, but was taken by my brother-in-law. This is Misha, my sister's dog. My sister and I got her home in 2007 and I love her a lot. We stay in different parts of the world now and when I see such cute snaps of her I really really miss her!

Lunchtime.

I wanted to have some Subway but discovered another sandwich place and the best was that they had 2 options for vegetarian sandwiches! It was super hard and also embarrassing to take this picture of myself at a crowded fast food...but well, I just decided it was okay...it was a Friday after all.

Enjoying life.

Well, for starters I actually dressed up after a really long time. Plus I was meeting a friend after 3 years. We met for dinner and it was nice to catch up and chat up.

Last.

The last piece of cheesecake I had before rushing to the theatre to watch Now You See Me followed by World War Z.

Negative Space.

I have owned this key chain for ten years. It was the key chain to my very first home in Bangalore and still has my house keys to my 7th home.

Sharp.

This is the sharpest knife I have ever owned. It does sometimes damage my nails, but cutting vegetables using this is just a joyful experience!

Empty.

Tried to get one of those 'arty' clicks and surprisingly it worked. Got quite a few positive comments from strangers on Instagram.

Into the Sun.

Another lucky shot I got as I walked back from lunch to work. It was a cloudy day and then suddenly, just like that the sun decided to give us a peek.

Red.

I was on my way to get a manicure after work. The initial idea was to get red nails and take a shot of that...but then the Red man caught my eye and I decided to go with blue for my nails that day.

In my Bag.

A shot of my Burberry bag and wallet (which was empty after an afternoon spent shopping). The only thing missing is my mobile which I used to take this shot.

Handwriting.

This is a note my dad wrote on hotel stationery for my husband and me. It is rare that he writes and so I always keep this close to me in my wallet.

Then and Now

Ten years ago, around now I was taking baby steps from being a college kid to graduating and entering the big exciting world. It was the first time I was going to stay without parents, grandparents or a sibling.

The first move was when I did my final year project at HAL, Bangalore. I stayed with a friend in a house 4 days a week and then went back to home base for the remaining 3 days. It was at that time I got a taste of the big city. It was nothing like Carrie Bradshaw in NYC…but well it was my own version. It was then that I tried the club-hopping, it was then that my girlfriends and I gave fake names at one of those clubs, it was then that spending hours at a coffee shop for a non-coffee drinker seemed possible, it was then that I turned 21.

I can safely say that Bangalore became home base for me in 2003; it still is. Mysore became associated with the formative years…when I really didn’t know or get a chance to explore who I am or want to be.

Bangalore let me do that. I got my first job, my first pay check, my kinda first boyfriend, my first pad, my first party with people I did not know, my first date with a guy I hardly knew, my first beach wedding in Goa…well, the list is long. And now that I am older I really need more time to remember all of it…so let me stop. I am sure you get the gist.

That was a start of a fantastic decade. I cannot believe it is that long ago…but well time does fly! In the last ten years that started in Bangalore with me experimenting with life a lot happened.

Pune was the next city I went to. This city did give me my MBA, but the best thing it gave me is my own love story. I met my husband there seven and half years ago. And well then the city also opened my eyes, widened my vision, merged the black and white to a larger grey area and suddenly I was not so much of a halli guggu. The transformation was not immediate, and was not easy…but Pune – or maybe it was Tarun - did make me a more accepting person.

And then I was back to home base now called Bengaluru for my first real job which I quit in 10 days and moved on to the next real job. I was finally working in an agency. No matter how much I crib about the pay and the hours both of which are rather shitty, I must say this – it is only in an agency that you can be yourself, speak your mind, be crazy (you must be if you do all that great work for the people you want to kill) and make great friends for life because all of them drink!

The last five years in Bengaluru have been nothing short of excitingly exhilarating – if that even makes sense! I told my parents I had met a boy, the boy.  And then Tarun got down on one knee at a restaurant and proposed and well we got married. We moved into a well-furnished house as his parents had set it up for us. That is the story in short.

Tarun and I bought our first car, travelled far and wide to Australia, Kerala, Thailand, Singapore, Kashmir, Bhutan and Sikkim to name a few, we made friends, we put on weight and then we hit the gym and lost most of it. We saw a sister’s wedding and a brother’s dream coming true.

We changed jobs.

Mine finally gave me the thrill of marketing and traveling in high heels and an award that took us both on a trip to California. His gave him a tough client, a great bunch of minds to work with, a few stars, respect and growth.

That growth today has put me back at an oddly similar spot. I am now taking baby steps from being at home to creating a home away from home. It is the first time that I am not a 3-hour drive or 3-hour flight away from my parents, grandparents or sibling. It is the first time I need to use Skype to stay in touch with them. It is the first time that the gap between my parents’ visits will give me a chance to miss them.

Tarun and I have moved to Hong Kong. And this time it is a big city but as I am married and have found my Mr. Big, it is not much of a Carrie Bradshaw story. But it is the first time that Tarun and I stayed in a hotel for a whole month, the first time we are working in a foreign country and the first time we are setting up home! We are moving today!!

A few weeks from now I will be 31 and all I am thinking is how exciting is this decade going to be?

Life at 23

This has been playing a lot on my mind recently.

At 23, I was in Pune pursuing my MBA. That was the year I met Tarun who today is my husband. I was away from home in the true sense for the first time. I stayed with a room mate in a beautiful apartment. I studied, I dined out, I watched movies, I partied, I shopped, I got back home late. It was a beautiful life...it was when I got a chance to grow into the woman I am today.

Sadly 23 is when her life ended. She was pursuing her education and I am sure did the same things I did. But she never got the chance to enjoy that freedom.

I have seen so many people venting online about the situation in India, the safety of women, death penalty, castration so on and so forth. I do not have any solutions but this is what I have to say.

As an Indian woman I can confidently say that all us have been molested. We have been groped, we have been pinched, we have touched inappropriately. It usually starts when you are young and are not even really sure what has just happened. And then as you grow up you realize this is going to be pretty common.

There have been multiple times when I am walking alone on a street - sometimes even during the day, or getting back home late in the night with a boy that I have wondered, "What if I get raped/attacked/molested now?". It is sad that this is a question that I have asked myself multiple times, that I have felt this insecure and vulnerable...

For the longest time I could not get myself to read about the violence this girl was inflicted with. I thought about the worst things that could have happened and sadly when I read about it my fears were confirmed. What happened that night was havaniyat. 

There are many solutions and ideas being discussed today but the success of it all is one - when this girl and her family has been served justice and two - when the thought, "What if I get raped/attacked/molested now?" never pops up in a girl's head.

Dreamers vs. Realists

‎'There are dreamers & there are realists in the world. You'd think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists but more often than not the opposite is true. You see the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun and the realists...well, without the dreamers they might not ever get off the ground.' 

Courtesy Modern Family's Thanksgiving episode.

To Be Raised a Girl

I remember a friend – a girl friend - once telling me, “You know my parents have raised me like a boy.” The meaning of this statement was that she was raised to be an independent, self-contained and confident individual. This was about 10 years ago.

I questioned her statement then and I question her statement now. Yes, being a ‘boy’ is usually synonymous with the adjectives above…but I feel that the times have changed. Not today; but a long time back.

I come from a home of two daughters. The absence of a male sibling meant that I never had to compete with a brother for freedom. Yes, our home had rules more stringent than at a boy’s home. Our family knew where we were and what time we would be back. But we were brought up in a way where we informed rather than where we were ordered. Do you get the difference?

In the initial years of our adolescence it was all about seeking permission. That lasted till I was about 16 years old. This process slowly then graduated to me informing about my ‘plans for the evening’.

I spent 21 years of my life with family…which is way more than most people do today. I was definitely a part of a secure and safe life. Things were always taken care of. But the first time I left home, moved to a bigger city, started work…I was in charge of my life - from paying the bills to what time I want to get home to getting a maid and ensuring I got a decent meal (which was usually at a cousin’s place). I loved the experience and I am glad to say I didn’t make too many mistakes.

I was raised to be an individual with opinions which I voiced, control over situations so that I never had to call a ‘guy’ for help and a sense of pride of being an independent woman.

Life did throw its share of obstacles where I was considered a PYT. I was not taken seriously; because if you know how to coordinate your clothes you must be dumb! Or if you spoke good English you really had no ‘stuff’. And the worst one; ‘you are rich’ so nothing really matters.

These were unpleasant situations that got my ‘feminist blood’ boiling. I would rant about how the world was so unfair and chauvinistic. But I think with age and maturity you learn to handle these hindrances and I did too with a little wit and lot of action.

I still experience the man and woman divide. Sometimes at work and sometimes at home. But raised as a girl, along with being independent, self-contained and confident, I am aware when the man needs to take the steering wheel and when the man needs to be in control of things and a master of his destiny. It all comes down to me being a juggler (shuttling between independence and damsel in distress) and an illusionist (letting the person see what he wants to)!

With age-old beliefs of the man and woman divide the hurdles are galore. But at the end of it all, I am glad to be raised a girl.

Small Things Make a Big Difference

My first trip to Hong Kong was in 1990 when I was 8 years old. Some memories from my visit then are of the Cathay Pacific goody bag my sister and I forgot in our cab, the trip to the Ocean Park, watching lots of Chinese cartoon (as we were young my parents left us in the room with colouring books and T.V. when they went out shopping) and yes the landing strip in the airport right next to the sea.

A little more than 20 years later, I was planning my 2^nd trip to Hong Kong. This time I was going alone…for work…very different from my last trip. I knew about this trip about 3 months back and I initially was super excited about travelling for work outside India. However as the week of my travel came closer, I was more anxious about my meetings and was a little low coz I was going to be on my own for 4 days. And despite my many travels that was the first for me. Something I can check-off my ‘Before I turn 30’ list!

When I got on to the cab to the Bengaluru airport I had the weirdest combination of feelings – anticipation and edginess and somewhere a little nostalgia and fatigue (yes, I was already tired coz thanks to the week in Hong Kong my previous week at work had been quite a lot to juggle). All through my drive to the airport I kept telling myself to catch up sleep and then I’d think of something from my work to my presentation to if I had packed the all the right shoes to start worrying about.

Anyways skipping past all the mundane check-in, security and boarding trivia I’ll get straight to landing in Hong Kong. The landing strip was vaguely familiar, but the airport definitely was not. Neither was the journey in the MTR from the airport to Hong Kong Central. As looked outside the window, the city still looked familiar with the tall buildings and the traffic and the red cabs.

After checking into my room I decided to get some sleep. Honestly I was so drowsy that I just wanted to lay in bed…but I had promised myself that I was going to push myself out of my room every chance I got to get out and explore the city on my own…a first of sorts! And I am proud to say I did just that.

My days were packed with meetings and my team also took me to some really nice restaurants. I went to a Japanese restaurant, a Steak House (where I had the Tomato Mozzarella salad and Alfredo pasta), an Italian restaurant and finally a Chinese restaurant. Being a vegetarian I am sure I didn’t do full justice to the variety of cuisine, but I did enjoy every meal with the limited choice I was offered.

In the evening I went around Hong Kong on my own using the MTR. It was just so easy and simple. I loved the time I spent on my own my first evening in Hong Kong walking all around Causeway Bay exploring Times Square with the really unaffordable brands and I walked around aimlessly I stumbled upon Jardine’s Crescent where I picked up bags. Walking around on my own was fine, but I could not get myself to have a meal on my own. So I made my way back to the hotel after 9.

In all my excitement of going around alone I had not paid attention to the station I needed to get off at and so my first evening I was lost and had to figure my way back to the hotel. I remember asking this guy on the street for directions. He tried explaining to me how far I was from the hotel…but well I really didn’t understand. And just like that he took out an iPad…got on to Google Maps and told me how to get back. By the way that guy was selling Casio watches on the street…I am still wondering how he had that iPad…mmmmm…

26^th November 2010 is the first time I had a meal and a drink on my own at a Hotel Bar. It wasn’t as odd as I had imagined it to be…but yeah I did get a few stares from a bunch of Indian men at another table…and to be honest I put on my cold look and kinda enjoyed their astonishment J

By the last evening the chill in Hong Kong had really got to me. I was all sniffles. But I realised that I had not picked up anything for Tarun yet. Well, the thing is most trips Tarun made he always got me something and all my trips I never picked anything up for him. So I knew that from Hong Kong I just had to get something for him.

I actually left the room around 9 in the night, took the MTR and went to City Plaza in Taikoo…walked a around few shops…picked up something from Bossini and H&M. It was past 10 and I wanted to go to the night market at Temple Street…but that was a few stops away. I still remember walking up and down the Plaza trying to make up my mind.

And then I decided to go. I had to keep the promise I made to me about pushing myself to explore. So I took the long ride all the way to Admiralty. Switched from the blue train to the red and headed up north to Jordan. The thought of being out so late in a new city on my own was really exciting. The choice to be able to have a life after 10 and actually shop and eat out was even more exciting.

So when I got to Temple Street, I walked all the way till the end. Spent time at the shops. Looked at the cheesy souvenirs and had a good laugh. In fact even picked up a magnet for Tarun which has ‘I Love You’ in Chinese on it. As I walked into my room and saw it was past 12 there was a sense of thrill I felt. Yeah I had not had a crazy night, nothing remotely narrate-able happened. Yet, I was so happy at having experienced travel alone.

As I packed my bags to leave Hong Kong, I was less anxious and more joyous. My meetings had gone off well. I had actually spent over 12 hours on my first day without talking to a person (that is the longest Vipasana you can get out of me). I had gotten lost in the city my first night. I had had my first solo dinner and drink. I had worn heels and jacket and walked to work with lots of other work people (this was just super-exciting!!). The trip was filled with small things…maybe some would think they are unimportant…but in every small thing I saw some sense of achievement.

So why are there no pictures you ask? Well, that is the downside of the trip. I lost my camera and I have no memory where I left it. When I realised I had lost it (which was a day after I was in Bengaluru) and was sad that I lost all the snaps from the trip. I was sad that I had nothing to upload on Facebook.

And then I was really really sad…coz that Kodak camera was the first ‘expensive’ thing Tarun and I had purchased. I still remember me asking the salesman at the camera counter in Central (Bund Garden, Pune) a million questions. I had to be sure this camera was good. After all Tarun was paying ten grand for it. That day that time that was BIG amount…

I miss my Kodak camera and I miss the pretty black and pink camera pouch Tarun had picked up for me. Like I said…some small things may seem unimportant…but in every small thing there is a story and there is a memory…and that is what makes all the difference.

The Friends' Circle

I always boasted of a large friends' circle. I was never the kind to have like just two very close friends...you know. I always spoke in double digit numbers when it came to friends. I like knowing a lot of people. And yes I understand the difference between knowing people and actually being friends...

But you know what? Say ten years ago, I knew a lot a people and I had a lot of friends. We all stayed in the same city. Studied pretty much the same course. Had the same extended friends' circle to talk about. It was fun...I look back at that time and my heart goes all aaaawwwww.

I miss that time...coz today my social life is so contrasting to the one I had then.

Today there are demarcations. I have friends, close friends, old friends, work friends and the other people I know...

The other people I know is waaaay larger than what I had ten years back. I guess that's just with the accumulation of time...in a way tells you how old you are!

But the friends and the close friends...is a smaaall number compared to this large universe of people I know today. Very different from how it was ten years ago. And most of these friends and close friends who I carefully collected and treasured over the years, don't live in the same city as me...most of them not even the same country.

Honestly, the distance doesn't hamper our friendship. A huge round of applause for the internet for that...communication is so easy today. So yeah, we are all in touch. But that still doesn't change the fact that today in the city I stay I may have a grand total of three or four close friends...one actually being my sister.

My social life you ask?? Well, pretty non-existent actually. And from what I hear it is the same story with most people today. We are so busy with our jobs, and our chores, and our families...that I think we've forgotten to have a social life. I mean, I sometimes put 'Have a Social Life' on the check-list coz I may forget!

The internet steps in again...this time to help me stay in touch with people I know in the same city...yeah...the same city. I chat with them and I comment on their pictures and their updates. So yeah we are in touch...or rather we are 'connected' and I guess today that counts for being in touch.

Ha! We actually get away easy...don't have to write those letters and buy those stamps and find those post boxes (actually that reminds me  I have not seen a post-box in ages!!). Isn't that great??

Hmmm...not really. Coz I am an internet addict. Yes, I accept that!

But you know yesterday, as another friend left Bengaluru...I was sad. Sad that from having friends like a street away from where I lived...today most of my close friends reside in the state of California. Nope they do not have any particular fascination for the state...just that they are all engineers :-)

Anyways getting back to the point...when I sat down and thought about it...I wished I didn't have to check up on my friends on Facebook...or think if it was the right time to call them coz they are half a day behind us...or have to use emoticons to laugh at their jokes or send them hugs when they are low...

Today...just one of those days...I miss my friends...

Being a Guest Blogger

I must really thank Sabera who introduced me to this concept. Sometime back I wrote for Sabera's 'One Life to Eat' about Kannadiga weddings and the food. It was a really nice experience to work with someone on my blog. Sabera brought so much more to the blog...made it more US friendly :-)


Then Kiki my little sis' friend asked me to write something for her blog's Quaterversary. The topic was Bollywood...something I am quite crazy about. 'Bollywood Dreams' is something I personally believe in...maybe because I did spend a lot of my time dreaming.


Please do visit these links and post your comments. Would love to hear what you'd have to say.

The Corporate World is a Pain in the Heel!

'What do you want to be when you grow up?' was a very common choice for paragraph writing way back in primary school. My answer was always - a teacher. I mean, it was but obvious because that was the only profession I was exposed to as a kid. I had a huge blackboard in my room and during my play time I taught my imaginary class all my lessons. In fact soon this became a way of learning for me!

As I grew a little older I thought I should become an air hostess. Trust me back then I didn't once think about all the travel they got to do as the benefit. The uniforms were nice and they always looked pretty...so I wanted to be an air hostess. I loved the Gulf Air uniform. In fact my little sis and I used amma's thrown away dupattas and our hats to imitate their uniform.

By the time I was in high school, I decided that like appa I too would be a chartered accountant. My dream then changed to completing my CA and joining appa's office. I never really knew what appa did...but well he was doing well...and I guess that is all I saw.

The reality is, I didn't become any of these...not even close. I joined an engineering course and specialized in Electronics and Communications. There were a whole lot of silly reasons upon which this decision was based...but let me not digress. 

Just one year into this routine and I knew it was wrong for me. Quitting the course was not something I saw as an option. So I stuck on and completed my studies in E&C engineering, while all through I dreamed of being an actress in Bollywood working with the Khans, the Roshans, the Chopras and the Johars.

It was glitzy dream life that I led back then. I'd spend hours in front of the mirror mono-acting this second life of mine. Initially I thought I was a little nuts, so I kept to myself...but then I found some girls who did the same. Just that in front of the mirror some were actors, some were models...the stories were slightly different but the dreams were all glamorous.

By the end of my graduation, I was 21...and my dreams were more real. So acting in Bollywood went out of the window and I started toying with the idea of branding, marketing and maybe even celebrity management. I still remember the first time I spoke to appa amma about not wanting to be an engineer...I think somewhere appa thought it was all talk and he didn't pay too much attention.

But I think after choosing the wrong field to study for 4 years I wanted to be extra careful with what I chose for my post graduation. So I worked for a while in an internal communications team, with an NGO and also with kids. And at the end of it I knew I loved teaching...my first dream profession...but I had also discovered a love for marketing communications.

Once I had that figured out, I specialized in Marcomm and joined a media agency. Working in an agency was something I always wanted to do. It is a chaotic environment and each client is a specimen...but it was a fun place to be. I worked with a fantastic team. We walked into office most times in tattered chappals and ill-fitting clothes...there were not too many rules...but we still managed to break the few that were there.

My life in the agency was fun...but somewhere from wanting to be a teacher to studying Marcomm...I had started to want different things in my life. I wanted to be more in charge of what I did (I never got that opportunity in an agency as the client usually runs the show), I wanted my brains to be used and most important I needed to maintain my work-life balance. And so began my hunt for the next job.

The hunt took me about 6 weeks and I had 2 offers and it took me 2 days I think to take the final call.

I started working for my new organization on the 3rd of May...and as the days went by I could not fight the feeling that this was very close to my dream job...and I'd keep my fingers crossed and say touchwood! The work was good, the people were nice to work with and there was travel.

Last week I went on my first Corporate travel. I traveled to Mumbai on Wednesday, to Delhi on Thursday and back to Bengaluru on Friday. And you know what? As I walked into the airports to catch those early morning flights, tugging my laptop along I suddenly felt that all my dreaming, planning and a little bit of studying had paid off. I was now a part of the Corporate World!!

I slept 13 hours in 3 days. There was an event to attend and then an event to plan for and present. My phone had multiple alarms to make sure I didn't miss my early morning flights...my dreams were about technical glitches, speakers not arriving on time and an empty hall. I was very nervous.

Well, luckily none of these dreams came true. The event went off well...with very minor hiccups...and after 3 days of running around I was back in Bengaluru.

It felt great to be home...and with the events all wrapped up...I felt so light...but my legs hurt.

Yes...you read me right. My legs hurt!! With all the high-heeled footwear I wore to look great...my legs needed an entire Saturday of not being used to recover!!

So yeah, my trip was in a way liberating...I had started carving a little spot for myself in the Corporate World...but well after the 3 days of being a 'high-flyer' all I thought about was the corporate world is a real pain in the heel!