My Thoughts Keyboarded

Our company has announced that there won’t be a increment this year. We had 5% salary cut last year and this year’s no increment deal is keeping our salary lower than it used to be 2 years back. You may think I am cribbing about the job I have when people lose jobs. That's the ideal way of looking at it but, the situation here is different. On the Ubud Palace wall, Bali For the last two years the company made profits quarter after quarter, management have cut costs in everything and even brought another big company, double the size of our employees. Isn’t it the duty of the management to compensate the employee when they have utilized their work and made profits? Ramesh , May be you could help me understand this. I think the company looses its reputation; the moment it forgoes the value of their primary asset, the employees. Ubud Palace, Courtyard Last Friday was holiday here (owing to Bakrid) so I got myself invited to Athivas house and she invited Chotu and co to join th...

There is a Standard Charted bank promotion happening near the food court lobby in my office. A polite harassment, I think. How can I forgo someone greeting with smiley face and extended arm? Every time I walk the lobby, I need to explain to sales man (there are many) that I am no Permanent resident here and leaving Singapore next month (both doesn’t qualify me for the card). On our Buffet table, Mata Hari bunglow Bali Contrary to this, my health insurance agent (Mayfair) took me for a spin over an unsettled claim. Fighting for it literally gave me a nervous break down. I know I am right but this morning after his mega serial lame excuses, I just gave up. I sent him just three words “God bless you”. View from the room Last Saturday found me waking up to this view in Bali, after a tiresome flight and late night food expedition. We had a continental breakfast -a buffet that overlooked the pool. Then we took a pre booked cab and asked the driver to take us around. Ideal...

What travelling does to mind is better than a bowl of fresh fruits to the body. This morning I returned to Singapore from Bali, Indonesia. It was a short trip for such a lovely place. Sometimes I think I don't understand/do a proper holiday. First an exotic place is not a weekend get away, second a holiday with so much on the agenda doesn’t qualify as one. As always the constraints of time or money or both becomes the deciding factor. A silent contemplation by the sunset is better than any psychiatrist. I envy all those foreigners I met on this trip. For them, a holiday in an island means walking in sandals, eating local food, relaxing and totally soaking up to the energy, the place had to offer. For visiting a country is more than putting a red pin over the map and pat on shoulders. But I rather have at least two days of it than postponing until the day I am ready to travel upwards. A monument is like a vailed bride, holding her beauty onl...

TGIF! How well you know about gravity? See for yourself with this game (Ramesh you too, its manly & age appropriate :P). The dynamics of it left me totally addicted so much that I am wondering why the words have not fallen off from my screen. By the way I have completed all levels with very little cheating ;) A friend of mine passed me this video . When the Genius, Pranav said he wants to make the technology available to everyone, I went speechless. While businessmen are making money in every area, here is an untainted soul that believes in sharing and enriching humanity! God bless you Pranav! Just use the inside portion ;) I tried passion fruit milkshake couple of days back and it turned out to be yummy. Take the pulp from inside the passion fruit, put it in the blender. Add milk, sugar/honey and ice.After blending filter the liquid to remove the seeds. There you go! I would be trying variations later, would let you know about it. The worst advertisement campaign ever...

The more the office work is, the more you get ideas to write post, when its otherwise your mind would dry up equivalent to that of Sahara. Your relaxing weekend would always involve a short trip to nearby city and exhausted you on Monday morning. Irritation coupled with anger is the precise feeling you get, when a friend (with a profile picture of rose or duck and a quote instead of name, that left you no choice but to ask who he is) left a personal message in your networking site, is disappointed that you forgot him. Dieting is not an one time activity. Pressing the lift button umpteen times would not get you faster to the car park. Exchange rate is inversely proportional to the need/availability to transfer money to India. Just when you figure out and master your job, you were either given promotion, or change of profile only to go through the same cycle. The necessary expense is directly proportional to salary increment. No amount of money can buy you that zero...

I watched 2012 in the weekend and quite fascinated by it. The movie as you might expect, opens with a shocking research findings, from Indian scientist Jimmy misty. He discovers that sunspots and ‘super neutrinos’ boiling the Earth's core, which would lead to the disastrous doom’s day as predicted by Mayan’s calendar. Then it follows a divorced couple (John Cusack and Amanda peet – looks lovely by the way) and kids (it reminds me so much of War of worlds) trying to survive it. After 20 minutes the movie kicks in with so much action, that I found hard to cope up with it. Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, meteor showers and the magnetic displacement of the poles, everything happening at the same time! The creative imagination of this orgy is a lot to take in at one sitting. There is no spoiler alert for the movie, even if I write scene by scene you would still want to watch it. The visuals are so (destructively) impressive, that it would be really hard for any movie to top it. I ...

TGIF! Today is my little brother’s engagement. Its strange, still remember fighting over a candy bar with him . It’s an arranged marriage and they are having an official ceremony to declare it. Even if its love marriage, The Guy doesn’t go down on one knee in Indian custom, it will still be an official family affair . The celebration is happening in a town called “hosur” (in the girls place, as a custom), few hours drive from our home in Chennai. So my brother had booked two buses (!) for the family, and friends to commute. Indian marriage is like a crazy circus, where petty things would be blown out of proportion and staged by the relatives. Like the quantity/quality of food served, or not been given enough “respect” / “gifts”. Managing the demanding relatives becomes the priority of the parents, groom and bride to be! I bet mom and dad had sleepless nights since last week, mentally rehearsing and preparing for this occasion. Then just like Vishal post the...

I bet you can’t spot Singapore in the world map. And if you do, the hole made by the red pin would be bigger than the size of Singapore. If you happen to pay more than 40$ in the cab to anywhere in the city, you would probably be going around in circle or on sea waters. That's how small this island is. Yet it's a nation well known for its global presence in economy, tourism, vibrant diverse culture and cleanliness! Mount Faber park Its one of the most stable government in the world and the threat levels from any source are low, so every major bank has a branch here. You can walk on road or take cab at 2 am with all your jewels and possessions and still be safe. The comforts of lifestyle here makes it second home to any expats like me (many give up their original citizenship to be a Singaporean). In this series I am hoping to provide you a glimpse of this wonderful place. When I landed in Singapore two years back, I expected to see only sky scrapers. But the eye cooling gr...