Some Sizzling Scintillating Speculations

Prediction for the day: I t would be no surprise if you were alaready experiencing the powerful insights promised by next week's potent aspects to your ruler, Neptune. Exciting as what you're sensing may be, you've only a glimpse of what's coming. Focus on how these insights are altering your perspective, not just reorganising changes. ----- Amazing, as always!:) -------- Continuing from where I left off last time: My last day at what had been my haven-ly place of work for 13.5 years, was 31.12.01. (Incidentally, the middle of the year and the end of the year seem to be my lucky days...I'd joined on there 15.06.88) After the customary farewell party, and a few dialogues from colleagues who said they'd miss me(They said it with a smile, so I wonder-and, why do they distribute icecreams/samosas/et al at such times anyway? hahaha) and a read-from-a-chit speech from me, all about how I had no words to express myself since I was leaving a second home, blah...

"In the weeks since the stunning alliance between the fortunate Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, on September 19, you've had a lot to think about. This has ranged from thrilling offers to disruptive changes. Now that you know your options, the time has come to narrow your focus and begin making some decisions." Now, if that isn't an accurate prediction, what is? It's exactly what's been happening, and, exactly what's been preying upon my mind over the last few weeks. So much so that I even forget the hours when I'm walking in contemplation- the limit was reached last Friday- a full three hours, in humid conditions. ROFL. Nah-nothing happened, except a stone(kg) or two dropping off, so it's all worth it, as is everything else in life which happens for a reason. Baroda beckons! And how! Let's see,now- am imagining the pieces of the jigsaw falling into place slowly and steadily. Will keep you posted. ---- Meanwhile, let me go back to the year 2001...

Let me begin by explaining something- my college elective was CAME, abbr. for Computer Applications in Mechanical Engineering. And, the Co I was selected for,was/is a Central Airconditioning Co. Now, in those days, we did not have any mega malls or the like in Baroda. Hence, the only first hand info I had I had on aircon, was @ window airconditioners. So, I couldn't understand what the big need was, to have a mechanical engineer recruited for window airconditioners.  I mean, what could be designed in window ACs? A cutout in a window and some electrical wiring? Anyway, I began going to the workplace from 15th June. Some of the funny people  I encountered initially, included a guy who'd come in 1/2 hr early daily, just like me. And, even if I was reading the morning paper, he'd ask me for it, believing that it was his right, since he'd joined the co. earlier. LOL. No hassles. Turns out, central A/C is/was much more complex than window A/Cs.(If anyone's keen,...

The year: 1988. Month:May. Third week. I was in Ajmer, visiting relatives, after Final Year Engineering exams. Got a call from Dad, that I had an interview call from BSL. In those days, interviews were few- and the first 2-3 I'd been to, had been just to get the feel of it. There was this friend, who, during our first interview a few days after exams, told me 'when they ask 'what are your career plans?', I always say' 2-3 years in private sector and then, rest of life in public sector due to job security'...believing that this was a smart answer but not really knowing what it meant, I parroted it at the first interview and was surprised to see them looking astonished(But naturally, since I was the year's  topper). Well, they were from the private sector, and were looking for long term players. The BSL  interview was on 4th June, so, I came back to Baroda before this date, not being too hopeful but still feeling optimistic. I reached there, having ...

I found this one while rummaging through some clippings in Baroda. Can you spot what the funny part of this is? It's a part of a drawing made by an air conditioning consultant for a theatre project, and given to me(when I was in my first company)  for preparation of our drawings. I'd been tempted to continue to use his literary expertise in my Co's drawings,  but decided against it.:) ------- For some reason, I'm reminded of the days in our ancestral home in Baroda. It was in the seventies- I was maybe 5 or 6 years old and, this was one of the big pleasures of life, then. In the evening, we'd go out towards Sursagar Lake. Right opposite it, there was a makeshift shelter made by a poor family. And, there was a wizened old guy there. He was a balloon seller. No, not gas balloons, but, round water balloons, about the size of an apple, and tied and strung by a black (cut) rubberband cut in 1/2 a foot length, made out of the material tyres are made of. It used to cost...

Here's some news from Baroda: - Boating was restarted at Sursagar Lake. And, a near disaster was averted- some of the invitees were getting into a boat, one of them sat too close to the edge and the boat tilted dangerously, followed by the floating ramp on which people were standing, also tilting. Ultimately, two of the councillors fell overboard, but luckily, no-one got hurt. And, the courageous councillors still took a boat ride after the incident, just so that the wrong signals do not go out to people and they avoid boating in the lake. (Pic courtesy Vadodara's page on FB) Incidentally, boating was stopped some years back, when a boat had capsized in the Lake due to overloading, and some poor people had lost their lives. ---- For those who'd like to know more, Sursagar Lake is in the heart of Baroda City. Sur-Sagar stands for 'Seven Wells'- there're seven deep spots in the lake, which are marked so that they're easily visible. The lake has an...

Thought for the day: Even monkeys fall from trees. I feel like reminiscing about my first days in Dubai . Why? The answer's down there somewhere. So, here goes(I promise I won’t make it too boring..haha). The first thoughts of moving out of Baroda, came when my first company started asking me to think of moving to Mumbai, and, that made me think ‘If Mumbai, why not Dubai?’. As always, I only needed to think these thoughts and begin a job search and a friend called from Dubai asking whether I wanted to change over and move there. Three others from our group had already moved to the same Dubai Company. After a few agonizing days of waiting for the telephonic interview, the call finally came, it all clicked, and, after another few agonizing days, my visa came. By then, I’d already quit from my Indian Company. Again, things clicked as I wanted them to, and I was relieved from my Indian Co on 31 st December, 2001. After a week’s break, I left for Mumbai and reached Dubai on 9 th...

Memories of waiting at Ahmedabad Airport for the return flight to Dubai: I cannot remember when I’ve LOLled so much, internally. What happened is, this time, I was first in line for the security check when they announced it. So, once it was finished, I went and sat down at a strategically located seat where I could observe the mannerisms of people walking in for the check. So, what did I notice?( BTW, I noted all these- I don’t have such a sharp memory) . Needless to add, they use the manual metal detectors at Abad. - One guy’s cellphone began ringing and it was not just a ringtone, it was a whole Hindi song. He was so nervous he couldn’t switch it off. Finally, the security guy let him off. - Another guy walked from 5 feet back with his hands raised at 90 degrees- you know, the way a bird flies- it looked like he was going to make a landing on the security guy’s head - There was this extremely obese guy, wearing a sweater. And, the detector went beep beep at his midriff. So, the secu...

(Caption for the pic: The latest in 'giving hafta(bribes): Direct money transfer. Thought for the day: You may make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else for it. This incident had me grinning away, by it’s memory which came flooding back yesterday, for some reason. The Boss in my previous company, called the Procurement Department (There were six of us, I believe) into his office, and (after giving me a wink, since my equation with him was better than others..ahem), he said’ I’ll be happy if I never see any of you in my office again’. ‘But’, he continued’ the way things happen, I cannot avoid seeing your faces everyday. ‘. Saying this, he burst out laughing uproariously like I’d never seen him laugh before, immediately making me wonder whether he was a member of some laughter club. I looked around at the startled faces of people, and believe me, if I’d been in his place, I’d have said something more at the motley crue that we were...hehe...