I was here :)

Attending the 29th Convocation in NID, Ahmedabad.
One of my favourite places :) I convocated last year, but went this year to cheer some of my friends who graduated this time.

pre-New Year depressing thoughts

Another year gone, one more birthday. Not getting any younger are we? Last year, after agonizing over another 'wasted' year, I got some sound advice from my 80-year-old grandmother. You are 25, that's hardly 1/4th of your life! she scolded. I... never thought of it that way.

So this year, for the New year's eve, I am going to take a totally new spin on this whole 'life' business. Instead of looking back, I am going to look forward. There are so many things yet, I have not experienced. Rather than mourning what I have lost, I will try to look at what will come.

A few months ago, a friend was cribbing about his job(I do that pretty often myself, those are my pet peeves, work-life and social-life :). I have hit rock-bottom, he declared. I guess, I wasn't really listening or maybe I just thought this was a good line but anyway, I did come up with some advice that I could follow myself . Good, I told him, so now the only way is up.

So, basically, yeah, the only way now is up! :)

doodles from my notebook

I keep a drawing journal, I try to draw every morning. Most sketches are fast, and done in no more than 15-20 mins. Simple ink-and-pen drawings. If anyone does go through them let me know what you guys think :)
This one is for my crinkly-haired sixteen year old cousin. She is pretty and smart and yet, very simple. So much that my brother calls her 'Plain Jane'. I think its really great she's like that, when she is in her teens.


I have been working in this company for over a year. I have had my high points and low points. I spend my time making stereotypes of people in my company. Here are an initial few.


This one was on Election day in the US. Though I havn't liked the way this drawing has turned out, I did think the conversation relevant. With the economy in the dumps, and inflation on the rise, can Obama really change the world? :)

Just wondering about my non-educational skill sets ;)

the womanly arts

I have always wanted to learn knitting and stitching. Unfortunately I am all thumbs when it comes to anything like that. I think there is some problem with my hand-eye co-ordination ;-)
Anyways, I became all brave and bought myself a pair of knitting needles and a large hank of wool. My aim is to knit a muffler/scarf out of it. Lets see how it goes.
I also did a bit of drawing. Of course not having a scanner makes things complex. Well, lets see how it goes ...

****

The economy is becoming scary. Now that I am an employed woman, its suddenly very real to me. Some thing have affected me personally, some via others. I was thinking to change my job, now I am thankful I at least have a job.

Have a safe and happy divali

This has been all over the papers, but I wanted to share this little incident anyway.

I was waiting by the signal on Sunday(which was the first day of divali) when a middle-aged lady with greying hair came up to me and gave me a sheet of paper. It looked like a pamphlet, and was written in Marathi. She smiled at me and wished me a happy divali. I smiled back but could not read it as the signal turned green.

Later as I parked my scooter near Sambhaji Park, I read the sheet of paper. It told the story of a young boy who was killed in a road accident, not many years back, on Divali. He was the lady's son. The pamphlet urged drivers to be careful and help if they saw someone in trouble.

This year in Divali, many citizens of Pune distributed pamphlets and leaflets to drivers asking them to be careful. Some wrote their stories, yet others drew cartoons and sarcastic remarks. But the message was clear, "drive safely". Apparently at Nal stop(the signal I was at) has the highest accident rate in the city during this time of the year.

It is heartening to see that people are undertaking such ventures. I hope I can also be part of something like this, someday.

Hi!

Okay :)
So I have been missing for over a month. But there is a reason to it all (as there always is :). I finally took a vacation, for a dear friend's wedding. And went to two of the lovely old cities in India, Lucknow and Jodhpur. I had a great time, it was nice to catch up with friends and basically just 'chill' :) And of course there was a wedding to look great for, and I tried my best to do so!

The photo, thats in Lucknow, its the Bara Imambara. No artist quality pic, I am afraid, but it evokes memories and that enough :)

There she goes...

There she goes
When I initially heard this song, I thought it was a sweet romantic type of song (I had only heard the Sixpence N.T.R. cover) about some pretty girl. Yesterday I looked it up on youtube and discovered it was actually about heroin. Obscure drug-referencing songs always make me giggle. No wonder I am sucha beatles fan ;)
Of course I got the chords, and am now trying to play it on my guitar. Needless to say, it sounds nothing like the original. :)

Happy Independence Day

"What does freedom mean to you?" Today's Pune Times asked me.
All the pretty people featured there, models, actresses, couple of netas gave all the politically corrct answers.
What does freedom mean to me?
It means able to work for my living, being independent, not being forced to/emotionally blackmailed into doing things I do not like. Not being restricted by age, society, or mentality.
Is that really too much to ask? :)

--

I have realised I smile too much. And most of the time, its not even from the heart. Its just a fake smile, sort-of like a plastered on-thing.

--

Also not getting something, makes one want it more.

Racing like a pro

Racing Like A Pro

You're pink you're young you're middle-class
they say it doesn't matter
fifteen blue shirts and womanly hands
you're shooting up the ladder

Your mind is racing like a pro, now
oh my god it doesn't mean a lot to you
one time you were a glowing young ruffian
oh my god it was a million years ago

Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something
sometimes you stay in bed
sometimes you go la di da di da di da da
til your eyes roll back into your head

Your mind is racing like a pro, now
oh my god it doesn't mean a lot to you
one time you were a glowing young ruffian
oh my god it was a million years ago

you're dumbstruck baby
you're dumbstruck baby now you know
you're dumbstruck baby
you're dumbstruck baby now you know

Your mind is racing like a pro, now
oh my god it doesn't mean a lot to you
one time you were a glowing young ruffian
oh my god it was a million years ago

you're dumbstruck baby
you're dumbstruck baby now you know
you're dumbstruck baby
you're dumbstruck baby now you know
you're dumbstruck baby

This song really too full of hurt. I should never ever listen to it..

Still alive :)

Long time, no post. Have been unwell. The computer had crashed. The Internet was skewed up. Oh, I have a million excuses, one for all occasions :)
But this blog is not dead! Far from it :)
A nice little site I found a few days ago.

Rain always makes things seem better

It unleashes the romance in me, with the help of long drives and hot tea. And a huge bag of Mad Angles :)

Just to fill up space I am making a list of ten random things about me. Simply because I never did it before, and always wanted to :)

1. My secret dream is to be an artist or a musician.
2. I love making lists, especially lists of chores, with little tabs and folders, all colour co-ordinated :)
3. I hate cellphones, the internet, the computer. But without these, I would be jobless ;)
4. I would love try out street photography, but I am too shy and too nervous. What if someone notices me? :-S
5. I can say the stupidest things in the oddest places. Major foot-in-the-mouth syndrome.
6. I am never bored of my own company. I sometimes prefer it to other peoples ;)
7. I wish I had straight hair, but looks like that is one wish that will never come true.
8. I actually love my job, especially the design part ... not so much the usability gig :)
9. I can't cook...but trying to remedy that.
10. I learnt to drive at the age of 24. I have had driving teachers since I was 18. Three people have tried to teach me and failed. Finally I just got out on my own and drove around. So yeah, in all six years of learning curve :)

The day in brands

The day in brands
Originally uploaded by Alea Athena

I came across this blog post by a Jane Sample and was inspired to map one day in brands. I notice that the software logos are prettier than my cosmetics and clothes logos :)

Guitar :)

Me strumming away, with huge glasses. The blur on my right hand proves that I was playing :)

Song stuck in my head Sheryl Crow- Sweet child o' mine. As songs go, not a bad song to be stuck in one's head actually.

A rather productive day

I felt very accomplished yesterday. I spent half the day working and reading...work-stuff. I drove the car, all the way to my guitar class (very well too I might add). My guitar class was great! I have been moved from the beginners-back-room to the front-room where the actually good guitar kids practise...I am not so good, but I am learning fast and catching up quickly. I have a cheap Indian guitar at home, which I play irregularly.
Looking at my increasing weight, I have finally given in and decided to join a gym. I have been against the idea for a long time, since I dislike gyms, their small airless spaces and perpetual ting of sweatiness in the air. However, my balooning weight leaves me no choice.
However in my sense of triumph, I have forgotten to do several vital chores, like paying bills and stuff. So I will have to sneak out during lunch hour on Monday to do the same.

Existential Angst

Existential Angst
Originally uploaded by Alea Athena

A lot of questions in my life right now. But I am trying not to let it get to me...I am the perpetual worry-about :)

But as Rainer Maria Rilke put it;
"Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.
Try to love the questions themselves,
At present you need to live the question,
Perhaps you will gradually without even noticing it,
find yourself experiencing the answer"

Music for today

Since now I have taken a fancy to playing the guitar, my current favourite is playing simple songs with guitar accompaniments.
At the moment I have taken a fancy to the Juno soundtrack.
They are simple, sweet lyrics, almost child-like :)

You're a part time lover and a full time friend
The monkey on your back is the latest trend
I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you

These lines make me smile, and wish I could write so...

And then by The Corrs

I like violins and tin whistles. Infact I was so inspired by this band that I tried my hand at classical violin for three years. I was terrible :)

Inspired by Alanis Morisette

I listened to this song and re-loved it again. The woman's got a amazing voice, a little husky, but strong :)

Instead

What I should be doing right now:
- reading 'Designing for people' or 'Humane Interface'
- Finishing the brilliant concept sketch which I thought up today morning
- reading functional spec for tomorrow's work-stuff
- cleaning my room
- putting together a portfolio...or at least thinking about it...

What I am doing instead
- watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episodes which I have seen like a million times.
- surfing random sites like this and this and this.... because i like the way these ladies draw
- wondering why i have the monday blues on a sunday evening
- listening to songs from Jab We Met (which I actually didn't even like so much)


Procrastination RULES!

Why I better as a teenager than an adult.

Remember when you are sixteen and how you feel that the world is against you and how you gotta fight it to make a place for yourself? Yeah, I was like that. Full of angst and rebelliousness and highly tuned morals. I believed in peace and love and freedom. I made speeches about feminism and equality.
And then unfortunately I grew up.
As an adult now, I am complacent. And lazy. I don't feel the need to change the world, I have adapted myself to it. I find it difficult to get worked up about the state of African genocide victims and Taliban attacks. I sometimes contemplate(with a faintly embarrassed recollection) how I was so passionate about the smallest things just a few years ago.
As a teenager, I was ambitious about learning. I wanted to learn about art, history, philosophy, culture, dance, music and a million other things. Nowadays I just barely summon up enough energy to glance at the Page 3 supplement of the news paper.
Is it age? Is it that I have become too self-involved? Have I finally managed to shut my mind and be insensitive?

Sometimes when I can think of nothing to say, I stick up a picture of old phones in Chor Bazaar.
Its actually strange, that while I can talk almost incessantly, these days when it comes to writing, I seem to have nothing to say.
But I am trying. And yes, hopefully pretty soon I shall come up with interesting things to write/say.
Just an article I found. Really enjoyed it.
The Perfect Woman

and sometimes it rains....

By nature, I am not a happy person. I tend to look at the worse side of things and worry worry worry about them till me and everyone around me is sick of it. I worry about putting on weight, ruining my skin, remaining lonely and friendless, failing expectations, not being a good person...a million things.
I read somewhere about a gratefulness journal. About listing down things you are grateful for. What am I grateful for today?

• a holiday. though I love my job, I also love weekends and am never bored :)
  
• all the shopping.
  
• reading "Designing the obvious" and "The storyteller's daughter".
• my skin, which is recovering from the terrible acne attack of the past 8 months.

Like my friend M. says, "There are optimists, and there are pessimists, but its always good to be a realist". Amen to that!

Bright spot

"Joy, is sorrow unmasked"
~Khalil Gibran

I am, therefore I blog

I am a fan of Brand New Starts. So here is one more blog.
I have attempted and failed to blog for ages. I believe I have a lot to say (too much, some would insist) and I want to be a part of the blogging community. I have been a shadow blogger for too long now.
So here's to now :)