Okay I am also just another person who is writing about a boring transformation journey. Boring for others but truly amazing for me. I am the kind of person who I guess 99% of people can relate to when it comes to their health journey. I follow 5 different pages for health and fitness, look at those strongbodies on facebook, people with mindblowing pics on insta and can't help wondering "how does he/she look so lean and good". I like myself, I really do but those fb, insta pages always make me doubt myself for few mins or days.
I have spent so much money on my fitness journeys, loose x kg in x days, try keto, try fascinating mummy program, go traditional blah blah. Truth is every single person who has lost weight and kept it off has repeated the same thing. Exercise and eat healthy and then repeat it the next day and again on the next day. You knowwhat I kept thinking how much exercise, what kind of exercise, strength training or cardio, HIIT or workout for long duration !!What is healthy food? am I meant to just eat salad now, what about snacks etc. The questions never stopped, every theory I read gave me a different answer. I absolutely hated exercise and salad.. I started this over and over , differnt gyms, different trainers, different classes, working out with my partner, friends everything and then gave up. But I never gave up trying again. I never gave up the thought of becoming more leaner. And that my friends was the problem. My goal was short term, it was temporary and it meant nothing except the number on scales. I was set up for failure.
One day a friend of mine told me there are new bootcamp classes starting on weekends. For me, it was just another thing to "try". The trainer said just pay as much as you like !! Now, this was new. I didn't have to sign any contracts, pay advance and some classes were even free. I did it for few weeks and fell in love with it. I fell in love with trainers.. they were different from my all previous trainers. They didn't work for big gym, they didn't care much about money, they didn't keep looking at the watch to say ok 26 mins done ..use 4 mins to cool down and out of this place. I joined them for Personal Training once a week on top of bootcamps. I did what I could never think of doing. I started lifting heavy weights. I remember the first time I did deadlift with 40 kgs ! I was so happy with myself. I wasn't thinking if it will help me with weight loss, if it will help with lower cloth size. I was just such a happy and confident girl.
Life doesn't always go as per plan and I fractured my toe !! not at gym though, at the park while playing with my kids. There came the first hurdle. For the first time I was loving exercise..and I was forced to take a break. Most of you will again understand what it means to take a break? it means not going back to exercise or your hobby even though you loved it when you were doing it. I am one of those humans. I never went back to exercise for a year. It was Jan when I broke my toe and I only went back to exercise in Dec (2019). It is hard to forget this month and year thanks to COVID-19! Australia wasn't hit by it at that time. So, I started my journey again with my amazing trainers Ves and Eddie. This was nothing but my another go ..only difference being I wasn't going to new gym, new trainer, new program and had no new goals. Eddie and Vesna sat with me for an hour over tea and told me they can keep taking my money and keep training me till I am old but it wont help any of us. I get that ..what was I doing - training once a week, paying lot of money, eating my hearts out and then back to training. I had no goal, no way to measure it, no plan and nothing. I did not know why I was doing this. I always said I want to loose weight but there is a difference between really wanting it and working for it. So, this time ok I want a goal- I want to do deadlift by 100 kgs by end of 2020, I want to do 25 pushups without stopping and I want to do atleast 5 chin ups ( I can't do even 1). So, there it was, my goal, something to work for.
Eddie made my plan, Vesna worked on my form and we started. Formal training started in Jan and in March 2020 I did a deadlift with 90 (effing) Kilos. I was there in 2.5 months. I could do 10 pushups and still 0 chin ups. I am human guys ! March wasn't a great month for most of the world with Australia being no exception. We were truly under the grip of this evil pandemic. Offices started closing, gyms started closing and came another hurdle and break. No MORE PT or gym!!! Which meant I cannot work on my goals anymore. I decided to take another break to keep everyone at home safe. I hated it. I wanted to go and do another deadlift, hit the gym and sweat it out. But in reality I was happy as I had a valid excuse for not working out. In April, Eddie told me to join his virtual classes which I didn't want to be but joined under peer pressure from friends.
April 2020 - Peak of Pandemic - Virtual classes
I started virtual classes which are more like cardio classes and enjoyed them. 30 mins 4 times a week. Classes run 7 days a week but I chose the ones I like (or rather find easy) and left the hard ones. Eddie and Ves realised I am getting away from my goals more and more. They offered to do PT in a park or virtually. I chose virtual sessions and they were meant to start in May.
May - Virtual PT
Now I had never ever imagined of doing Personal Training virtually. I wanted to give it a try though. I did and they are no where close to what do you do in face to face PT in a fully functional gym but they are 100 times better than what you can do at home in a lockdown. I had to modify my goals, my plan and my attitude. I wanted to be in size 8 till my 40th Birthday. I was in size 12 (tight), 14 (loose) when I started. I bought a goal dress of size 10. Yes, I am also that kind of person who would love to be in size 8 but in reality happy with 10. My 40th is in July. I was told 3 months isn't a lot of time. It isn't a lot of time for people who want to change their life. However, those who always dream of short term goals, believe in fad diets and fantascised over loosing weight for a holiday, 3 months is a very long time. We plan to loose 1-2 kg a week and loose 10kgs before holiday in 2 months. Truth is that most of us never loose that 10 kgs before holiday but do put on those 12kgs after coming back.
Back to 3 months plan. It wasn't a long time but this time it wasn't the end goal too. It is just a pit stop. I never believed truly in the goal, never really worked 100% for it. I respect my trainer and dont want to hurt him so I started on this journey. I wasn't 100% convinced still why am I torturing myself. When everyone else is posting pics of food day and night on social media, why am I learning the opposite. Everything was hard, staying at home 24/7, home schooling kids, working from home, working for home ( laundary, kitchen, cleaning) and then learning this new skill to be focussed on health. But, within few weeks something amazing happened. I started looking forward to the workouts, this was my only me time in all the craziness of lockdown. I couldn't wait for my class and let my energy burn off. PT helped me get back to strength training too.. not 90 kgs deadlifts but 9 kgs dumbells. Eddie and Ves never left my side.. they kept pushing me and pushing me and I kept on going.
I did my birthday shopping 2 weeks back and I can happily and comfortably fit into size 8, I have lost around 6.5 kgs since start of this year. Lost around 10 cms off my waist !! They are all numbers, just numbers. They are not my trophy. My trophy is my kids telling me they dont enjoy jumping on my tummy anymore as it is not like jelly anymore :). My real win is my kids adding cucumbers and carrots in grocery list as they dont enjoy any meal without salad anymore. The most amazing part of all this me looking into the mirror and actually liking what I see. I look at food and don't count calories, I see if this food will nourish my body or not. I love going on bike rides without getting tired within 1st 10 mins, I enjoy playing x-box with kids and winning the games for a change.
My measure of fitness is changing, it is moving away from weight, weight, weight to muscle in my shoulders. It is moving to my resting heart rate, it is moving to how much I enjoy my time post workout. I am not even half way with my journey. It is only starting.
Only piece of advice from this novice starter - Don't think just do it and do it consistently. Do it with someone you like and respect. Not with someone whose interest lies only in your money and not you.
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Monday, April 24, 2017
A day in a life of a working mom
Weekend was over and it was time for mumma(sometimes ma, mom, mummy and sometimes bum bum) to get up and get ready before my 2 adorable(not so) toddlers wake up. In a mom's life best part is to see them sleeping peacefully but hugging them in the morning is even better. Yeah not so much before 6am in winters.
My daughter has a fasination with lying ON me for first 10 mins after waking up. This morning I waited for her but then got ready by 7 am. I was about to sneak out of the house while all 3 munchkins were still sleeping. I opened the door quietly and I hear "Mummy why are you going out so early!?"Oh damnit now I will miss my train (which is every 10 mins though, there won't be parking available blah blah). I cuddled them, showed the excitement "Look mumma is going quickly so she can be back home early". 4 yr old totally bought that while my 2 year old while pointing to the bed said " don't go to office..sleep in that bed" ofcourse she wants to lie down on me BAM!
9 o clock I checked my phone twice and then impatiently called hubby ( who I knew won't pick in between chaos of 2 kids). Finally, at 9:20 am typical iphone bell rang loudly in such a quiet workplace. I said very quietly "heeeello" and then I heard a loud " Mummy we are going to childcare, we finished Milo" This angry mommy politely asked hubby " didn't they eat brekky" and without realising he is being questioned innocently responded "no so much I did offer them cereal!". AH I LOVE HIM !
Fastforward to evening - I knocked on the door to find my 4 year old opening the door with ke!, All mommies out there don't judge me we do have child proof door. Even then my first thought was what the hell - how did he open, what if he goes out one day blah blah. Child safety lock back on. 2 year old came, hugged and ran back faster than the speed she came. On the contrary 4 year old wanted to be in my lap woah! Lucky he is lean and not too heavy. That went on for 40 mins while hubby made a full meal. That happens once in a year. This mommy got so much time to play and laugh today! Well that wasn't the highlight of the day ! Highlight was that once my son finished his dinner and i said sit for some more time with mommy he ate the same amount of dinner again without protest ! Now mom's whose kids are fussy eaters will relate with me here.
Now, second shock of the day came when I told kids "toothbrush tim" and even before I repeated it second time ( prepared to do it over 5 times) both of them were in the bathroom brushing so hard that I thought we might need emergency trip to dentist !! Now I was surely dreaming. 7:20 pm kids are in bed, hubby still scrubbing kitchen floors and island table. I could have died today in peace :) Well, back to kids - I am sitting next to them trying to remember whose turn it is - which kid I am meant to sit with first.
My 2 year old who speaks clearly than I do is suddenly speaking super fast in jibberish. Me and my son are dying of laughing so hard that when my hubby came inside the room annoyed after looking at his face - we burst out laughing like mad cows! I can't remember all words but in the background i could hear mani mana hoike, maniya blahblah . Have no idea what it means.
As soon lights went off my kids vomit there feelings on me. I love it. Whole time when I ask them how was there day, what did they do - I hear nothing but lights off - fight start - "mom I want to tell u something". Only one story is common though "when Akaya hits then Arnie cries" I hear this story 3-5 times a day from 2 toddlers each every single day since 3 months.
All done back in room to lie down. We put the baby monitor on ..my son is imitating my husband's voice and dialogs "Awaaz nahi, Mira Neilu AWAAAZ Nahi" which means "No noise, Mira and Neil no noise now". My daughter was laughing so hard.My husband couldn't resist but laugh and we laughed on it for next 20 mins. Man what a day !! It was a normal day except for the fact I wrote it down. It was just a day in a life of a mom, who was ready to lie down in bed in her formal work clothes and tall boots just beacause her daughter wanted to lie down on her'!!
My daughter has a fasination with lying ON me for first 10 mins after waking up. This morning I waited for her but then got ready by 7 am. I was about to sneak out of the house while all 3 munchkins were still sleeping. I opened the door quietly and I hear "Mummy why are you going out so early!?"Oh damnit now I will miss my train (which is every 10 mins though, there won't be parking available blah blah). I cuddled them, showed the excitement "Look mumma is going quickly so she can be back home early". 4 yr old totally bought that while my 2 year old while pointing to the bed said " don't go to office..sleep in that bed" ofcourse she wants to lie down on me BAM!
9 o clock I checked my phone twice and then impatiently called hubby ( who I knew won't pick in between chaos of 2 kids). Finally, at 9:20 am typical iphone bell rang loudly in such a quiet workplace. I said very quietly "heeeello" and then I heard a loud " Mummy we are going to childcare, we finished Milo" This angry mommy politely asked hubby " didn't they eat brekky" and without realising he is being questioned innocently responded "no so much I did offer them cereal!". AH I LOVE HIM !
Fastforward to evening - I knocked on the door to find my 4 year old opening the door with ke!, All mommies out there don't judge me we do have child proof door. Even then my first thought was what the hell - how did he open, what if he goes out one day blah blah. Child safety lock back on. 2 year old came, hugged and ran back faster than the speed she came. On the contrary 4 year old wanted to be in my lap woah! Lucky he is lean and not too heavy. That went on for 40 mins while hubby made a full meal. That happens once in a year. This mommy got so much time to play and laugh today! Well that wasn't the highlight of the day ! Highlight was that once my son finished his dinner and i said sit for some more time with mommy he ate the same amount of dinner again without protest ! Now mom's whose kids are fussy eaters will relate with me here.
Now, second shock of the day came when I told kids "toothbrush tim" and even before I repeated it second time ( prepared to do it over 5 times) both of them were in the bathroom brushing so hard that I thought we might need emergency trip to dentist !! Now I was surely dreaming. 7:20 pm kids are in bed, hubby still scrubbing kitchen floors and island table. I could have died today in peace :) Well, back to kids - I am sitting next to them trying to remember whose turn it is - which kid I am meant to sit with first.
My 2 year old who speaks clearly than I do is suddenly speaking super fast in jibberish. Me and my son are dying of laughing so hard that when my hubby came inside the room annoyed after looking at his face - we burst out laughing like mad cows! I can't remember all words but in the background i could hear mani mana hoike, maniya blahblah . Have no idea what it means.
As soon lights went off my kids vomit there feelings on me. I love it. Whole time when I ask them how was there day, what did they do - I hear nothing but lights off - fight start - "mom I want to tell u something". Only one story is common though "when Akaya hits then Arnie cries" I hear this story 3-5 times a day from 2 toddlers each every single day since 3 months.
All done back in room to lie down. We put the baby monitor on ..my son is imitating my husband's voice and dialogs "Awaaz nahi, Mira Neilu AWAAAZ Nahi" which means "No noise, Mira and Neil no noise now". My daughter was laughing so hard.My husband couldn't resist but laugh and we laughed on it for next 20 mins. Man what a day !! It was a normal day except for the fact I wrote it down. It was just a day in a life of a mom, who was ready to lie down in bed in her formal work clothes and tall boots just beacause her daughter wanted to lie down on her'!!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Baby!! 1 Month Summary
After an year I am back to blogging..it is as if my inner self is forcing me to get back to writing something plus i never ever want to forget these beautiful moments of my life.
I delivered a beautiful baby boy(with big curly eyelashes ;-)) on Oct 22nd 2012. Ever since we are trying to figure out if he looks like me or my husband..we are yet to find out.
I was due for 28th Oct and took a break from 1st Oct. I wanted some time for me..just for me before my parents land in Australia on 17th. To my surprise my nesting instincts started too soon..and i spent every single day till 16th morning in cleaning my house. My husband got fed up and explained to me that every single corner of the house is sparkling and doesn't need anymore cleaning but i stopped only once i realised that my baby hasn't moved since last 8 hrs!I freaked out completely and landed in labor ward emergency on 16th evening (the night before my parents were planned to land).
On the way from home to hospital i remembered every god, no i am not the ones who bribe god that give me this then i will pray for u even longer :D I just said..ok i dont need to tell it here. We reached hospital and i was tied to some monitoring device on my big fat tummy.The device apparently reads baby's heart beat and kicks. I just wanted to listen to 1 kick..and then he kicked ;-) phew!! and then kicked n kicked n kicked 22 times in 20 mins :D dramatic isn't he! like mommy like son!
Next day mom dad arrived and this was the turn of mommy to do all the drama at airport. I don't particularly like airports unless i am going there to pick someone (and flight isn't delayed). After a sentimental and dramatic meeting we all head back to long await for baby.I kinda knew that my baby will be overdue and that feeling was killing me. On 21st night i was reading on google "how to get into labor fast?" Really! i can't believe now that i was searching for that. I read lots of stuff..some kind of tea, long walks, sex (Seriously?) and jumping on an exercise ball.I ignored most of them and started jumping on the ball..Bangggg! I was in labor at 9:30 pm ( started jumping at 8 pm)..I am 100% sure it was a coincidence. 3 am we were in the hospital and i hated every moment of contractions..boy they are super painful. I was told by a mid wife that they will monitor my baby's heartbeat for 20 mins(again!!)I was pinned to that same device of heart beat monitoring. That monitoring continued for 4 hrs and i landed into emergency c-section operation. Apparently baby wasn't enjoying labor process..Can you believe that? His heart beat was going too high and too low erratically ( told u he is a drama queen or king?) I was told to keep my expectations right after operation that the baby might not cry as he has swallowed lot of meconium filled water (in simple terms he pooed inside and drank that water yuck!!!)my boy! I saw the baby coming out..what was i expecting, a pink boy smiling at me will come out and the baby who came out was brown colored ( covered in poo :) and screaming his lungs out. What a relief..he cried. They cleaned him up and kept on my heart..did i love that moment? thats an understatement! i freaked out..this thing came out of my stomach! Oh man..i only fooled myself that i am loving it. I realised a bit later that day that he is our baby (blame it on anaesthetic). Thats it my boy was born..as expected he sure did make a bold entrance :D
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
V-day : For those who do not believe in it
V-day – Are you among the people who starts smiling as soon as you think about this day? If not, then this blog is for you :)
Whenever this day is approaching I think in my heart, what am I going to get this time? will there be any surprise? how will the day go and on and on. No, it was not like this always. I remember the post-grad days when I used to attend the get-togethers on 14th feb which were arranged for people who were “single”. But was I not jealous of other couples who were roaming hand in hand on the roads of Pune (where Shiv sena had strict orders that no boy should be seen with a girl :-))??
Let me start from the very start when all this was vey new to us (or at least for me). I was in 10th standard in school and had heard that there is something called as Valentine’s day. I was like “what the hell is it??” and then later in the day heard from few of my “famous” friends that they got roses and cards. I thought Oh they are not good girls:P I know I was wrong.. Very wrong!
Then 11th standard passed without any luck and so was 12th about to go. I went along with a friend to a happening place in a small city of haridwar,it was called Archie’s gallery. She was buying a V-day card for someone special and it made me so irritated that this year also I will have no one to give a v-day card. I just picked one beautiful card and asked her “hey whom should I give this to as I do not have any bf” and she innocently suggested some 3-4 names randomly from our class. I was not even friendly with them so I picked “One” to whom I never even smiled or said “hello” in my whole school life. Not sure why I picked him but yes I picked one. That was the day when I was all excited and smiley. Imagine there was no one in my life but still the feeling was so good. It was like sharing few words of love with someone. That is another thing that by the time I reached back home from that shop, my feeling had died and I never gave that card to “him” .
And then as years passed by I celebrated lot of Valentines Day with some special people who were my friends, my best friends. I roamed around with them like crazy, laughed with them like never laughed before and chatted till early hours of morning outside the hostel building (yet inside hostel gate :)) .After I got married I always celebrated it with my best friend, my husband .
People say we don’t need to celebrate any 1 day as we celebrate every day of the year. Really?? Is it true? Or is it an excuse because you do not wish to put any extra effort?? Alright, who am I to judge your relationship. I agree that you celebrate it throughout the year then what is the problem in celebrating it on 14th Feb as well ? My point here is not to force you to celebrate V-day my point is that if we get 1 extra opportunity to love our loved ones then why miss it? Life is too small to leave such beautiful and romantic opportunities. Flowers, chocolates are not important but telling our loved ones how much we love them, how important they are to us is such an amazing feeling. Would you mind your spouse telling you that he/she loves you more than anyone else ? Or would you not like if your little kid gives you a hand made greeting card showing his/her innocent feelings for you ? or would it be too much for you if early morning your dad calls you up and says that you are the best child one could ever have. My answer to all these questions is “No, I would love it more than anything else” .
Whether you r married or not, you have kids or not it does not matter..Surprise someone you love by giving a bunch of roses today and you will understand how special it makes you feel. By the way the guy in my 12th standard for whom I bought the card is now my husband, I never knew this 13 years back but I am sure destiny knew it well.
Whenever this day is approaching I think in my heart, what am I going to get this time? will there be any surprise? how will the day go and on and on. No, it was not like this always. I remember the post-grad days when I used to attend the get-togethers on 14th feb which were arranged for people who were “single”. But was I not jealous of other couples who were roaming hand in hand on the roads of Pune (where Shiv sena had strict orders that no boy should be seen with a girl :-))??
Let me start from the very start when all this was vey new to us (or at least for me). I was in 10th standard in school and had heard that there is something called as Valentine’s day. I was like “what the hell is it??” and then later in the day heard from few of my “famous” friends that they got roses and cards. I thought Oh they are not good girls:P I know I was wrong.. Very wrong!
Then 11th standard passed without any luck and so was 12th about to go. I went along with a friend to a happening place in a small city of haridwar,it was called Archie’s gallery. She was buying a V-day card for someone special and it made me so irritated that this year also I will have no one to give a v-day card. I just picked one beautiful card and asked her “hey whom should I give this to as I do not have any bf” and she innocently suggested some 3-4 names randomly from our class. I was not even friendly with them so I picked “One” to whom I never even smiled or said “hello” in my whole school life. Not sure why I picked him but yes I picked one. That was the day when I was all excited and smiley. Imagine there was no one in my life but still the feeling was so good. It was like sharing few words of love with someone. That is another thing that by the time I reached back home from that shop, my feeling had died and I never gave that card to “him” .
And then as years passed by I celebrated lot of Valentines Day with some special people who were my friends, my best friends. I roamed around with them like crazy, laughed with them like never laughed before and chatted till early hours of morning outside the hostel building (yet inside hostel gate :)) .After I got married I always celebrated it with my best friend, my husband .
People say we don’t need to celebrate any 1 day as we celebrate every day of the year. Really?? Is it true? Or is it an excuse because you do not wish to put any extra effort?? Alright, who am I to judge your relationship. I agree that you celebrate it throughout the year then what is the problem in celebrating it on 14th Feb as well ? My point here is not to force you to celebrate V-day my point is that if we get 1 extra opportunity to love our loved ones then why miss it? Life is too small to leave such beautiful and romantic opportunities. Flowers, chocolates are not important but telling our loved ones how much we love them, how important they are to us is such an amazing feeling. Would you mind your spouse telling you that he/she loves you more than anyone else ? Or would you not like if your little kid gives you a hand made greeting card showing his/her innocent feelings for you ? or would it be too much for you if early morning your dad calls you up and says that you are the best child one could ever have. My answer to all these questions is “No, I would love it more than anything else” .
Whether you r married or not, you have kids or not it does not matter..Surprise someone you love by giving a bunch of roses today and you will understand how special it makes you feel. By the way the guy in my 12th standard for whom I bought the card is now my husband, I never knew this 13 years back but I am sure destiny knew it well.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Office Office Part 2
Alright, we were at lunch break and now this is again my lunch time. Only difference is that I got really bored and dared to go out to buy a fat-free yogurt. We work in the city or as we call it here central business district (CBD). So CBD is all buildings, offices, cafes and restaurants and yeah most important PUBS! So I went out and there was excruciating heat outside so I quickly ran into an underground food court. There were so many yummy options but I forced myself to buy mango passion fruit “Fat free” yogurt (Even though curd is an English word or that’s what I think, no one except Indians understand ‘curd’ so I started calling it “Yogurt” like my angrez dost).
Haan(Yes! For those Hindi deprived people) so I came back and realized only 10 mins have passed.I still have at least 20 mins to do some time pass so as usual opened online TOI (Times of India), read the headings, entertainment section, most read column and yawn !!! Sometimes I feel that the wall clock in front of me will fall out, it can’t stand my stare anymore. Though I don’t look at it much but if I count it must be my 8th time in last 10 mins (sic). That is not much is it? And yes the 9th time now.
While typing this blog, side by side I am also refreshing my office mail as the only mail I get there is from my chinki friend. Oh no, I am not racist at all, just that this is her nick-name as she belong to one of the most beautiful state of India, Assam. The people there look a bit like Chinese (offcourse they are on border so some similarities). But this state is as Indian as any other or may be more. Her Hindi is so damn good and full of local slangs that I thought only UP guys know it. Yeah I may be little racist there :-). Point being my office life is just checking email from chinki, staring at that wall-clock; avoiding over-friendly people and doing lots of work (don’t take the last one too seriously ;-)).
Oh boy! Lunch break is over..seriously?? How come only this time the wall clock starts working properly and rest of the time looks like as if it has gone for a nap, a LONNNGGGGGG one phew !.
Sayonara!
Haan(Yes! For those Hindi deprived people) so I came back and realized only 10 mins have passed.I still have at least 20 mins to do some time pass so as usual opened online TOI (Times of India), read the headings, entertainment section, most read column and yawn !!! Sometimes I feel that the wall clock in front of me will fall out, it can’t stand my stare anymore. Though I don’t look at it much but if I count it must be my 8th time in last 10 mins (sic). That is not much is it? And yes the 9th time now.
While typing this blog, side by side I am also refreshing my office mail as the only mail I get there is from my chinki friend. Oh no, I am not racist at all, just that this is her nick-name as she belong to one of the most beautiful state of India, Assam. The people there look a bit like Chinese (offcourse they are on border so some similarities). But this state is as Indian as any other or may be more. Her Hindi is so damn good and full of local slangs that I thought only UP guys know it. Yeah I may be little racist there :-). Point being my office life is just checking email from chinki, staring at that wall-clock; avoiding over-friendly people and doing lots of work (don’t take the last one too seriously ;-)).
Oh boy! Lunch break is over..seriously?? How come only this time the wall clock starts working properly and rest of the time looks like as if it has gone for a nap, a LONNNGGGGGG one phew !.
Sayonara!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Office Office - Part 1
Well you have guessed it right that at this moment I am sitting in my office and not doing any work. But before you make an opinion let me tell you folks that it is my lunch time and outside temperature in Melbourne is 39 C (American friends please calculate in whatever complicated measuring system you use :-O). I haven’t gone outside since morning 8:15 so I really don’t know how hot it is but I am sure it must be pretty hot.
I work in an IT office; all around there are cubicles which are by the way mostly empty. Why is that? First as I already said this is IT department and secondly it is a govt IT department. All said with these 2 details isn’t it?
All my colleagues, friends who have come from Indian working culture know the difference working here and back home. Our day used to start at 10 then long coffee break with team (and sometimes with manager as well) then back to difficult job. We used to work1 hr straight without any real break .Oh yes full 1 hr and then used to start important prep work for lunch e.g. writing emails to all the people in the group – Friend 1 :Lunch what time?
Friend 2: 12:30?
Friend 3: Oh no I am very hungry, how about 12:15?
Friend 4: No, no we just had tea and breakfast at 10, 12:30 is good.
Friend 3: Hmm :(
Friend 1: Alright guys see you at 12:30 sharp downstairs.
By the time we finished these emails it was 12:25. Now 5 mins loo break and stuff.
On the contrary I reach here at 8:15 and then get a cup of tea to my desk. Somehow manage to pass 5-10mins with tea and online timesofindia. Then back to work, then some emails on official id from some friends and then back to work. Get up at 12 and heat your lunch, get it back on desk and another 10 mins break for you. It is 12:10 and you are getting crazy what else to do sometime pass.
Whereas no matter in whichever company you were in India at this time, you must be sitting with at least 6 friends, discussing food, office politics, cribbing about manager and hating at least one of the person who is sitting among you and eating :) . Then it is time for a walk (yeah suddenly we are all very health conscious if we are in office)
And then for coffee before going to desk?? Sounds pretty cool!!
After 2 hours there will be another round of chain emails telling each other how bored they are, how sleepy they are after that biryani, chole and dosa. Some will be frustrated because of work, client emails, and onsite coordinators phone calls. You again guessed it right; it is time for a tea break (no concept of coffee break there).
But here it is just time after my lunch break and I am making a to-do list of what all needs to be finished before 4:30, yes that’s when I leave for home. So people you also get back to work and I will continue tomorrow during my lunch break :)
I work in an IT office; all around there are cubicles which are by the way mostly empty. Why is that? First as I already said this is IT department and secondly it is a govt IT department. All said with these 2 details isn’t it?
All my colleagues, friends who have come from Indian working culture know the difference working here and back home. Our day used to start at 10 then long coffee break with team (and sometimes with manager as well) then back to difficult job. We used to work1 hr straight without any real break .Oh yes full 1 hr and then used to start important prep work for lunch e.g. writing emails to all the people in the group – Friend 1 :Lunch what time?
Friend 2: 12:30?
Friend 3: Oh no I am very hungry, how about 12:15?
Friend 4: No, no we just had tea and breakfast at 10, 12:30 is good.
Friend 3: Hmm :(
Friend 1: Alright guys see you at 12:30 sharp downstairs.
By the time we finished these emails it was 12:25. Now 5 mins loo break and stuff.
On the contrary I reach here at 8:15 and then get a cup of tea to my desk. Somehow manage to pass 5-10mins with tea and online timesofindia. Then back to work, then some emails on official id from some friends and then back to work. Get up at 12 and heat your lunch, get it back on desk and another 10 mins break for you. It is 12:10 and you are getting crazy what else to do sometime pass.
Whereas no matter in whichever company you were in India at this time, you must be sitting with at least 6 friends, discussing food, office politics, cribbing about manager and hating at least one of the person who is sitting among you and eating :) . Then it is time for a walk (yeah suddenly we are all very health conscious if we are in office)
And then for coffee before going to desk?? Sounds pretty cool!!
After 2 hours there will be another round of chain emails telling each other how bored they are, how sleepy they are after that biryani, chole and dosa. Some will be frustrated because of work, client emails, and onsite coordinators phone calls. You again guessed it right; it is time for a tea break (no concept of coffee break there).
But here it is just time after my lunch break and I am making a to-do list of what all needs to be finished before 4:30, yes that’s when I leave for home. So people you also get back to work and I will continue tomorrow during my lunch break :)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pink Eye
Oops! Pink eye...It is so sick to be sick especially with a pink eye. Who can know better than me? Had a lovely vacation in India, seen Taj Mahal for the first time and on the way back home to Melbourne- Phissssssssh caught a virus somewhere. My hubby joked and said "u are not sick it is just like exam fever ...going back to work". How so i wish that it was all true.
After a long flight to Melbourne...All I got was Jet lag and viral fever. Do you remember the feeling when you get up in the morning and feel why did the vacation ever got over? I had similar feeling but somehow i managed to go to work. It was like an achievement for me and next day I felt so lethargic and tired...I saw my face in the mirror my eyes were red. Oh no just 1 eye and I blamed the jet lag.
Went to office, spent the day somehow and on the way back noticed that my eye is really really red now (God knows why we call it pink eye, it was bloody red). Straight went to the pharmacist, and that lady said it is not an infection as you have no symptoms of itchiness or pain. This wasn't good news as she recommended me to go to the doctor --ah some foreign object?? I got so psyched, well next day i went to the optometrist (I know I know BIGG mistake ...he was so dumb). He did series of tests and told me that I have super human eyes...what does that even mean? Normal humans have 20/20 sight and mine was better. .here you go..there was something wrong which he couldn't figure out anyways.
I slept so peacefully that night with my pink eye only to see a Giant swollen and painful eye in the morning. I am sorry fellows it might be very common and usual for Melburnians or western world but i haven't seen such symptoms for a long time.
Straight went to the emergency in eye care hospital. It was supposed to be an emergency but we had to wait for almost 3.5 hrs. I don't know why they even call it as an emergency. Well the level of pain and frustration were at heights and then the doctor called and played around with my eyes only to say she does not have any medicine for me. It is a viral infection and yeah merry virus takes it own vacation and we have nothing to throw him or her out, not sure if virus is male or female :(
So spent whole day at the hospital with un-tolerable eyes which only became worse with light (light sensitivity) and result was - "nothing". It will take 1-2 weeks and you are lucky it will go in your other eye as well. Oh well!
3 days I waited with patience. Every night I used to wake up every 4 hours, yes! The painkiller was working for exactly 4 hours as if it was getting paid only for that. Paracetamol, codeine and Panadol all seems to be waste. Mornings were horrendous with extreme pain, swelling and lots of itchy water from eyes. Evenings were better but believe me people will get scared if they see that bloody eye.
Today when I am writing this blog it is my 9th day with Pink eye and it is still pink. Never knew some day I will hate "pink" so much. I am looking forward to go to work on Monday. Dear god please be with me,
Love,
Ritu
After a long flight to Melbourne...All I got was Jet lag and viral fever. Do you remember the feeling when you get up in the morning and feel why did the vacation ever got over? I had similar feeling but somehow i managed to go to work. It was like an achievement for me and next day I felt so lethargic and tired...I saw my face in the mirror my eyes were red. Oh no just 1 eye and I blamed the jet lag.
Went to office, spent the day somehow and on the way back noticed that my eye is really really red now (God knows why we call it pink eye, it was bloody red). Straight went to the pharmacist, and that lady said it is not an infection as you have no symptoms of itchiness or pain. This wasn't good news as she recommended me to go to the doctor --ah some foreign object?? I got so psyched, well next day i went to the optometrist (I know I know BIGG mistake ...he was so dumb). He did series of tests and told me that I have super human eyes...what does that even mean? Normal humans have 20/20 sight and mine was better. .here you go..there was something wrong which he couldn't figure out anyways.
I slept so peacefully that night with my pink eye only to see a Giant swollen and painful eye in the morning. I am sorry fellows it might be very common and usual for Melburnians or western world but i haven't seen such symptoms for a long time.
Straight went to the emergency in eye care hospital. It was supposed to be an emergency but we had to wait for almost 3.5 hrs. I don't know why they even call it as an emergency. Well the level of pain and frustration were at heights and then the doctor called and played around with my eyes only to say she does not have any medicine for me. It is a viral infection and yeah merry virus takes it own vacation and we have nothing to throw him or her out, not sure if virus is male or female :(
So spent whole day at the hospital with un-tolerable eyes which only became worse with light (light sensitivity) and result was - "nothing". It will take 1-2 weeks and you are lucky it will go in your other eye as well. Oh well!
3 days I waited with patience. Every night I used to wake up every 4 hours, yes! The painkiller was working for exactly 4 hours as if it was getting paid only for that. Paracetamol, codeine and Panadol all seems to be waste. Mornings were horrendous with extreme pain, swelling and lots of itchy water from eyes. Evenings were better but believe me people will get scared if they see that bloody eye.
Today when I am writing this blog it is my 9th day with Pink eye and it is still pink. Never knew some day I will hate "pink" so much. I am looking forward to go to work on Monday. Dear god please be with me,
Love,
Ritu
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