Remembering Family & Friends-Thank you for all the people I love. Amen!!

I admit..I am not sure on what I should write next....

Then this thought came into me that i need to write about those folks who have influenced or supported me either in my personal or professional life. This blog is dedicated to all of them.





My Mom- I would begin with my Mom. She's a tremendous source of support and motivation. Mom has this knack of seeing the ‘positives’ in every situation even when things are going downhill. She makes me laugh. I tease her for her penchant for watching soaps on TV and getting too involved in the story. Because of mom, I am a confident woman and a survivor in all situations. She has taught me to believe in my own abilities and in god. So a big thanks to mom for her support and motivation!!!

Mom & Dad

My Dad- Dad believes that there’s no one in this world who is bad. He believes in being nice, polite and helpful to all. He’s been an optimist throughout his life. From him, I have learnt to accept people as they are (ahem..to some extent). He is an extremely generous person. Material possessions don’t hold much value for him. He’s happy in his own world. Like him, I’d like to be contented and satisfied in life.



Sis and Me

My sister comes next. She's my soul mate. We are more of friends than sisters. I am the bully and she's the practical and level headed person. She gives in to my whims and fancies. We share everything. Like all sisters, we do have our moments of differences. But we do manage to sort out the same and move on in life. She can be a pain at times but what the heck...Am no saint myself!!! Tee hee! So hugs to my sister for being around when i need her!

My Aunt- My aunt's a tough cookie. From her, I have learnt to speak my mind. I don't care who's standing in front of me but if I am right, I need to state the facts and that's it! Like her, I don’t mince my words or sugarcoat them. My aunt is a very independent and strong lady. She’s a source of strength and inspiration to all who are part of our family. I'd like to age gracefully like her. Hugs goes out to my aunt for her support.

 





My cousin- He's such a good guy. He believes in helping one and all. I run to him when i am in trouble or need some help. It's because i know that he would be able to help me. He is  family oriented, kind hearted and sweet. Ahem...I do bully him often. But he's a good sport. He bears with us. Our family outings are fun because of him. I couldn't ask for a better brother than him. Am glad that he's a part of our lives.

My cousin- We share such a good equation. I have admired him since childhood. He deals with all situations very calmly. That's one thing i need to learn. I am always jittery.  Planning is key to everything that he does in life. LOL! He would make a great Project Manager, i must state! Oh well..thank god for little mercies. His planning hasn't come in the way of any of our plans. I love travelling  with him and my sister in law. It's always eventful and fun. I am glad that he's a part of our lives.

Ivy, Sarah

Sarah/Ivy- I am not sure as to how i would have lived in the US if Sarah/Ivis weren't there to help me out and support my 'stay' related activities. Sarah/Ivy ensured that my kitchen was stocked with Indian spices and all other stuff that i would need while i was there. Ahem..it's only later that they realized that i wasn't very enthusiastic about cooking. They would keep inviting me over for dinner as they were under the impression that i wasn't really doing too much of cooking while i was alone at my apartment. I loved their cooking though. Of course...all that attention as well.Tee Hee! Sarah's always been an inspiration. We also had a very good working relationship. I remember our eventful meetings where we did yell at each other. LOL! Talk about being assertive in life!!! Outside office, she was my best friend, family and mentor. They"ll always be a part of my life. Both of them are angels in disguise for me :). A single blog is not enough to acknowledge all the things that they have done for me till date. A big thanks to her and Ivy for sharing their home, their family and also constantly reminding me that i have a 'second' home in the US.

Rich- 'The white man'-Rich is my best friend. He's from UK and though he's been christened as 'Richard' by his parents, i prefer to address him as 'White Man'. It gives a colonial feel to it and i like the sound of it. I don't think Rich minds being addressed that way. Hmm... Well, I am not going to call him anything else. So that settles the matter. Hmmph!  He's stuck with a lot of names that i have given him. It's easy to call him names in my native tongue (Malayalam) as he doesn't understand what it means. LOL! He just groans and checks with me on whether my new name for him is that of an animal, veggie or alien creature as i am kind of partial to all of these categories. He's oh soo lucky to have me as his nicest friend. LOL! When i am low in confidence, Rich does a good job of reminding me of my abilities and tries to gently nudge me towards the task that i need to get completed. I keep bugging Rich with my nonstop chatter. I always have something or the other that i need to share with him. He puts up with me. It's my niceness..u see! When i get hopping mad at work, Rich tries to calm me down by distracting me with some topic apart from work. He isn't good at it but what the heck...It gives me a chance to start whining about his lack of skills to change topics. He is always concerned about me and vice versa. We exchange cookery recipes. LOL! But i do remind him to go easy on the spices while he's cooking an Indian dish. We don't want 'white' man to turn into 'red' man, after biting into an Indian Chilly. Tee hee! To cut the story short, Rich is my nicest friend and i wouldn't replace him for any one else.

Preeti- We have been friends since 2001. Both of us can chatter away like there's no tommorrow. In our old office, we used to ensure that we got our teams to sit next to each other,  so that we could yap away. The guys in office used to wonder as to how we found the stamina to constantly talk!! Hehehe! Our activities include shopping, watching movies, going to restaurants...basically our motto was to have a good time, no matter where! I do miss her now. She's no longer in the same office as i am. But we still meet when time permits. Preeti's a huge source of support. There's isn't a single thing that she doesn't know about me. She's an inspiration in terms of her work ethics and sincerity towards accomplishing her goals. I just have one ire. No matter how much i tried, she never learnt to dress in a more feminine manner or use some of the girly stuff. Sigh!!! But never mind..I tried!!!

Peggy- I can describe Peggy in one word i.e. 'enthusiastic'. She loves life. Her enthusiasm to do things spreads on to all those who are with her. Peggy's like an army general. She has a schedule for everything. While we go out, everything in her 'to do' list has to get completed. If it's not, she'd be fretting about it to one and all. She can mimic people very well. LOL! She's such a perfectionist when it comes to her work. She's very concerned about her friends. Peggy sees the postive side in all her friends. That's what i love about her. She was extremely caring and helpful when i was in the US. I remember her concern when i had a health issue. She carried fruits, juice, medicines etc and made sure that i had them before she left. Whew! What Peggy wants, Peggy gets! No questions asked. LOL! Love you, Pegs! God bless the Mckays! They are a wonderful family!!!!

Deb- Deb's like an elder sister to me. She's my sweetest and most generous friend. We went out together for shopping and sightseeing. Our favorite activity was to watch movies at her place. She used to make me her famous 'spicy chicken dip' time and again. Her culinary skills are legendary. I did my 'wine tasting' sessions while with Deb. We went to around 23 vineyards. It was so much fun!!! I also remember going to the casino with Deb and John. I owe Deb for dragging along with me to get my 'angel' tattoo done. That was fun and ahem..painful!!! I miss her a lot. Hope to see her again someday! We have lots more of movies pending to be to watched!!!

Angela-' My Boss and Friend'. Angela's been a part of my life since 2001. She was my boss in the previous organization as well. She dragged me along when she moved to another job. I didn't want to leave my old job but she convinced me to go for the interview. The carrot that made me go was that the interview was held at a favorite hotel that i had just seen from the outside. I got to see the plush interiors of this place, because of the interview. Angela knows exactly as to what would get me moving and interested! Angela trusts me with a lot of tasks. I always get tensed when she hands me a new responsibility. But she has faith that i'd deliver it without errors. Oh well... with god's grace, i haven't let her down. It's good to know that people have  faith in your abilities.Whenever i get upset at work, I go to her cabin and yell away on what's not right, what i would do to some folks who are bugging me and that i'd quit if this goes on etc etc. Angela listens to all of this patiently and then when she knows that i am done with my venting session, she'd ask me if there's something that she can do to help. She ensures that i get to 'vent' as it helps me to get back to work. LOL! Talk about being predicatable!!! We have seen a lot of ups and downs as a team. But she's always been there as a source of support. She is always helpful and appreciates all our efforts. Many of us are still in the same company due to leaders like her. So hats off to my Manager. She rocks!!!

Shammi- My 'fun' friend. We used to teach together at college. It's like we were destined to meet. Shammi's great company. We are always gossiping and laughing. I remind her that Umesh (Shammi's hubby) would be jealous of us if she calls me 'sweetheart' and 'love' etc. LOL! But Umesh loves me as well. So ahem..no fireworks when i am in Goa!!! Tee hee! It's fun to be in their company. We go to different restaurants, try out new cocktails and order exotic food that's on the menu. Goa's fun in itself. It's more fun when i am in the company of Umesh and Shammi. I couldn't have asked for better friends that them. Umesh has to vacate the bedroom when i am there because Shammi and me have so much to talk about. Poor guy!!! He has to put up with our whims and fancies. We have done some crazy stuff together. Ahem... it's not appearing on print though. Tee hee! Love u lots, Shams! Hope to see u soonnnnnn!!!

Suresh- The 'Boston' Man. Suresh is my dear friend from work. He speaks in his Americanized accent as he's from Boston but settled in Bangalore at this point of time in life. I love to tease him. We mimic his accent and crack jokes. But he bears with all of us. LOL! I guess we don't give him much choice. When i say 'we', it means that there are others as well who are partners in crime with me. I whine all over Suresh when i have issues at work. He gives me his friendly 'ear'. He guides me when i need to find the right direction. I like to hear his statements which are 'what to do', 'home is Boston'. LOL!!   I'll miss him if he's not in our immediate team. But I am sure he'll be around when i need him.

Deep- ' the funny guy'. Deep is my friend from work. He is someone who keeps all of us  entertained with his constant chatter and humorous banter. Mumbai team loves to  talk about different cuisines and we keep visiting new hotels during our lunch hour. Food is serious business for us. We discuss recipes in detail. Deep's responsible to choose the hotel that we'd be eating at, since he loves his food and always ensures that we are eating at a decent place. We have started this trend of including family members in our get togethers. Deep is very polite and his Hindi is the pure types which none of us can speak. We try to improve our Hindi by listening to Deep's speech. During tense situations at work, Deep provides some relief due to his continous talking. Am glad that Deep's in our team. He's entertainment!!!

John- He's a fond memory from my distant past. John was one of the trainers who came down to India for process training.  I loved the way in which he approached a training topic. He was so animated when he spoke. His face used to come alive. John was always around when i needed some good piece of advise. He is oh so  positive and made me laugh. His smile reached his eyes. John is a very interesting conversationalist. I always told him that he lead a very adventurous life. He is well read and very intelligent. Quite stubborn though! Am not majorly in touch with him. But i am sure that even today,  i'd get a reply from him if i ever send him a mail:) That should do!!! I care about him and wish him the best in life. He deserves it!!

There are many more individuals who have not been mentioned on the blog but who have touched my life in some form or the other. I had some lousy managers who taught me a lot in life as well. LOL! But that's not something that will appear on print. There are friends who were there when i needed them. I still appreciate their gestures and wish them the best in life.

It's nice to say 'thanks!!! Displaying gratitude doesn't hurt anyone! :)

' whatever we think about and thank about, we bring about'.