Mission Appreciation!!

Being bed-ridden for the whole of last week, I was unusually cranky this weekend. One of those times when you don't know the reason of your mood swing and blow everything out of proportion. Feeling like the victim of everyone's unreasonable demands, I slept last night. While leaving for work, I checked my mobile to find this message from Siddharth Bhaiya:

"Thank you! For more than just waking me up!:)"

Instantly, all my crankiness vaporised. I felt so happy, so energized to contribute more to people. On my way to work, I could just not stop thinking about the effect that simple line had on me and the rest of my day. There are so many people who I have not appreciated for their effect on my life, the difference they bring to my days.

We get so caught up in life that we don't realize that so many people go out of their ways to make the small little gestures of love which make life beautiful. Its funny how we always take those people for granted who care the most for us, people who should be made to feel special all the time. Lets appreciate all the amazing people in our life, even if its just one person a day. A simple line of gratitude and appreciation can add immense happiness to someone's life. So, lets break free of our hectic life and start appreciating people. Lets start Mission Appreciation in our lives for the entire lifetime. Just a small step to make this world much more beautiful! 

Leia Mais…

The Stranger who cares!!

Each small act of kindness reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of the good echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it is passed, until simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away.

~ Unknown Author (Copied from Rachit's email sign off)

There are so many people who we don't know, have never met and may not even be aware of their existence who make a difference in our lives - sometimes big, sometimes small. One such person who every graduating student from Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department would know of is Ms. Susan A. Silva - Undergraduate Final year and project matters responsible in the ECE department.

Susan has been taking care of our final year project (FYP) details, making sure that we all file for graduation, everyone is able to graduate and millions of other graduating matters. Even though that might be her job description, she has a special touch of care in all the matters. Where a lot of times we face bureaucracy issues, Susan makes sure that the final year students are free from handling all these issues. From sending emails to make sure that we go collect keys before our FYP presentation, that we submit the FYP thesis on time to making sure that we don't fail the degree requirements and fail to graduate, Susan handles it all.

I actually have to thank her personally. The online degree requirement check was showing some problems with my iLEAD modules, thus failing me to graduate on time and that too without the minor. However, with Susan's help that problem is now solved. Unlike most other people, Susan didn't ask me even once to come down to the office. Her email conversations were clear, facilitating easy communication because of which the problem was solved easily and in a very short time.

I would like to thank her on behalf of all graduating ECE students for taking so much pain for us and solving our matters and to let her know that her help is highly appreciated. 

Leia Mais…

Increasing Excitement!!

“I learned that the richness of life is found in adventure. . . . It develops self-reliance and independence. Life then teems with excitement. There is stagnation only in security.” - William Orville Douglas

Its exactly 4 weeks before I leave for Africa which means that I need to start taking my Malaria prevention pills from today! Wow!! Finally taking pills and all.. Thankfully, all the vaccination shots are done and I survived them :)

The excitement is on a constant increase nowadays. I have been introduced to some people in Kenya and I can already relate to what everybody has been telling me about the warmth of the people there. Anyone and everyone who has ever gone to Africa tells me that I am going to have an experience of a lifetime, something that I will cherish forever..

I particularly liked Jovin's response - "shub, here's why you should NOT go to africa!

- you will me mesmerized! you would not want to return to the lion city, after you'd have courted the real lions!
- you will see the soccer talents, take up women's soccer, and show them how you can juggle with many balls at once
- last but not the least, the wonderful people you'd meet would break your stereotypes on hospitality and love and seduction!

you want not be a victim of all this in your one and only youth, do you?"

Makes me want to leave right away.. Sharing a video which Muti (a Kenyan friend of mine) shared with me to introduce magical Kenya..

Leia Mais…

This time, last week!!

We do not remember days; we remember moments. -Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand

Because there are some moments which never leave you, and these are the moments which make Life BEAUTIFUL!!

Leia Mais…

Getting close to the dream!!

The feeling of being very close to living your dream is great, and greater is the feeling of achievement when you have had to cross innumerable hurdles to live that dream. Those who know me, know what exactly I am talking about.

In August 2008, I decided that before I start working full time, I will go for a development traineeship to Africa.. There were numerous hurdles then, the biggest ones being - finances, getting the support of my family and keeping the motivation till I get to the end. I remember having zillions of conversations with my friends throughout this phase and now I am very close to achieving this dream.

       

I have got an internship in a small village located north of Nairobi, Kenya. It is called the Living Positive program. Will be in Kenya from 10th May to 28th June. Just good enough for me to be back in Singapore for my graduation ceremony!

Leia Mais…

The Bestest Diwali Gift!!

Yay!.. I have got the Bestest Diwali/Bhai Dooj Gift from the Bestest Brother :)



"The greater the intensity of desire and the later it gets fulfilled, the greater will be the gratitude."
I am going through the exact same experience as I have tried to get hold of the book since I don't know when! And from the time I have got it, I am not able to stop myself from reading it, even with the exams and project deadlines coming up. But hey.. this is the Kite Runner and I need a break! So I am now leaving everything behind and going into some serious reading :)

Thanks a lot Siddharth Bhaiya! I couldn't have got a better advance Diwali/Bhai Dooj gift!

Leia Mais…

Keeping the inner child alive!

So, finally after having a week of emotional roller coaster, I have a reason to be happy all over again :).. For a lot of you, this post might have been from a 2 years old (if they knew how to blog) rather than a 20 years old, but as they say : always keep the inner child alive :D

So, do you remember this song : 'Tan ki shakti, mann ki shakti'
Yes, I am definitely talking about our good old Bournvita. Do you remember that morning glass of milk with Bournvita before you went to school, and the one which you drank in the evening before going out to play some random game with your colony's baccha party, and definitely the one which you drank after a tiring day just before going to bed? Oh and forgot to ask, the bournvita you nicked out of the kitchen when no one was watching! Hmmm... now u remember all those moments :P

Well, I have always been an outright bournvita lover. I can drink it all the time. Life was difficult to imagine without bournvita. But then I came to Singapore. Whoosh, we were separated and I found replacements. But then if your love is true, you realize it sooner or later. So, after 2 years of separation, I am back with bournvita! Though, it doesn't come in a jar here and can only be found at Mustafa, I just can't express my happiness when I drank the first glass of bournvita in Singapore this morning. It was like heaven :) I guess, sometimes you can't live without some things!

Leia Mais…

I am happy!!

Just came across happiness after a long time! So,

Happiness is sitting with your previous MC team on one of the benches outside Gourmet cafe and laughing at the prospects of having either one of them as a Chair for an upcoming conference!
Happiness is also meeting all the wonderful AIESEC alumni who have done so much for the organization and are willing to do more so in the future.
Happiness is cracking random jokes with your Boss in the previous team and sharing all your workload of the current team!
Happiness is also finding a mentor in someone you give a call early morning and discuss your self doubts with her. And she listens to you and motivates you to a great extent to believe in yourself.
Happiness is getting a call from a company of your choice for an interview in about 5 hours time.
Happiness is having a good and meaningful chat with your interviewer.
Happiness is getting confirmation of your selection in that company withing an hour of the interview.
Happiness is hearing your dad say, "I told your mum that you will get through :)"
Happiness is getting a call from your mum in an AIESEC event being worried why you gave her 13 missed calls and then revealing that you got through the company you so dearly wanted.
Happiness is sitting with some of the team members and sharing with them about totally random things.
Happiness is getting the feeling of being competent again.
Happiness is sharing your happiness with a friend sitting in Finland :D

Leia Mais…

JumpStart! 2008

Before I forget, I want to write my experience and learning down! JumpStart (JS) this year gave me a chance to view a conference from a completely new dimension. I was the "Conference Manager" and the "Agenda Manager". Today at the closing I was very emotional, and the emotions were the ones which you get only when you have achieved something much more than you expected. To be frank with myself, I have kind of forgotten this feeling since December 2006. I am not saying that I did not achieve things or am among those vain people who think that achieving those things is almost nothing! I expect a lot from myself, sometimes a bit too much and most of the times, I cannot achieve as expected or just barely reach my target. But this time, I was able to get that sense of achievement and fulfillment which somehow was only predominant in my school life! And surely, it is one of the most beautiful things :) I did not achieve all this on my own definitely, and have a long list of people to thank for it! Specially Grace!

The best thing which happened to me was that I found myself back - the energy, passion, drive, zest for meeting people, which I was losing due to some things not going quite well, were revived. I still remember my conversation with Cheryl during IC about how we should not let our identity be affected by how other people receive it, and I actually did that in JS! The delegates are a major reason for this shift!

I learned a lot from my team too. The importance of team work, enthusiasm, love and the thirst for improvement and learning. The things which we always have in the back of our heads got reinforced. And I am now more confident of my abilities than I have been for quite some time!

Leia Mais…

Just Like That!

Hmm... I have been super lazy to update blog :P I was back in Singapore on 1st August and am a bit more learned than when I went to India.. I have learnt driving and microwave cooking... hee hee..

Birthday Bloopers


From a Different angle (My paternal side)
Vijit Bhaiya, you were missed a lot :D

India was fun as always, I didn't want to come back at all *hiks hiks* There was full masti and I went to Jaipur also... Amazing trip with my maternal family.. otherwise just chilling at home, meeting people and eating eating eating... gained a lot of weight :P

Mausi and Me (City Palace)

Most of us (Hawa Mahal)



Elephant ride with Anu (Chowki Dhaani)

The best part of the trip was the fact that my Best Friend, Rashika, was also in Agra at that time :D Which made it the most relaxed time of my life after so long... Those cooking classes where we made fun of everyone, going to eat random stuff, playing with aadi-diaa, going to school in a big gang, or just doing nothing at all :P Most cherishable memories!! :D The day when we all went out for Kismat Konnection.. Amazing and unexpected... Me having accidents :P... hahahaha..

Rashika and me (My place)

Aadi-Diaa (Rakhi at Rashika's)

And now, I am just a day away from leaving for Brazil! More fun awaits for sure~

Leia Mais…

No more a TEEN!!

So I just turned 20 today!! For all those who don't remember my B'day.. tsk tsk tsk... hehe

I think i just crossed the most innocent phase of my life. No, I am not suggesting that I am not going to be innocent anymore but I won't be as innocent as I was till yesterday :P

I absolutely love my life till now and want to capture 100 things about me and my life which everyone doesn't know.

1. I want to become a Politician in India later in my life because
2. I will (I have not written 'want to' as I am sure that I will) contribute to the progress and betterment of my country however,
3. I want to start my career as a HR professional in a start up/SME.
4. I like being called Shubhangi more than any of my nicknames as I think that it is one of the most beautiful names in the world.
5. I am not a very girly girl and
6. I can't stand very girly girls.
7. Among the 10 closest friends in my life, only 3 are girls and
8. All 4 of us are in 4 different countries at this moment.
9. I love travelling and
10. I know I will never be able to save a lot of money as I will spend it seeing the world.
11. I think my mum is the most caring and powerful lady ever born on this earth and
12. I respect her as much as I respect God.
13. I am a devotee of Hanumanji.
14. If re-birth exists, I will always want to be my parents' child.
15. I am very close to my extended family as well and
16. I refer to my cousins as brothers and sisters.
17. I have stayed in a joint family for 12 years and wish that every child gets the wonderful experience of being part of one.
18. I am still in touch with my School teachers.
19. I will contribute to my School, Uni and AIESEC with money and manpower when I am working.
20. I am very possessive about my sister and can't hear anything not-so-good about her.
21. I have a very sweet tooth but
22. I also crave for spicy Indian food.
23. I miss home cooked food.
24. I can't smoke. The last time I tried, I puffed out and then my friend complained that the cigarette is wet.
25. I have tried booze but I dun like it.
26. I have never got the urge to try non-veg food.
27. I have not kissed coz I feel that you should kiss only when you love someone.
28. I have fallen in love once and it was one of the most wonderful time of my life but I don't intend to fall again coz
29. I fear that I might be commitment-phobic thats why
30. I don't think I will marry but I love kids so
31. I will definitely adopt kids (most probably a girl).
32. My status is single and I don't want to change it.
33. I was never in a relationship but had an 'Extension of friendship' (borrowed term) for a bit over 2 months.
34. I can't differentiate between crush/finding someone cute/liking someone.
35. My first crush was at the age of over 15 on someone my mum's age.
36. I think I have the rare ability of liking more than one guy at a time (but only from a distance).
37. I hate guys who are Male Chauvinist pigs.
38. I dun like skimpy clothes.
39. I can bitch about only 7 people in this world so you have to do something too bad to be bitch-able in my standards.
40. I am very sensitive about Family, friends, India, Islam and Pakistan and can't hear anyone disrespecting them. But I am a follower of Hinduism.
41. My best friend is the most beautiful girl and person I have ever met.
42. The first few things I observe about guys are Eyes, smile and legs below knees.
43. I like cheap songs like jhumma chumma, teri naani mari, meri pant bhi sexy etc.
44. I have very strongly in-built Ideals in life and have the ability of making difficult decisions coz of them.
45. I value Integrity over everything and
46. I hate people who are always late for everything.
47. The one thing I regret about my school life is not being the Head girl of the school as my mum didn't allow.
48. The best thing which happened to me in Uni is AIESEC.
49. I still don't know how I became a topper in ICSE anhd ISC boards.
50. I want to stay with my parents forever.
51. I can get high on coke and milo.
52. I like pepsi more than coke.
53. I have 2 personalities,
54. I am independent, mature and sharp as far as work is concerned but
55. With my friends, I am crazy, immature and always high on life kind of a person.
56. I am workaholic and I am proud of this fact.
57. If I ever marry, I think I'll marry a non-Indian.
58. I want to learn swimming since forever.
59. I am very bad at lying coz,
60. I am brutally honest and express my feelings verbally or non verbally.
61. I started my 20th birthday drinking strawberry milk ;)
62. I love surprises but
63. I am bad at giving them as my feelings are always expressed.
64. I don't like people who give blood relations more importance.
65. I like independent people.
66. I am still gaining height.
67. I like flirting and people who flirt.
68. I love reading all kinds of books.
69. I love walking and cycling.
70. I want to try all adventure sports.
71. When I grow old, I would love to stay in a farm house in the countryside in India.
72. I am a very spiritual person.
73. I love dancing but
74. I am not a very big fan of clubbing but I do get urges to club once in a long while.
75. I want to go on a cruise.
76. I love music and movies.
77. I can't stand reptiles.
78. I don't like being fair, I wanted a darker complexion.
79. I always wanted to have an elder bro and finally got one in Singapore.
80. I dun like people who brag in front of others.
81. I am a people's person.
82. I don't like shopping, but can shop when there is the need to.
83. I find it difficult to trust guys even though my closest friends are usually guys.
84. I love milk and all dairy products.
85. I sometimes wish that I was at Hogwart's and was Hermione.
86. I can never go on a diet.
87. I like people who laugh a lot coz
88. I laugh a lot too.
89. I talk a lot.
90. Everytime I achieve something, the first person I think of is my Dadaji (Grandpa) and just wish he was alive.
91. I didn't use to understand any pervert jokes or sex talks when I came to Singapore.
92. I have fractured my bones a lot of times.
93. I have a good sense of direction, distance and time.
94. I love meeting new people and attending parties.
95. I studied in a catholic school and know a lot about Christianity.
96. I am very good with numbers.
97. I respect my teachers a lot.
98. I am very vocal, outspoken and a total rebel.
99. I am good at acting.
100. I love life!

Leia Mais…

Woo Hoo!!!

Hola!! I just can't resist myself from sharing all the good news I got today from my Indian peeps *muah...

My bro, Atin (I stayed in a joint family with his family), is getting married on 4th March.... I wanna go, wanna go, wanna go... It is an Inter-religion Love Marriage *The third marriage in my generation and till now all have been inter-caste/religion love marriages...hiks hiks! But I won't be able to go there... buhuhuhu! Anyways, I am sooooooooo happy for him!

My another bro, Vijit, might be coming to Malaysia for work! *But there is a biiiiiiiiiiiig might in between :( If he comes, I'll be in Malaysia every second week and he will be in Singapore when I am not there... I just can't imagine how cool it will be! No more home-sickness *ok lor, atleast to a bit less extent...

I talked to Rashika, my best friend, after a long time for a long time... Hehe! And got very interesting updates from her... *Muah, love ya honey!

For all you peeps, stay happy and safe! Live life, love life!

Leia Mais…

My first Ang Pau!!!!

Yay! I got my very first Ang Pau today! For the benefit of the non-Chinese people let me explain what is an Ang Pau *Disclaimer: I am not sure if my info is accurate, but this is what I understand!

As you may know (or may not know), 7th and 8th February is the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year! So, to celebrate the New Year people go to visit each other. Traditionally, people take 2 oranges while going to each others house. Oranges signify prosperity! People also give their guests money in red envelope. This red envelope (with its contents inside) is known as Ang Pau..... I hope whatever I wrote is correct!


My very First Ang Pau!! *Huhuhu

And today I got my first Ang Pau! And it is so special for me because it was given by one of my favourite lecturers in NUS - Dr. Winston Kwok, my FNA lecturer. I just love his way of teaching and attending his lectures is so much fun. He gave Ang Pau to 6 people in that full LT... which made it even more special! He also sang us a Chinese New Year song in the lecture. And to be honest, he sings superbly well! I think after Dr. Faizal Bin Yahya, my Singapore Studies lecturer, if I like a lecturer so much, then it is Dr. Winston Kwok :)

Leia Mais…

A Very Happy Day!!!!

Wow!! I just can't describe yesterday! It was one of the best days of my life, I guess!! Firstly, I studied after a long time (after 2nd December)....and I studied Maths!! Back home in India people used to say that my first love is Maths!! Well, surely it is! I feel so satisfied and so happy after studying Maths. Its true, the kind of satisfaction you get after studying is inexpressible!! Anyways, don't get scared that today is so special just because I studied Maths... I am not so MAD :) (Paul n Nabeel, My exam was good)

Sometimes someone else's Happiness can mean everything to you, isn't it? Exactly the same happened to me! I saw someone very very special extremely happy yesterday and guess what, I was in a way a part of that person's happiness.... My 4-5 days hard-work was finally successful. I just can't forget the smile :) And I hope that the SMILE is there forever.... (Click-Click, Yesterday was a day to be cherished!!)

Leia Mais…