Naari – The Woman

Times-To-Treasure and my ‘ouch’ moment

I am so very grateful to each one of you who is reading this post right now. I got so many mails, so many kind words, encouragement for starting my new service that I thanked Kanhaji for making me meet you in this life! I am blessed to have a friend like you!!

I’ve decided to name my service as “Times-To_Treasure”. T2T for short. Hope you’ll like my newest baby.

Of all the mails that came, there were some common queries which I thought would be prudent to address in a blog post like this.

The biggest one was: “Why are you doing this? What do you gain by giving your service free?”

Here’s why: I am the most kind, considerate and helpful friend you ever have come across. I have endless supply of money with which I do not know what to do. And since I do not have to work for money, I thought of working for humanity.

Crap. I know that does not make sense at all. (Although I am hoping the first sentence comes close to what you think about me.. Selfish, but that’s me )

This service has a strong business model. It is free. For you. But I’ve taken an affiliate membership with ZoomIn, which means every time you click on my link to buy something from them, they pay me commission. Now I thought that if I were to ask you to go through the trouble of clicking on my link, you should get something worth in return. And one thing which I have to offer is ‘my creativity’.

That’s the whole deal really.

The second question people had was, “how will this work”? That is work in progress still and I was hoping to resolve it by now, but looks like it is glitch-ier than I thought.

I have been talking to ZoomIn support guys to help me out on this, but currently they have no way that I can create something over your photos and share the creation with you so you can pay. So I thought of using PayPal to invoice you for the money you owe to ZoonIn and when I receive payment, I make payment to ZoomIn and get the item delivered to your shipping address. Should worked, right? Of course it should!

So, I conceived this idea of starting a service of my own. I planned and planned and worked and worked my brain. Connected with others, networked with friends. Even got support people @ ZoomIn involved.

Things looked good.

And then, ‘ouch’!!!

I was so very confident that PayPal would be my thing to create invoices etc., but turns out they do not support Indian Rupee as a currency. No plans to do so anytime soon too. Checked out several others but again either they support only limited clients or limited invoices or are very very expensive!!

Aargh.

So may be I’ll have to find a ‘work around’. My software buddies will raise eyebrows, I know. I know I cannot possibly meet the friendship day deadline. But I think I can make it in time for Raksha Bandhan.

Pray for me as you always do. Kanhaji will find a way!

Amen.

P.s. Most people who deal in Indian currency seem to prefer bank transfers for receiving payments. Do you think I should consider that route? Would you be willing to use it? Do let me know.

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I continue to sin…

It was from Shankari’s blog that I heard about IHM’s tag thingie. It’s about doing a little introspection and listing out your ‘sins’. The things that you do that’s considered ‘unconventional’ for your gender. Like a girl picking gum over a chocolate or a guy eating chocolate instead of drinking alcohol. Got it?

I modified this exercise just a little bit here and there to make it more like the ‘W’ in SWOT analysis.

So here’s a list of my top 10 vices that irk (some sinless) women…

1. I prefer the company of my lappy, my digicam and books to the TV.

2. When there are plumbers or carpenters or painters in our house, I am the one asking them to do things differently. Often experimenting with their tools.

3. I don’t like to wait for some male member to come over and change the light bulb. Or fix the plug. Or carry my lappy around for me.

4. I do create jewelry (and yes, it is quite beautiful) but don’t like wearing jewelry myself. I also feel uncomfortable carrying any artificial colors on my skin and nails. I like me just the way I am.

5. I like to shop but only for others. I am extremely lazy when I’ve to go get a new dress or shoes or anything for myself. The same is with beauty treatments or haircuts. Buying books is a different ball game, though.

6. I love big bikes and tall cars even SUVs. During my first US visit I was in awe of the 12 wheeler trucks and seriously envied the truckers.

7. My favorite TV channel (once in a few months when I do watch it), is Disney and not Zee TV or Star Plus. Also I can’t sit straight for 3 hours and watch a typical romance unfold in front of me with predictable twists and turns. I would rather create another pair of earrings.

8. Love to watch car racing or horse racing or even wrestling. (Yeah, John Cena!)

9. I can (barely) manage house work. But please, NO ironing. And no keeping a tab about how and when I do the cleaning and cooking.

10. I hate sitting and yapping about what’s happening in whose life. If it ain’t concerned to me, I don’t care how they do it. At the same time, if it is about me, I get involved without waiting to be asked.

11. I speak my thoughts, often thinking out loud, not really getting worried about who will think what.

12. I’ll try to do everything myself until the last moment. Only give up when I know I’ve exhausted my ways of dealing with things. (Yeah, I am working on this one! High time!!)

There. My sins. Laid bare for the whole world to see.

I am trying to change the last one, since it is causing nuisance to my own peace of mind.

Other than that, I think I am perfect! I love being me.

So, friends who have blogs, go list out similar vices for yourself and may be a couple action items. If you want to do it in the original style, head over to IHM’s blog and ask her to tag you.

Or, you could always list them out as a comment to this post! Well, why not?

Have fun!!!

Being 32

My dear Family and Friends,

I owe each one of you a HUGE and heartfelt "thank you". I mean it.

8th July was my birthday. Completion of my 32nd summer on this blue heaven. (Yeah I know, I don’t look like 32.

And yeah again, I do count “summers” not "Sawan" as they do in Hindi. You can take a beach bum out of Goa but you cannot take the summers out of her…)

 

My day started with a very sweet birthday wish from my loving husband at  midnight on the day before.

Morning came with the announcement from Princess Diya – "Aaj mumma ka birthday hai, isiliye mein school nahi jaunga!".

This followed by the chorus "Happy Birthday, Chachiji" by my nieces and nephew.

The whole day my cell phone kept ringing. (and I smiled each time I picked it.).

My Gmail overflowed with notifications from facebook when people all over the world left messages. (and I smiled each time I checked the unread mails.).

Went to the temple and was greeted by a whole new picture of My Kanhaji on the wall. It was as if he dressed specially for my birthday. I was mesmerized. ("Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder…", heard somewhere?)

Then we went to get treat items for dinner party at home. When we came  back, another surprise awaited us. The kids had arranged a mouth watering pineapple cake, candles that said "32" and even balloons….

 

We had a blast. 

I know this was one of the most memorable birthdays I ever had. Thanks for each one of you for making it so special for me…

I know I’ve been going through rough times these last few months. It was as if my Kanhaji was flooding my day with happiness, making each of you as an instrument of His wish in communicating to me that happy days are just starting. I was overwhelmed.

I also took a moment to be introspective. Here’s what came out… (Most of this is personal, but I am counting each of you as my best friend and sharing it as-is with you. I do not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings or pass comments etc. These are just my views. At this time and place. Nothing more.)

• It is easier to change yourself than to change others.
• You only have so much time to appreciate this life. You only have so much time to value things like friendships, love. To reach out to people. To give.
• It’s pointless wasting precious time chasing things you don’t think are worthy. I don’t think giving up material pleasures entirely is the way to live. But know what you need absolutely and what you can do without.
• Envy, greed even guilt and fear are emotions not worth keeping with you.
• A super-mom lives only in myths and fairy tales. And yes in television daily soaps. So do super-employees, super-wives, super-dads, super-<anyone>. Real life is all about balance. Each of us plays multiple roles in a day. Each of us are better at something, good at something else and not-so-good at some other stuff. It’s worthless trying to be super-good at everything.
• Each person you meet is intended to bring meaning to your life. Each smile you exchange is special. Don’t waste a single opportunity to smile.
• A successful Marathi actress once mentioned in a TV show – “Apal bhav-vishva sambhalun milavlel yash mhanaje khar yash.” Meaning, “when you achieve something while taking care of your emotional universe, that is real achievement.”
• It is not that important what people think about you. What matters is what you think when you stand in front of yourself. Your inside is far more important than the whole outside world. This is the most important lesson that life has taught me.

Hmm.. The list does not end really here. But I do not want to be too 32-ish, right on day 5 of my 32. So, I’ll save the rest of my ramblings for some subsequent posts.

I do sincerely hope this post and the others on this blog are helping you in some way – some giving you a handy tip on parenting, some on practical business plans, if nothing else, at least my words are making you think some new and worthy thoughts.

If there’s anything you would like to read here, please email me at varada dot sharma at gmail dot com or drop a comment on any post. I always try to respond to comments. 

Here’s to the splendid journey called ‘L.I.F.E.”. Thanks for making it a rich and fulfilling one for me.

Love you all, can’t thank you enough…

Sincerely,
~Varada