Sunday, July 22, 2007

Kimaya turned one year as per her tamil star on July 4th. We had a party without involving friends as there are too many close relatives around in Bangalore. In the morning we had the Poojas and in the evening a small party with a birthday cake and all...

What I realised is that Mallu and I had to think, plan, organize with our parents inputs but she was oblivious that it was all for her :) So at the end of the day it is all our wishes fulfilled - starting from the candle that was blown till the dessert - It was all our wishes. Am sure she is not going to like it when she grows big and understands how it was celebrated!

We also tonsured her head in Tirupati on 14th, just a day after her birthday.

As she is one year old now, am just looking back my life after her birth. The feeling is sort of mixed. In the intial months, I really doubted whether it was good decision to have a child! It was painful, depressing and I was extremely stressed by the lack of sleep as she had to be fed several times in the night. Though every site about babies and child talk about the depression due to harmonal change after delivery, you dont realise anything till you cross that stage. I've had fights with almost everyone in the family and have felt that noone cares for me. I've given sleepless nights to Mallu. When I look back, I think why on earth would I think like that and it seems very funny.

Once she started sitting, crawling and babbling, things looked brighter. Nowadays she wakes up only once in the night and my husband and I take turns to feed her. Motherhood is enjoyable now. From 8th month onwards, she is learning lots of things and there have been somany developments - her teeth showing up, she started standing up without any support, tries to make us laugh with her antics and in the last few days she is non-stop walking. It is really is enjoyable and she is a stress buster. Everyday when I come back from work, she laughs and just jumps on me and starts blabbering quiet a bit. For that one moment, all the trouble seems worthwhile.

What I've learnt in so many months is to not believe in perfection. I am doing my level best at both work and home but am not trying to do everything on my own. I've some help at home to take care of Kimaya under our parents guidance. It hurts when that lady advices me what I need to do to make my daughter happy, but am trying not to get bogged down by it and take any drastic decision. I feel guilty when I am not at office when my team is working their asses off, but then again, am ignoring the guilt and try to move on.

One other thing is to get some sort of exercise for atleast 30 mts a day by walking some distance from office, or doing some activity with Kimaya. It makes me feel damn good. Mallu and I have decided that we will have our own space and time atleast once a week. When she was not around, it was there in abundance - we had taken it for granted. Now we realise that it is very very important to have some quality time for ourselves to keep our relationship alive and healthy.

It has taken me really a year to realise that motherhood/parenting is an enjoyable experience if you adapt yourself well and try and be happy with the additional responsibility. Happy parenting...

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

I cleared my PMP exam on 30th May. I really am feeling great about it as I've done this with Kimaya as 10.5 months old baby, with office work and with Mallu's preparation to go to US. If I've to thank someone BIGTIME for helping through out, that will be Mallu. For all the trouble he took over the weekends to spare me time to study, to take tests, encouraging me when I was down about the whole thing - Thanks a ton.

For all those who do not know what PMP is -- this is a certification - Project Management Professional - provided by PMI. This is valid for 3 years and focuses purely on project management.

There is a 35 hours compulsary session that you should have attended on project management by recognised trainers and that started it all for me. When I was Chennai, there was a session conducted by PELCON, Pune. I attended that and immediately apped and paid for the certification. Could not finish it while I was there and just after delivery. After so many months, the motivation factor was that validity period for the application and fees I paid was going to expire on June 1st week.

Started reading through Rita and PMBOK in April, but was not too serious until I fixed up my exam date. I went through Rita alone once and then took a mock test from pmstudy tp just gauge where I was. Then I went through Rita and PMBOK simultaneously once more. Took another couple of practice tests from Kim heldman's CD. I did not have time to do anything more as it was 30th Morning already :) and the exam scheduled at 9:00 am.

I could complete the exam and review in 3 hours. During the practice exams I found that 20-30% of the my errors were because that I was not reading the questions completely. As most of the questions were situation based in the exam, I think the ones I had made mistakes were becuase of this. Most of the Input, Tools and Techniques and Output questions were from quality, risk, time and procurement. I had done several reviews of these and I think I got all of them right.

Though people were advicing me against taking tests as it unnerves you (Which it did when I passed my first test!) but it gives you a feel of how to get through the 4 hours. It is really tough to have your concentration prolonged for so long! And the tips provided by Rita about the exam day was helpful. I took a break after 100 questions (there are 200 in total), had my breakfast and then did the rest of it. It helped a lot in relaxing a bit.

Thanks to everyone around me who have contributed in this success in some way or other.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mozhi - Means language in Tamil. And the movie was awesome. I heard rave reviews about it and was itching to have a look at it and it happened on last Saturday. From the beginning till end, it was beautiful, flawless and it was a joy to watch the movie. Very few movies have touched my heart like this - movies like kannathil muthamittal. They come very rarely and stand in your mind for a long time.. Yes, yes, I will stop going on like this and will give a quick, neat review...

Story is about two friends who are doing background music for movies. Their funda of love is that if you meet THE girl you will have a light above your head and bells will ring :) And our hero sees such a girl, obviously the heroine and falls in love instantaneously. He finds later that she is deaf and dumb. Because she is physically challenged, she feels that noone should take pity on her. Additionally she hates the idea of marriage because of her parents. Then it takes the typical line of hero proposes, she refuses, finally comes out of her cucoon to accept.. In the story to add some spice there are side tracks about the hero's friend, heroine's friend, the apartments seceratary, the professor - May be unwanted, but given at the right amount hence it has not exceeded its limit.

Now, you can say, "Okay, What is great about it? Slightly different story but then the same masala!" - Direction and the cast - Thats what makes it great. Prakash raj and Jyotika are really good. Jyotika just had to act and not talk (rather move her lips.).In the last but one scene where she just breaks herself free of her fears - she cries - that few seconds were amazing - she really is talented!. Prakash Raj is who I call as a complete actor - he can do all kind of roles with ease and in this movie he has done comedy in the supporting role. Total entertainment :)

PS: I started writing this review when I watched it the first time, And finished it when I watched it the second time today. Last 30 mts are dragging and typical tamil movie 'shtyle' and I think it is Prakash Raj's delivery of jokes that made me watch the movie again.....

Sunday, April 08, 2007

I have something to write everytime I go to Saritha's place. This time about Finland. Sari's hubby had just come back from Finland..

It seems that sauna's are integral part of Finnish. Couple of interesting things which he has experienced - Once after a sauna, he has done 'Flying angels' - Meaning, come out of the sauna, get out to the snow with or without a towel based on whether women population is there around, go and lie down on virgin snow and move your limbs up and down - the imprint resembles an flying angel!

Another of his sauna experience goes like this - After a really hot sauna, go to a frozen lake, where a portion of the ice is cut and a ladder is put to let you inside the ice cold water - he had to try thrice to get himself into that water till his neck..

Then the interesting part - Kossu and Salmari. Kossu's real name is koskenkorva - which is vodka made from barley. Salmari is a liquer made out of kossu. I tasted the salmari - excellent is the word for the shot I had. It tastes a lot like Benedictine dom, less strong than it. One shot could be finished very comfortably and with no after effects.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Got this mail today.. Very interesting. All parents should have a look at it inorder to ensure we do not load the children unnecessarily....

Multiple Intelligences (Source: www.thomasarmstrong.com)
The theory of multiple intelligences was developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University, in his book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and has been further refined in subsequent years..
It suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:
Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")
Dr. Gardner says that our schools and culture focus most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. We esteem the highly articulate or logical people of our culture. However, Dr. Gardner says that we should also place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in the other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists, designers, dancers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and others who enrich the world in which we live.
Unfortunately, many children who have these gifts don’t receive much reinforcement for them in school. Many of these kids, in fact, end up being labeled "learning disabled," "ADD (attention deficit disorder," or simply underachievers, when their unique ways of thinking and learning aren’t addressed by a heavily linguistic or logical-mathematical classroom. The theory of multiple intelligences proposes a major transformation in the way our schools are run. It suggests that teachers be trained to present their lessons in a wide variety of ways using music, cooperative learning, art activities, role play, multimedia, field trips, inner reflection, and much more.
The good news is that the theory of multiple intelligences has grabbed the attention of many educators around the country, and hundreds of schools are currently using its philosophy to redesign the way it educates children. The bad new is that there are thousands of schools still out there that teach in the same old dull way, through dry lectures, and boring worksheets and textbooks. The challenge is to get this information out to many more teachers, school administrators, and others who work with children, so that each child has the opportunity to learn in ways harmonious with their unique minds.
The theory of multiple intelligences also has strong implications for adult learning and development. Many adults find themselves in jobs that do not make optimal use of their most highly developed intelligences (for example, the highly bodily-kinesthetic individual who is stuck in a linguistic or logical desk-job when he or she would be much happier in a job where they could move around, such as a recreational leader, a forest ranger, or physical therapist). The theory of multiple intelligences gives adults a whole new way to look at their lives, examining potentials that they left behind in their childhood (such as a love for art or drama) but now have the opportunity to develop through courses, hobbies, or other programs of self-development.
How to Teach or Learn Anything 8 Different Ways
One of the most remarkable features of the theory of multiple intelligences is how it provides eight different potential pathways to learning. If a teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning. Whether you are a kindergarten teacher, a graduate school instructor, or an adult learner seeking better ways of pursuing self-study on any subject of interest, the same basic guidelines apply. Whatever you are teaching or learning, see how you might connect it with


words (linguistic intelligence)
numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence)
pictures (spatial intelligence)
music (musical intelligence)
self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence)
a physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence)
a social experience (interpersonal intelligence), and/or
an experience in the natural world. (naturalist intelligence)
For example, if you’re teaching or learning about the law of supply and demand in economics, you might read about it (linguistic), study mathematical formulas that express it (logical-mathematical), examine a graphic chart that illustrates the principle (spatial), observe the law in the natural world (naturalist) or in the human world of commerce (interpersonal); examine the law in terms of your own body [e.g. when you supply your body with lots of food, the hunger demand goes down; when there's very little supply, your stomach's demand for food goes way up and you get hungry] (bodily-kinesthetic and intrapersonal); and/or write a song (or find an existing song) that demonstrates the law (perhaps Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing?").
You don’t have to teach or learn something in all eight ways, just see what the possibilities are, and then decide which particular pathways interest you the most, or seem to be the most effective teaching or learning tools. The theory of multiple intelligences is so intriguing because it expands our horizon of available teaching/learning tools beyond the conventional linguistic and logical methods used in most schools (e.g. lecture, textbooks, writing assignments, formulas, etc.). To get started, put the topic of whatever you’re interested in teaching or learning about in the center of a blank sheet of paper, and draw eight straight lines or "spokes" radiating out from this topic. Label each line with a different intelligence. Then start brainstorming ideas for teaching or learning that topic and write down ideas next to each intelligence (this is a spatial-linguistic approach of brainstorming; you might want to do this in other ways as well, using a tape-recorder, having a group brainstorming session, etc.). Have fun!
(Source: http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I watched one of the latest tamil movie Paruthi veeran on Sunday. This is directed by a guy named Ameer and the cast includes Karthik (Surya's brother and Sivakumar's second son) and Priyamani.
At the end of the movie I felt really depressed. I being an emotional person, I hate tragedies even on-screen! I was not able to realise whether the movie was overall good or bad. It took me sometime to realise that it was interesting to watch till the end. The last 5 minutes spoiled it all for me.
Story line is this - heroine is madly in love with the hero and is very firm that she will get married to him only. Hero realises only after the movie is half way through. He being the 'Chandiyar' is really irresponsible and lives his life doing all sorts of bad things - drinking, fighting, gambling etc.,. But when they elope and just about to be married, heroine is raped by his friends. She dies and to save her from being portrayed as 'Kettu pona ponnu', he uses an axe and let people believe that he killed her as her dad is planning to get her married to someone else. Hearing this, villagers beat him to death.
Movie is shot in a village and has been taken beautifully.
The dialogues are really crude but close to real conversations in that part of TN. Each and every actor has performed beautifully. Songs are okay... May be if I listen to them a few more times, I may even like one of them.
But then, I am still not able to accept the way the story ended.. Very very depressing.