The Wedding That Was ! :)

Im sure she has no clue - But I felt like writing this -  Coz she does deserve a mention! :)

Then: Miss. Yashika Mathews :)

Now: Mrs. Yashika Gaikwad :D

Just as I was looking for a recipe to bake a Vanilla Cake, it occured to me that I should add something to my blog :D

It was Jan 2010 - In the RajivGandhi International Airport, when we went to say goodbye to Yashika after her trip to India - She was going back to Brisbane - She wanted to settle there..  Make her life there.. She had the best of everything that Brisbane could offer.. & So, she left - we thought that was the last time we were meeting in a long time! - We didn't know when we'd see each other again -  But who knew 'a long time' was only till April 2010!!! She returned from Brisbane, for good, to Pune, IN. She landed herself into a job in Pune, and returned bag and baggage to her motherland! - She joined work - and one weekend, she landed herself in Hyderabad; spent a day with me and returned back to Pune for duty called.

Now, little did she know - Shaadi.com was doing the rounds in her life! :) Was that the reason she got back to India? Nope, but Cupid Struck - Sameer walked into her life and changed it around 360degrees! :D

October 01, 2010 was THE DAY that I saw her walk down the aisle in her pristine white gown! (I didnt think she was the 'gown' kinds! :P) - But Yes! Lovely as she looked, they said their "I Do's"..and walked out arm-in-arm, smiling cheek-to-cheek! :) Im wondering why she didn't throw the bouquet at me !! :P :) Tears of JOY filled my eyes to see happiness take charge of her life! :) I quickly thanked God Almighty - So true, his doing is marvelous in our sight! :) 

Its a day I will always remember :) Something that "my friend" had always looked forward to and hoped for! A decision she took on her own - and made sure it fell into place - efforts that were made were all of her own - with her brother by her side, and the man of her dreams in her life - Yashika's life has come a complete circle! Its everything I'd always wanted for her *happiness in totality!* - my prayers were answered :) Now when I look back, I know for a fact that She's not worried, she's not anxious, she's not upset (except for her job that annoys her sometimes, haha!) - and thats what matter to me! - The Extra Chirpy Bubbling Yashika is back, my friends! :D

A Li'l note for Sameer - Thanks ever so much for walking into her life & filling the emptiness that was in her. Im sure she's all you've ever dreamt of :) If you' ask me, she's SUPER :) So, have a fab life together :D BlessYou guys :D

Unfolding the baker in me :")

You know, it was one of those days where I wanted to do something. Something I'd never done before. Something that I could do without anyone's help. Something that would give me a sense of accomplishment! ..

and just as I was thinkin, it occured to me that my mum baked a million cakes for Sam & me when we were little (not that we're too big now!).. but yeah, i remember one cake she baked and she put my doll on top of the cake as a decorative piece -

So I thought - maybe I should 'start baking cakes? And then I thought of the cocoa smell fillin' up the kitchen and dining area of my home! - that sort of egged me on to do this 'something' - i'd been thinkin of for months! - Besides, dad kept telling me.. "Joy, since you spend so much time on the internet- Why don't you check out some recipies and do some cooking!" -- Voila! what better than to start off with Cakes! :D

So it was August 1, 2010..
One morning I looked for the perfect recipe among a zibillion that were available in a heap of websites! Tada! - I found that ONE recipe for an 'Easy Chocolate Cake' - read through, asked mom to 'check' if the ingredients were different from what she used to put - Took her 'Okay!' - unplugged my laptop from the charger, disconnected the internet cable, and placed my lovely macbook on the dining table - where i'd 'Unleash the Baker in Me!' - Played some songs on iTunes - Katy Perry's 'Hot n Cold' reminded me of Master Chef Australia! - and to be honest, i felt like a little master chef too :D :D & so it began...

1 + 1/2 cup (170 g) all-purpose flour - (so that's 1.5 cups, right mom?)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (dutched/dark) (what the heck is Dutch/dark? )
2 teaspoons baking powder (Mom said, "powder right, no baking soda?")
2 pinches salt (Salt ? what ? im baking a cake brother! - its supposed to be sweeeet!)
1 cup (220 g) sugar (Ground in the Mixie!)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence (& do I love the fragrance or what!)
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) milk or water (Milk? Water? I mean is this recipe correct? - Mom said, "water is used sometimes!" - relief!)
1/2 cup (1.2 dl) vegetable oil (flavorless) (flavorless? ehh, whatever!! oil is oil! :P)
2 eggs (Sure! )
Took this Yellow bowl - a wooden mixing spoon (australia special!) - and mixed the eggs with the sugar, in went the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder little by little - and as I was mixing the batter - my arms felt like it was the toughest and the hardest exercise ever ! - It made me wonder how mom could do it so briskly! I guess Im talking experience here! :) You know its fun when music is playing and you're mixing cocoa along with the other stuff - and then the home begins to smell of cocoa - all chocolatey! Ah, I'm at a loss of words to express that aroma that fills up the home! - So yeah, just when the batter was about to be done - I greased the baking tin - a wide round aluminum tin! - sprinkled some flour to prevent the cake from sticking to its base - mixed the batter for one last time, ofcourse taking breaks in the middle ! :) - poured the yummmm batter into the baking tin! - and put the baking tin into the oven, after pre-heating the oven for 10mins! Wound up everything off the table - wiped it clean and waited patiently for the next 40 odd minutes to pass by!

Gradually, the smell of Cocoa filled up the home! - Rich Chocolate flavor - and I made 'on-purpose' trips to kitchen only to see the lovely cake rise to its best! 40 mins were done, the cake was left to cool - and around 5:00pm, just before mom woke up from her afternoon nap, I placed the cake onto a plate- cut it into small square-ish pieces - and set them in a blue-lid rectangle box! Mom came to the dining room - we made some tea - and I heard her say, "Its perfect!" after she bit into one of those delicious looking cake pieces! - What else could I have asked for than two little words from 'my master baker!' This was the something I'd wanted to do - Something that definitely made me feel on top of the world & gave me the feeling that I can do better! - So next up was Marble Cake :)

-- a typical day at work --

Here I am, back on - after having shed, umm about 70% of my laziness! I started writing another post before this one, but deleted that, thought about something for a while and... now im writing this! :) 

Okay, let me start with the previous day's night - when I hit the sack by about 10:30pm (I try to sleep 'early'  because I neeeeeeeed that much sleeeeeep!) So anyway, i sleep, and before that I set my alarm for 4:30am or something, depending on when my cab would arrive. So if the cab arrives at 6:30pm, that means I wake up around 5:30am - for which I set my alarm at 4:45am - what do i do for 45 minutes? - SNOOZE !! :D 

5:30: I wake up, put the kettle on (mom isn't around, otherwise she'd make tea by the time I get ready) ..  yeah, so i put the kettle on, get dressed and stuff , if I have the time, i have some "early morning" breakfast.. and wait for my mobile to ring - only to hear.. "madam, cab do minit mein aa raha hai" .. to which I respond.. "ok ok" ... and I rush down! :) & then I find that the cab hasn't arrived, no where to be found, and the so called "transport helpdesk" number is Forever Busy! So...  what do i do?  I Wait :) *patiently*

So, im finally in the cab .. its like an express ride, you know - like a jet plane or something - sometimes the driver uses the accelerater as if it is the break ! - I wonder if there is a break in his car, hmm .. So I have this high flyer sort of a ride for about 30mins after which I reach work! The really friendly security staff say,  'Good Morning/Hi Ma'am' - to which I reply, "Hi, how are you?" -- and she (one of my fav female security staff) says, "fine, how r you " :) -- So that's a pleasant start - I try really hard at this point to forget the turbulent journey to work, hmm.

I hit the floor at about 7:05-7:10am - walk right in - Say Hi to everyone :) check for "my" chair .. and swirl around on it, then I turn my system on with Ctrl+Alt+Del & Password - and TADA !! - Open MS Outlook - the send-receive file thing goes on (I turn Out of Office off) ... and the inbox is flooded with some absolutely irrelevant emails! and believe me when I say "absolutely irrelevant" .. so then, without much waiting, i press my fav Del key on the keyboard :) and clear my inbox! people start trickling in! - its time for Lexicon! - an Idiom and Word for the Day! 

Now that everyone's at their desk - our day begins with some heavy dost of Transport Discussion! :) [log in and log out issues!] - after this - everyone goes about their work, opening databases, trackers, folders and everything that is a part of our work! :) 

Its time for breakfast/coffee/tea/juice .. 3-4 people go together, and the rest go after another hour or so. 

Its 10ish something, when some random conversation begins! - there was a day we talked about everything under the sun! - from alcohol, to chocolates, to movies and everything else ! :) the swirley chairs make it easy for us to turn around and talk to everyone around us! :) amidst the PS Letter and the PCPA, the doubts begin to increase, researchers and QAs are all over the bay, sorting out queries and taking calls. Before we realise, its time for lunch! - Here, it is like Dosa in the morning, Idli in the noontime, and Mirchi Bhajji in the evening! in addition to the typically southindian- coconutty food, there's 'meals' as well - some of which is cooked in coconut oil again! hmm, most bring food from home and avoid the Super 'Oiley' Food! - back onto the floor- it'l soon be 4:30pm and we'd be going back homeeeeeeeee :D Before which most of us have one more company to work on! the air-conditioning gets cold-colder-coldest - and all our calls to the facilities department are in vain! -  I stop cribbing and quietly put my jacket on.. 

Time passes by.. i keep looking at the time - 3:30pm, 3:51pm, 4:17pm .. oh! the uploading email reaches my inbox! its 4:00pm! - CIBR- my best but not-so-loyal friend starts acting up at the wrong time :( and my favourite dialogue.. "oh, come'on - chalo bhi !!" is put on 'repeat' !! its 4:28pm and and im done uploading! :) So is everyone! :D I put my water bottle in my bag and say, "Chalo"; before which we check our bus/cab number in the transport email sent so lovingly to us by our beloved transport department. The fish market at the bus-stop doesn't exist these days, much to our relief ! The bus is like a furnace - we're boiling, roasting, getting fried and what not ! - "bhaiyya A/C on nahi kiye kya?" - that's the question popped by every second person in the bus. The bus starts moving and I'm on my way back home - and after a 45 to almost 60 minute ride, I get off, walk for two minutes and step into the house!

Its 9pm - I set my alarm again, depending on what the Transport sms says - and Off to Bed, I go - by 10:30pm.. *zzzzz*   -- 

its 5:30am again - Wake up! Time for Work - again!

December- Sad; January- Happy

I was actually in the middle of making some almond soup for mom, granny and myself when this thought about writing something up here struck me :D The title of this blog is random - it was the first thing that came to my mind when I was wondering what the title should be :) and yeah, I think its quite apt too :) I sure have had a great start to 2010 :) but that doesn't mean I forget the tragic end that occurred in 2009. Also, this blog is titled Mixed Emotions - its so very true - Umm .. Hny Truth (a line on one of the red tee-shirts I had) says, " Life can be dramatic and funny, all in the same day" .. and well, I'm sure you'd agree :D

Christmas 2009 was nice- I returned from Australia after having completed my higher education. Jobs didn't come easy there so my parents and I thought returning to India would be a good decision. That is how I did not miss Christmas at home- and guess what, we had Yashika over too! (Most of you would know she was my roomie in Australia) .. Yashika and I ended 2009 with 3 Idiots in the day time and the Watch Night Service at Church ... and we prayed into the New Year 2010.

Dad left on 2nd Jan 2010 for Delhi and the following night Yashika left for Brisbane (Australia). Mom, granny and I were on our own - mom's school reopened, and I started some serious Job Hunt :)

11th Jan 2010 was THE day! :) 5 rounds of interviews in 8 hours at Bank of America :) Honestly, I didn't know what was going on for as long as I was there. People kept walking in and walking out while I sat there in the reception area staring at the bright red strap of the 22 numbered HR Id card that was hung around my neck.

I wrote an essay about "My Dream Job" (no questions pls! ).. and then gave some aptitude test- I really didn't think I'd clear it. There was this short fat girl in a business suit who looked oh so professional and she pretended like she had 10 yrs of work ex already. When I questioned her, she said she was a 'fresher' from some random college around town. The HR walked towards us and said .. "Bhumika, you can leave. We'll call you tomorrow" - Now was she selected ? Oh my! But wait! I was sitting there- no news from the HR.. Finally two geeky looking guys walk into the reception and call out my name- and they got all technical with me .. Umm .. After asking me to introduce myself, they asked, "What is an export firm?"- and I said.. "A firm that deals with exports" - LOL could I have been any more stoooopid ? - They both said thank you after questioning me for 25 odd mins and walked out. The HR came to me and said.. "Rebecca you have your last round with the manager" - Wow, now had I known the export firm answer would help me get through I would've answered all their questions like that !! The manager walked in. Called out my name. We went into an interview room, she started questioning me.. and at the end of which she said "Rebecca, it was lovely to talk to you, I am certain you will fit the role perfectly!" ... she left. I walked out into the reception area, and waited for the HR. She walked over to me and said, "Rebecca thanks for coming. We'll call you tomorrow" .. Now there were those Bhumika thoughts running all over my mind. I walked out of the office and headed home. 11th Jan 2010 came to and end.

12th Jan 2010- I woke up when half the day was over- there was not a single phone call from the HR. I thought maybe I need to start looking out for more jobs now. The clock struck 3 ! My 6300 rang ! It was the HR - she asked me to come in the next day with my documents ! :) Was I jumping for joy or what !! I passed on the news to my mom and granny- They were thrilled beyond words :) Another answered prayer :) Smiles everywhere - all my relatives could now think off was to get me married ! Sigh - the downside of getting a job and being in your mid 20s .. and of course, being a girl ! Hmm

Well, I got the job :) Received the offer letter from the Bank of America branch in Gurgaon. Acknowledged the same and sent it back via email to the staffing team. I WOULD FINALLY START WORKING !! :)

There was so much joy all around .. but it could not cover up for the saddest day I had seen in Dec 2009. I lost a friend in a bike accident. He died. :'( Nothing could ever fill up for the empty spaces he has left in our hearts ! - There is not one day when I haven't thought of him. Abel, if i could take his name, left us. Something which I still can not believe. No one can. I am guessing this was God's way of checking/ testing our faith - Okay, wait. I am lost for words. I lost a friend. It has been a tragic end to some awesome talent ! The church was full. I really am lost for words even as I picture every moment that was on 12th Dec 2009. Everyone misses him. There are traces of Abel here in my house, in my room. His watch, his jackets, and the blue curtain that was a background to one of his pictures on facebook! What a loss. there will never be another Abel. There will never be.

Sigh. God's ways are so mysterious. His plans unknown. I fear death- my greatest fear. :(

Abrupt ending- can't help -- I am teary eyed and so thankful for his life..