Every Day is a Struggle!

Every single day, there is a constant struggle going on in our lives.

It’s 6.30 am. I very well know that I have to wake up and get ready for work. I know that I have to hurry up and leave the house at the stroke of 7.30 if I hoped to travel 40km comfortably. Yet, my mind doesn’t want to leave the comfort and the warmth of the blanket. Knowing very well that the wrong decision of switching off the alarm and going back to bed would trouble me, I force myself to get up and start my day. That is a struggle, every single day.

We meet so many people, every single day. Some people make us feel better. Some people make things tougher. Come what may, they can never be satisfied with what we do. They always have some acidic remark for everything. One such remark is enough to blow up all the appreciations that we receive. And in the process of analysing if the mistake is on our part or the other person, we put ourselves through an emotional battle (I cannot say if this is necessary or unnecessary). And that happens every single day.

The Annoying Instant Messages!

In a Utopian world, my life would have been very simple (how I wish!)

I leave home

Reach office

Log into my System

Open my ToDo notepad file

Check the list of tasks for the day and add a few more depending on the requirements

Organize the tasks based on the importance and priority

Start working on the tasks

Complete the tasks on time

Go home

In reality, this is possible to an extent; but just that I’ve left out one very important parameter. Instant Messaging.

Image Courtesy : FreeDigitalPhotos

You know how some innovations in technology start out as a boon and end up being a nuisance at times? Well, this is one such innovation which people misuse, to the extent that I feel sometimes I would be better off without the IM. Most organisations use Internal Communicators for communicating easily with anyone within the organization. So in reality, this is what happens.

My Experiments with Cakes!

Being the Foodie that I am, I love cupcakes and cakes (who doesn't?). I used to search for the best cupcakes in and around the city to taste them. I was pretty surprised by how they were expensive than the normal cream cakes, but when it comes to food one shouldn't ask too many questions. This continued for a while and I found out that these treats weren't easy on my wallet. That was then I took a decision, that was to change my life!

Yes, I decided to give it up.

Wait, wait. I'll make it clear. I decided to give up on the habit of buying cupcakes and decided to bake them on my own :-) So I got an OTG and started experimenting with cupcakes and cakes, and boy I was surprised (shocked) at how well they turned out.

Since a lot of recipes online kept confusing me, I stuck to the one that my friend had shared long back, and which had come well in the microwave oven when I tried baking.

So here you go :-)

I always prefer writing down recipes in a language that I understand better, and with measurements I'm capable of understanding. (And when there is a nice colour pen around, why not write every little detail!)

So this was chocolate cupcake on Day 1, the vanilla cupcakes were pretty decent too.

And the week after, I tried the Vanilla Sponge cake. My mom loved it so you know how it must have been ;-)

13 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 13!

So I stumbled upon posts from Srikar and Chutney Case on the 13 things you wish your 13 year old self had known. It got me thinking of the many instances when I really wish I'd known something earlier, only to learn it, at what I felt was, a bit late. So here goes my list.

1. Reading

Thankfully, I started reading from when I was young. I started with Enid Blyton and graduated to reading fiction, until recently my uncle told me that I should start reading non-fiction. In my growing years, I guess I focused on exploring new worlds and characters that I probably did not focus on reading about the existing world with its amazing characters. I wish I’d started reading a wide genre from then.

Image Courtesy : FreeDigitalPhotos

2. Hobby

In the mad rush between school and assignments, I wish I had more time to spend on extra-curricular activities or be passionately involved with some hobby (apart from reading books, of course!). I did not know that I would get time to do something apart from studies (college) and work. I know it’s never too late to start learning, but if I had developed an interest in some hobby, I wouldn't be wasting time on Social Media and writing horrible blog posts in the name of rants.

3.Explored options before diving into Engineering

It was entirely my decision to pursue engineering (those days, it was just about doing something with the computers for me) and I wasn’t forced to take it up, but I wish I got to know and explore more options (apart from Doctors and Charted Accountants) before narrowing down my career options. It takes so much more than just efforts to change your career path when you find life gets a bit too boring (P.S With a bit of luck I did change paths, but I wish I had more options!)