Really frustrated with my job at the moment – hopefully I can resist the temptation to resign for five more days. No, things will not change after that, but at least I will get a must deserved break when the college closes for Christmas next week. Things are really irritating - the unrealistic project plan, the legacy to be borne, the ‘lessons learned’, the yesterday’s deadlines, the cribbings, the resignations, the new appointments – the endless list.
Office this week has been a madhouse to say the least. Try telling a person with strings of alphabets attached to their name that they may have got things wrong! Now imagine a room full of such people and the client constantly nitpicking on their work. Now further imagine that it’s for a project which has been thrusted upon the Sheldon Coopers of my college. So, now you really know what I am talking about. With all the jibber-jabber that goes on, no wonder paracetamols have taken the place of wine gums in my office!
All the cribbing apart, it’s indeed fun coming to office every day - in freezing winters, blowing cold white air, wrapped in layers, knee boots, muffler, gloves, hat and a red nose. And after a long day in office, the same Christmas lights in the streets surprise me each day. So does that guy distributing the Evening Standard at the traffic lights – ever so smiling, ever so courteous, always handing it to me with a ‘here you go young lady’. All this week, there have been various groups singing Carols in the station - the music is lovely and festive no doubt, but it’s their Santa Claus hats that liven up everything around for me.
Christmas is in the air everywhere– you can see the excitement on everyone’s faces – along with their shopping bags. There is so much to look forward to in the next couple of weeks – I am all excited. But why does this feel like my first Christmas in the city? Hmm, let me think: 2006 – Watford but a stranger, 2007 – Switzerland but sick, 2008 – India, 2009 – India, 2010 – in city but sad, 2011 – in city and really looking forward to it!
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Friday, 16 December 2011
Friday, 9 December 2011
9th Dec 2011
Today is the last day of one of my colleague, who was my ex-project manager and before that my client – that’s freelancers club for you. But different projects also mean working with new people all the time, like this American guy who joined us this week. First real contact with a person across the pond – my first impression – I prefer Brit colleagues. Yes even with their peculiar sense of humour and sarcasms, which is as mystifying to me today as it was five years ago - even after watching repeat episodes of Little Britain!
Anyways, so we went for drinks yesterday evening to ensure that his last day in office would be as productive as possible with a little help from the hangover. I usually get bored during such outings, but yesterday I actually enjoyed myself and felt alright. Honestly, I do not really understand what’s being said most of the time due to the music and accent. But such outings become totally worthwhile when you actually hear things like, ‘my children, her children and our children are going to the museum this weekend – to have some family time you know.’ Or when the new joiner tells the manager ‘I am keeping my options open as I took a cutback when I joined’ and the manager smiles ever so politely and offers an encouraging nod.
So after an evening of office gossip, I headed back home in the gusty wind. Apparently, the winds were so strong yesterday night that a wind turbine, further north, caught fire and ended with blackened blades (source: morning Metro). So, I came out of the tube station, fumbled through by bag for the oyster card, touched out, pulled out the umbrella, fumbled again for my mobile, only to realise that I had left it in the office. Now me and my husband always catch up on our respective day while walking home from the tube station – 99 out of 100 times it’s me who is at home and 28 out of 99 times I cannot talk as I am in the kitchen cooking and 18 out of (99-28) times I cannot talk as I am in middle of my daily dose of Indian soap opera. But the remaining 99-28-18 times we do catch up! So today was going to be that 1 out of 1 day where I would have called and couldn’t.
And then I see the long forgotten phone booth just outside the tube station – in fact two of them. I have seen lots of people using the phone booths before but never for making calls; it just features in their holiday pictures –a proof of having done one of the most important things in the to-do list. I fumbled my bag again, this time for coins, and made the call. Coincidently I used the phone booth on the very same day that I mentioned not using payphones any longer. Was it a coincidence or did I actually see the phone booth only because I remembered it in the morning? By the way I now know why people don’t use phone booths any longer and am thankful for that :)
Anyways, so we went for drinks yesterday evening to ensure that his last day in office would be as productive as possible with a little help from the hangover. I usually get bored during such outings, but yesterday I actually enjoyed myself and felt alright. Honestly, I do not really understand what’s being said most of the time due to the music and accent. But such outings become totally worthwhile when you actually hear things like, ‘my children, her children and our children are going to the museum this weekend – to have some family time you know.’ Or when the new joiner tells the manager ‘I am keeping my options open as I took a cutback when I joined’ and the manager smiles ever so politely and offers an encouraging nod.
So after an evening of office gossip, I headed back home in the gusty wind. Apparently, the winds were so strong yesterday night that a wind turbine, further north, caught fire and ended with blackened blades (source: morning Metro). So, I came out of the tube station, fumbled through by bag for the oyster card, touched out, pulled out the umbrella, fumbled again for my mobile, only to realise that I had left it in the office. Now me and my husband always catch up on our respective day while walking home from the tube station – 99 out of 100 times it’s me who is at home and 28 out of 99 times I cannot talk as I am in the kitchen cooking and 18 out of (99-28) times I cannot talk as I am in middle of my daily dose of Indian soap opera. But the remaining 99-28-18 times we do catch up! So today was going to be that 1 out of 1 day where I would have called and couldn’t.
And then I see the long forgotten phone booth just outside the tube station – in fact two of them. I have seen lots of people using the phone booths before but never for making calls; it just features in their holiday pictures –a proof of having done one of the most important things in the to-do list. I fumbled my bag again, this time for coins, and made the call. Coincidently I used the phone booth on the very same day that I mentioned not using payphones any longer. Was it a coincidence or did I actually see the phone booth only because I remembered it in the morning? By the way I now know why people don’t use phone booths any longer and am thankful for that :)
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Random diary entry
8th Dec 2011
I was infuriated in the morning when Jubilee line was suspended, which meant that I couldn’t reach office on time. There was an alternate route of course; maybe that’s why tfl delays/suspends services regularly without any feeling of shame, regret or guilt.
Having spent around 20 minutes seated - a luxury few elite experience in the morning madness, I got to read the Metro end-to-end. I simply love the Metro – just enough for every type of reader. Now when I say every, I of course do not include my husband’s ex-boss, who would rather cut-off his limbs than take pleasure in the day-to-day lives of mere mortals. The most interesting article today was on 50 daily tasks, which are now extinct thanks to our addiction to technology. Sadly there was nothing on that list for which I could say, ‘don’t generalise people, I still do this’. Not even for using payphones, which were an essential way of pacifying mom, in far past, that I am not up to any mischief and just need to attend those extra classes ;)
So I reached Temple, no not the sanctuary of gods and goddesses but the tube station by that name. (I wanted to know why it’s so called – searched Google/Wikipedia – got tangled in the knight Templers, temple bars, zillion other links – finally gave up and accepted being naive.) Had it been a new station and new route, it would be a perfect opportunity to reach office just in time for lunch. Yes, my sense of direction is that bad even after 5 years in this city! But thankfully, I had been here one Saturday night not so long ago on a splurge trip.
I climbed the 64 steps (don’t know when it started but I always count steps as I climb) to the Waterloo Bridge and started walking across. That is when it struck me for the umpteenth time – damn I love this city. It was gorgeous- the nip in the air, the light drizzle, the river, the clock, the eye, the red bus, the old and the new - all spread out over one breathtaking expanse. Loved every minute of that walk this morning – and now here I am in the office seeing computers, files, phones and deadlines. Alas that’s life! But I suppose, you need to see this aspect of life to appreciate the other aspects...
I was infuriated in the morning when Jubilee line was suspended, which meant that I couldn’t reach office on time. There was an alternate route of course; maybe that’s why tfl delays/suspends services regularly without any feeling of shame, regret or guilt.
Having spent around 20 minutes seated - a luxury few elite experience in the morning madness, I got to read the Metro end-to-end. I simply love the Metro – just enough for every type of reader. Now when I say every, I of course do not include my husband’s ex-boss, who would rather cut-off his limbs than take pleasure in the day-to-day lives of mere mortals. The most interesting article today was on 50 daily tasks, which are now extinct thanks to our addiction to technology. Sadly there was nothing on that list for which I could say, ‘don’t generalise people, I still do this’. Not even for using payphones, which were an essential way of pacifying mom, in far past, that I am not up to any mischief and just need to attend those extra classes ;)
So I reached Temple, no not the sanctuary of gods and goddesses but the tube station by that name. (I wanted to know why it’s so called – searched Google/Wikipedia – got tangled in the knight Templers, temple bars, zillion other links – finally gave up and accepted being naive.) Had it been a new station and new route, it would be a perfect opportunity to reach office just in time for lunch. Yes, my sense of direction is that bad even after 5 years in this city! But thankfully, I had been here one Saturday night not so long ago on a splurge trip.
I climbed the 64 steps (don’t know when it started but I always count steps as I climb) to the Waterloo Bridge and started walking across. That is when it struck me for the umpteenth time – damn I love this city. It was gorgeous- the nip in the air, the light drizzle, the river, the clock, the eye, the red bus, the old and the new - all spread out over one breathtaking expanse. Loved every minute of that walk this morning – and now here I am in the office seeing computers, files, phones and deadlines. Alas that’s life! But I suppose, you need to see this aspect of life to appreciate the other aspects...
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