Jobs the world

Finding and sustaining job in a new country is a totally different game. More so, if you are not in the technical or objective lines of occupation like IT and finance. Even more, if you do not have a job in hand already, when you land on the newer shores. Here is a collection of experiences of my friends in HR, design, writing, marketing and allied occupations, who gave up their amazing jobs back home to accompany our partners to conquer uncharted territories.

Gone are those days when Royalty used to commission explorers to discover lands. In today's days and times, it is the global conglomerates that mandate such missions. And the sailors, happily assisted by their families, board flights to a whole new life. 

For those back home, in most cases, its 'All is Well'. But for those on the battlefield, life is totally different and the reality sinks in after the honeymoon is over. 

It all starts with the proverbial job search, posting profiles, re-tweeting and sharing "interesting" articles and connecting with all those, whom you lost touch. After the initial few months, reality and depression both sink in and the only way out seems to take up any job or connect with similar-situation people or hang in there.

"I went there for an interview," said my food blogger friend over coffee. "It was so dubious. The job was okay. But very weird." She had interviewed for a marketing position in remote corner of London city. But all through her interview, she could not shake off the nagging feeling of something being amiss. Especially when information about the company was not being given out easily. Good sense prevailed and she rejected the job. But not all of us can take that wise decision all the time and in all the situations. So just make sure you avoid these Shady Sams before saying I do.

All pain, no gain situations—These are typically, the unpaid jobs and intern positions. Those in Marketing, HR and other industries will argue that foreign experience (unless it is from US or UK) rarely counts and starting lower from your last job position is the best way to start. Agreed, but just make sure that you take up an intern position in a relatively stable company and one that gives you a stipend and legit contract. Work from home assignments have limited or no value.

Long distance affairs—Most of the times we accept a job despite the travel time. In the end, we realize that we have spent more than we have earned. End of the day, its exhaustion and that's all we get.

Enigmatic Start ups—"We are challenging the industry Leader! We have a small set up, but some amazing people and great work coming up," said Mr hotshot to my writer friend. Poor thing, she fell for it. Desperate to start working, she did not think on all the aspects. Not only did she NOT get a contract, but the company closed down in a few months leaving her high and dry, without salary and recommendations. "They were so cheap," she told me.

Such experiences and my friends' stories have only helped me to stay away from questionable employers and I hope all those in fields like mine smart up and get a job.

Images taken from Google search. 

Let them eat cake

In times when farmers in Maharashtra suffer from the aftermath of a severe drought, ostentatious displays of wealth by politicians in the state remind me of a certain Madame Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. She was of course beheaded, but what about her vain Indian counterparts?

Many political representatives, especially from Maharashtra are demonstrating unabashed displays of wealth, inherited or otherwise, while the state’s farmers battle against all the odds, natural and man-made to merely survive. This has also shown s time and again, the widening gap between the haves of the state and the have nots, and if we believe the texts on economics, we will be silent witnesses to increased crime, a direct consequence of this gap…what’s more, if the situation gets out of hand, we might even witness a revolution akin to those taken place in other parts of the world.

Crores spent on vanity and luxury; on being in the news, on and by those who don’t need to; when on the other hand there are projects and people in dire need of these funds for living a better life…better, but still modest. What is more had those funds really made a difference; this political populace would have secured a loyal vote bank. What a shame! Strategy lost for vanity!

Going back in times of the French Revolution, which took place when the French monarchy was abound in excesses, surrounded by a land in despair, when Marie Antoinette’s extravagance, gambling and excessive spending on fashion and make up became an eye sore to the point of being dubbed as ‘Madame Deficit’; when amongst other charges, she was put on trial for treason and theft, and beheaded at the guillotine; and she had not even said her infamous line on eating cakes. It took place because the people wanted monarchy to be abolished, because the farmers were displeased with the way the government and the king worked. The king at that time controlled the farmers, had charged unfair taxes and it is also said, forced them to fight in low ranks of the army. They were also forced to pay or give money or food and other valuables to often more than one Lord, who owned the land they worked on or lived on, or even just lived near.

The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance, said Samuel Butler. I will add here, those ignorant, and intoxicated with power, shall one day fall and how, if they do not reign in their narcissism.

Coming back to Maharashtra and our political representatives, their jarring demonstrations of richness, their need for attention to get covered in media and otherwise (which can be seen from really distasteful photographs on birthday posters) and their hunger for legal and illegal power make me wonder if these people think that they are above the law of the land and the needs and conditions that the general public live in. If so it is time for them, especially those in key states plagued with serious social issues to open their school history text and read it well to avoid similar follies as in past.

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**Please Note

Images are taken from the public domain. Some images are edited to prevent shutting down of my blog, even  though we believe in freedom of speech and thought.

*** References 

Some material referenced from this page: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090427122217AAye4kx

The magic of flowers

ॐ ssssssssssssssss

Don't be scared! Its time for me and Delulaa to do some soul searching and get some spiritual, mental cleansing and healing. Well, we watched too much of trash.....and then Prince--its show time had given us the final blow. So here we are trying to get some fresh air, and some calm, to get back to our former selves. Well, and what better place to have this than our dear kitchen garden,The Keukenhof? Keukenhof opens its gates for visitors only for a month every year to celebrate the Spring season.

So we packed our purses with debit cards and cash that was home, and hopped on to the bus to take us there. After a pleasant bus ride, we reached Keukenhof (which means The Kitchen Garden).

Just imagine, 32 hectares of land with the most amazing flower varieties--Tulips, Daffodils, orchids, and around 2500 varieties of trees!For once, me and Delulaa were in balance. It was like the garden of heaven. The walkways took us through a wide variety of flowers, a small zoo and general wait-and-pass-your-time areas. So many people around us...yet the noise does not bother you......We were at peace with ourselves.

The garden is so beautiful, that even the long walk did not tire us out. Birds chirping, butterflies, faint strains of music and delicious smells from the garden's kitchen, add on to the beauty of this magnificent Garden.

We are told that Keukenhof was literally a kitchen garden in the earlier days and the kitchen staff of the castle of Jacoba van Beieren used to come here to collect the herbs and spices required in daily cooking. It was after the death of Jacoba van Beieren that the Keukenhof changed ownership and with the assistance from  landscape architects J.D. and L.P. Zocher, a foundation was laid for the garden of today.

Delulaa and me, we spent an entire day there, walking through the gardens, playing with the animals in the pet zoo, eating the most delicious of all the meals and finally ending with a desert fit for a Queen.

We came back all rejeuvinated and refreshed and are ready to sink our talons into all the possible oddities of this world.

Movie Mania, the jinx is on

Hello all,

After a loong time...Hic!  My Queen's Day hangover just refuses to let go.
Guess what? After my failed manic attempt to  watch something decent on TV, I tried the cinema.
Saw three recent releases. Housefull, Prince-its showtime (Vivek Oberoi ........aaaaaaa I dont have words) and The Clash of the Titans.

After watching this fool house of  a movie, I forgot the spelling of the word.
Well that's how it has been for sometime now. With the weather playing the sometimes wind and sometimes rain game.....And Sun...guess hes on holiday.

So being cooped up at home for some time and not much to do, me and my sister in law decided to watch the latest movie-Housefull. Its about a loser Akshay kumar...and what all he does, first to get away from the jinx tag, and then to find true love....Some jokes are so bad, you don't even feel like twitching your lips, with the fear of what will form as a smile.

I won't  go into the details of this movie because  it is a senseless one. The only thing that got us laughing (more out of frustration) was Chunky Pandey as Aakhri Pasta, and his signature line for the film-- "Mamamiya, I was just joking"!!!! Oh man!!! I can still laugh remembering it. Deshmukh Junior is getting good at gay roles. That one had us smiling too.But wat was the whole suff about Ritesh Deshmukh jumping like a monkey yelping लिंगरी.

I was trying to find Chunky's videos on youtube. Snippets from the movie, that could be shared. Sadly....none.
I read somewhere that this movie is a hit back home.
Really?
This one?
Why?

Remember what Delula says: Movie not worth wasting ticket money on. Else YOU will become the biggest loser.

And then there was a chor with more.....more glamour, more gals, much more enemies and no memory..............And must I add.....no sense, no script.....bad casting. Good premise gone wrong with the subconscious inspiration from Bourne films...They never copy stuff intentionally Dearies.... So they get that benefit of doubt.
But lines like, "Its showtime", look good when blurted by glamour guys with great bods...and not not dear Vivek Oberoi, Bhaisaab bane Modern. Nandana Sen needs a stylist pronto, She has a good bosom....but she need not flash it out every second....Someone...please do her hair and change her eyemakeup!!!!!!!!!  pleaseeeeeeeee.
Coz in the movie, she looks unflaterring and wannabe. Her acting, strictly okaz.The other two chicks are okays two...no one exemplary.

I did not understand why the villian had a robotic hand, and why he never shaved making him look constipated.....

Lastly Vivek Oberoi...There was nothing wrong with him/his acting...but he should stick to common man roles only. There were many moments where we friends had a great laugh..

Again did not understand why this movie went a hit back home. Do we really have a dearth of good movies?
Delulaa's verdict: Watch it with a group of friends so that you can find flaws, poke fun and have a great laugh.

Lastly: The clash of the Titans
Question: Why was this movie in 3D?
The special effects are no great shakes. And story is not great either.
Its about the hero, Perseus, who discovers that his real father is the king of the Gods-Zeus. But was raised by a family of mortals, whom he loses tragically. Perseus, then sets on a journey to save Argos from the fury of the Gods and fulfills his destiny.
We were so frustrated that while moving out of the theater, Delulaa, n I........as a single entity....combined our powers into a colossal mental force to block out any memories of this movie.
Aaaaaaaaah!!!!What a toll, this cinematic karash (have made up a new magical word for mess....similar to all thos jabaerwakees and ktrakens) took on the denizens of Chhatre Land, that the other two of the family were up in arms....a Mop and a air purifier....against moi for recommending this movie.
Delulaa says: STAY Away from the Kraken and the crackpot thing called Clash of the titans.

So here we are, idiot box (nothing to see), Film Factories: bad products.
Suggest a timepass, else Delulaa and I, we might combine forces and shop shop shop in Amsterdam

The idiot box

This long weekend was long due, a supposed-to-be vacation of sorts; but it turned out to be generally frustrating. First, we could not decide on a place to go to. Then we could not get last minute deals...and in the end, here we were...four days of chuttis and nowhere to go. The friday went off well, but the next three days were horrible. At home and nothing to do.

Our options were limited too....go for a walk when it is not raining, play scrabble or cards or else just talk. The last option was ruled out immediately after we started (seriously don't know why guys hate it). And after  all this, we still had all the time in the world.

So?
We decided to watch the TV.................Indian serials/entertainment stuff.

Eeeyuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!bad decision!!!!!!

The three of us, we were so disgusted.
Yeah three of us, me, my husband and Delulaa.

Can you believe it!!!!
Indian Television has absolutely nothing to offer.
We tried the regular communities, forums and websites. Tried to hunt for decent movies/serials..............

 All we could find, were news channels (hindi, marathi n english) broadcasting insane news in a gaudy and loud manner, serials with names like Mahek, Jyoti, Dahleez, Hum-Tum, Gutur-Gutur, Balika Vadhu, old episodes of Ekta Kapoor weepies, and some reality shows...all related to song and dance, which instantly made (and still continue to make me think) me think that:
(a) these either might be sobbies or
(b) Comedies, so bad, that you have tickle yourself to just about manage a giggle, and
(c) they would have a bunch of garishly dressed men-women scheming against one another and against a sad protagonist, hamming away to glory.

Absolutely nothing that would be entertaining enough. And the fact that these are thriving means, we have so many jobless idiots in our country and abroad watching them.................ooooff!

Frustrated...we again went out for a walk...leaving Delulaa at home. Guess she was not amused.

N worse, she had her drinks while she watched the old Ekta Kapoor's K saga episodes...by the time we came back, Delulaa had started contorting her face in what we thought was a fit and was bulging her eyes in a vain attempt to imitate the vamps in the serials. She even wore a weird costume,and even mumbled some vague hindi words.....as a tribute to sobbies. Oof!!!

Aniket, my husband, was speechless. He made her sit on the couch...n there she was rambling, "maine sharaab nahi pi hai. mere sanskar aise nahi hai." Poor chap....he was just so aghast.....n devastated....becuase from amongst the drinks that had been opened, was the last can of his favorite beer.

Never again, are we going to let her be on her own!!!!!

The only saving grace was the CID (they have a new title track...say..C, C, I, I, Jee (as in D said in a sopishticated manner), Jee). Daya's darwaza tod kick....got us out of the boredom. I mean. How ccan they manage to make such a serial....Sheer entertainment.....Oh ho ho.....Had a good laugh.

There was a time, when weddings used to be stopped for some time, till Ramayan/Mahabharat episode gets done and over with. The newer Kahani Mahabharat ki was a sad joke....n I heard some big designer had styled the artists....guys looked like they were suffering from constipation. Whats with the stubble...dont stylists understand that not all can carry'em off well...well thats a different topic altogether...do stylists in India actually know style?Am not a fashion person...but common sense can tell what looks good n what not. And the newer Ramayan had speial effects so outdated......It was not funny.

One of the shows that I do watch reruns of, is Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai...awesum show...kinda reminds you of 'Everybody loves Raymond'. they had all the elements saas-bahu fight, scheming, n stuff...but an awesumly hilarious twist to it...realistic characters, realistic clothes. Thumbs up to it. Also there was the Great Indian Comedy show on Star one, in its early days, which had awesum stuff. Will never forget Chutta man, makdi Babua, indi nursery rhymes, etc.

On a more serious note, well, gone are those days of Siddharth Basus's quiz shows (I guess now-a-days he's busy copying.....Oh sorry....adapting international best selling game shows to Indian formats), Britania quiz contest, Yeh jo Hai Zindagi...to...Kehne Mein kya harz hai (dont believe I mentioned the last one..........but it had all the laughs). Mr Sajid Khan...............we need you on Indian television. Forget your movies Sir!!

All we are left with is artificial crap......nothing thats entertaining enough.....everything that would make you wanna kill yourself with frustration. Isn't a nation with so many talented people, capable of coming up with something really unique? My question to all those in serials and television show production....does the teeny-tiny educated class n its tastes matter at all?

I am really waiting for and looking forward to a great Indian TV show, which can get me excited about watching the TV again.

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PS: Those who might not have read my earlier posts: Delulaa is my split half...she is my mind.
PS: Have taken images of Clavin n Hobbes and CID from the internet visa google image search and they were already in public domain.

Delulaa and I

Guys, Ta da!!!!Meet Delulaa (to be pronounced as डलूला )!!!

What should I say about Delulaa?Delulaa is one hell of a chick!My close friend. Maybe we are joint at the hip. Kind of like Siamese Twins. Its a wonder how Delulaa understands my true feelings about everything. She understands what ticks me off the right or wrong way. And she is exactly opposite of what I am and what I stand for.
I don't like to voice my opinions and reactions untill extreemly necessary! And then there is Delulaa, having her say on everything....mostly a critique. The quieter I am on my thoughts.....the more vocal she is. There have been numerous occasions when I nod my head noiselessly and Delulaa does a verbal tandav.

Some months back, me and my friend Richa, we had been to this swimming pool near our house. Now we were in this small (4 people-long) queue for the entry-tickets. And the ticket-vending guy was in no mood to give the tickets soon.....
Why??? Coz he didn't know to operate the computer. So there came another elderly guy. He taught him the operations in 20 minutes of time and 10 minutes later, we got the ticket. All of us were waiting patiently in the line...All but Delulaa. By the time ticket vending actually started, Delulaa had a fit....so much of time wasted!! She was shrieking at the top of her voice, in Mumbaiyya Hindi," Arrey!!!Jaldi-Jaldi kar be!!!Akkha zindagi lagayegaa kya ticket dene mein???!!!"
Then in a softer note, "hajaam!!"

And this is not just one of the ocassions. There have been plenty.

Then once, when I was in the crowded tram, getting ready to get down at my stop. The crowd in front of me won't just budge. And they did not even want to get down....They were standing just there blocking the door...clucking like hens and roosters, thinking if they should move or not. Delulaa was hysterical.
"Abbe, hil na bey!"
"Utarnaa nahi hai toh kyun khada hai beech mein?"
And while alighting from the tram, Delulaa concluded aloud that Dutch lack civic sense, just becaue they have never really witnessed crowds.
I would have been mortified, if I would have done something like that.
But trust her to get away with something like this.

The other day in the grocery store.
There are three billing counters and even during the rush hour, they were operating on one. The other store guys were just moving around the store. After a wait of ten minutes, I got my time at the counter. All my take-away lunch goodies were packed in a frail paper bag, which did not have handles.
Delulaa wondered (again aloud) if she was supposed to carry all this, and if any store guys would help if the bag tore open.
She promptly got a carry bag. It all ended when Delulaa rolled her big eyes and quipped....in my mind....."why was he hiding those bags?"
All these incidents don't bother me because I have accepted that Amsterdam is a sleepy town. In fact, I have come to liking the sluggishness. But Delulaa, she wants to have the best of both worlds.
The slow pace of the Dutchland and the ability to poke fun at it like a true blue Mumbaiyya.