Morning Walk or Morning Walker? (Comes from a discussion with a friend…)

Yes, finally I am the proud owner of a Morning Walker!

For the elite audience who has never switched from Discovery, BBC, and NDTV Profits to the comical Teleshopping commercials @ 11PM, a Morning Walker by definition is “a scientifically designed, health machine based on the proven principle of goldfish movement. By using it for 15 minutes, you get the benefit of brisk walking 10000 steps.”
I had been having those guilt pangs of not being able to go for my regular walks from past 1+ year for various reasons. So, while surfing channels when one day I happened to see a attractive, size zero girl using this urbane looking equipment, it was magical – a eureka! I have a solution. I called up the dealer and ordered and its there!
Now, people say that this machine is not a proxy for those enlightening, early morning walks and nothing could match it. Agreed – because nothing can ever replace the plainness of nature. A morning walk is not a walk, but, an experience in itself… fragrance and colors of freshly blossomed flowers, greenery of the just watered plants & trees, smiles on those toddlers who are learning to walk, hope in the eyes of those old men & women who still see a long life ahead.

Sounds good!

But, how many times are you able to make it? I am not! Even if you make a promise to yourself to get up an hour earlier, you realize that very day the maid is not coming in, or it’s the day for an early meeting/call at office, or something something, and something else…
This machine comes to help then. Everyone has 15 minutes in a day and you just have to close your eyes, relax, stretch out, and enjoy! Yes, I am talking about 15 dedicated minutes of exercise. Also, if you do it just right, then you can have the same effects as that of a walk. Drink a glass of water before starting, close your eyes and visualize the park, the sunrise, the flowers, kids, the grass, and whatever you want too. Imagination is powerful and it can do wonders! After 15 mins, you will feel as revived and calmed as you would after the walk. It is atleast much much better than deciding to go for a walk, and not going for it and not doing anything else also.
So, when life is fast and you have technology for help…use it smart and get the results! I suggest going for the walks as much as possible, but, when it is not happening then going the “Morning Walker” way as Plan B is definitely productive.

Happy walking to everyone!

I am Facing the "Writer's Block"...a few good reads meanwhile....

1. Arianna Huffington, a Greek-American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the progressive news website The Huffington Post. In 2003, she ran as an independent candidate for Governor in the California recall election. In 2009, Huffington was named as number 12 in Forbes' first ever list of the Most Influential Women In Media. Read her on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
   
   
2. Marketing and Advertising News With Attitude by Steve Hall and Angela Natividad - http://www.adrants.com/
   
   
3. Thoughts on the intersection of search, media, technology, and more. Read John Battelle's Searchblog, http://battellemedia.com/
   
   
4. Wayne Hurlbert provides insightful information about marketing, promotions, search engine optimization and public relations for websites and business blogs on the popular Blog Business World. Check out Blog Business World for yourself @ http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/

HAPPY READING!

Short & Sweet

This was a long due…..

A few days back, my mom called me up in an absolute state of panic….ok, it was not really that much, but, she was unquestionably hassled or puzzled. First, I thought it was earthquake as she is terrified of those. Then I thought it could be my little niece and nephew worrying her, and the troubled grandmother had called me for some break. But, it was something else. Something I did not contemplate, something much more serious which needed my instant consideration and assistance.

The position was like this. My dad (65 +), was using my mom’s cell phone to make a call and incidentally happened to see a SMS in her inbox, which read “Love You.” The SMS had come a few months back and none of them had even seen it before. But, now that he had seen it, he had been asking her about who this friend of hers was? Who had been sending such romantic messages to her? And all sort of related questions. Seems to me that he was suspicious ;)

Obviously she didn’t know and to figure this out she called the “clever me”.

It took me a while to understand the situation as this came to me a bit unexpectedly. For a moment, I could not make head or tail out of it and thought it must be some wrong number who had SMSed her. I asked her to check the date which was of last year. And then recall…recall…and I got it!!! Who else, but, I was the culprit here.

The story is…that last year during Diwali I went to Delhi, my home. Since, my phone is on roaming there, as I always do, this time also, I had borrowed my mom’s phone to be in touch with my friends there. One particular day, my friend A and I were making plans to have a get-together. She had been calling me up several times and I had been sending messages to her about our plan. Where? When? Who all to tell? Who all to not tell? All this and more.......When we make such important plans, it takes hours. After a point of time we were conversing over SMSes and during the end of one such conversation A sent me a message saying “Love you.” This is a usual way of saying bye for us and close the conversation for time being.

So, it was A’s message I had not bothered to delete from my mom’s cell, ignorant of the fact the one day such a situation could arise. I told my mother the entire thing and recited A’s number to her (987…….) to ask her to double check that the SMS is from this number. Of course it was. She breathed relief, but, what she could not understand was why two girls should say “Love you” to each other (generation gap there) and then finally ……...finally she laughed and my dad sitting behind her also laughed and anyone who ever heard this had laughed and would laugh!

All said and done, I am delighted that my dad is still so passionate about her that he questioned her on seeing the SMS.

I am also wondering what he would have done if he had seen some of the other SMSes from my female friends and many of them from A (She is going to kill me for this) which go like… “Will call you in a while sweetie,” I love you and miss you loads,” “Love you loads my dearie, Goodnight….sleep well” and so on…..

Go Green! Some Tips Collected for a Project....Reusables

• Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.
• Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.
• Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.
• Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
• Consider telecommuting if you live far from your work. Or move closer. Even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
• Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.
• Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.
• Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.
• Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.
• Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you'll be happy when you don't have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).

Inside story of Azim Premji's next billion-dollar plan

Posting it here as I feel proud of being part of the Wipro family......

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/forbes-india-inside-story-of-azim-premjis-next-billiondollar-plan/95978-7-single.html

A Royal Book BY Indu Sundaresan…Quick Review

Finally I finished reading the book of kings and queens, the book of the royal lady called Nur Jahan, the story of her life, her struggle, her passion, her desires, her love and her lust. A a new genre of romantic history.

The story begins with the birth of Mehrunnisa (commonly known as Nur Jahan), her entry into Emperor Akbar’s court, her love for Salim and her passion to get married to him.

The descriptions in the book are living and breathing, the words seem alive and the reader feels as if a time machine has taken us back to that era, that aura! When the author talks about the court, her description makes you feel if you are the one sitting right there and observing the proceedings. When she talks about the Women’s palace, you feel you are inside it and enjoying all the royal pleasures. When Salim betrays Akbar, you feel hatred for him and you would want to go and stop him!

Something different about the book is the fact that it does not dwell too much into the positive character of Mehrunnissa. It doesn’t all the time talk about her beauty, her charms. It also brings into light her not so positive shades.

Finally, this is a story of romance…..Merhunnissa's romance, her quest to conquer Salim and to become part of the royal heritage and history. That is what comes outright in the book.

A good read......"The Twentieth Wife"

Totaly fascinated by this new Coke Add....

The lyrics go here...

Strange love
Even though you hurt me I feel blessed love
Baby I'm your puppet on a string
Making me tumble and swing
Trouble's what you bring
Strange love
Strange love

Strange how
You control my every little move now
Hanging from your strings is all I know
Starring in your puppet show
Never let me go
Strange love

All the things you've said and done
There's no space for me to run
Baby I've lost and you have won
cause' all I really want is
Strange love

Even though you hurt me I feel blessed love
Baby I'm your puppet on a string
Making me tumble and swing
Trouble's what you bring
Strange love
Strange love
Strange love

Goodnight Thoughts

Life is fun, when things go your way. And things go your way, when you want them to be! I hope to have all the fun I can. 

SMS

Those asking me when would I restart blogging.....do wait and watch! I will be back, and that too with a bang!

Though I am anti-soft drinks, but, this line from a famous cold drink add does ignite me: 

Aage badhne ke liye sirf ek connection jaruri hai.........aapka, aapni pyaas se!! 

How true!!!