New, re-vamped and

moved.

We've moved! You may not have noticed, but I'm now @ doodlescrawl.com. That's right. Blogspot has and still is a great host, but there's something about having your own .com that makes you happy and thrilled and want to write a blog post again, even if writer's block (no, it is NOT an excuse) is killing you when you can't afford to let it. I never thought i'd have my own .com. So, doodlescrawl.com is pretty cool. Expect a lot of blog re-vamping in the near future. I say near future because I genuinely cannot put a date to anything anymore.

I feel like this is going to be a meeting-post. You know, like a meeting agenda. Wow, I sure have grown up. But really, it could be a nice value-add. DID I just type "value-add"? Ho, hum. We're grown up already. Going along with the meeting post babble, recognitions are in order. Courtesy pagalboy, this blog is going to have much more re-vamping, and it already has. *applause*. I would also like to thank monster for fixing up this comp, it has been a treacherous few years. And rat, who kept it going for almost four years so far. :)

Announcements are also in order - I suppose, to maintain anonymity (the restrictions I place on myself! Not fun) I shall just say that things are and have picked up. Lots to do over the next few months, it shall all be very eventful, i'm assuming. It's going to be a nice long trek, and hopefully the weather will be good most of the way the the view from the top will be beyond worth it.

Also, feedback. None of my friends are blogging anymore. Does this mean work has consumed everyone's lives? Does this mean blogging isn't permanent? I'm experiencing major not-being-able-to-read-regular-post syndrome. The temporary cure is to finding new blogs to read, but in all truth those are just rebounds. *wink*

For the occasion

There's a dress or an item for every occasion, I've heard. Some people don't necessarily go by these formalities, like me, but some, apparently, do. There's a dress for every first interview. The "What a killer-impression" outfit. A dress for every first date. An outfit for "Let's impress the parents". Specific shoes for a breal-up. A wine for different dinners, something for the home or home-made food for a house-warming. Some things even have different meanings in different cultures, like flowers for a wedding and for a funeral.

To be honest, I'm not really a flower person. They look prettier in bushes and pots and whatever else they grow in, really, even though I have, on occasion, thought that flowers wrapped in paper and injected with fake blue ink (those orchids you get in every road corner in bangalore, sometimes) were nice looking, but overall, I'm a more "useful-meaningful-this reminds me of something" gift person. I have liked two flowers though- Lilies and Gerberas. I had to google that to even know what that's spelt like.



Sometimes, you change. If someone had told me this much would change in 2010, I'd have laughed at them six months ago. But, life can creep up on you and tickle you and make you jump, even. Suddenly you're making decisions you couldn't even dream of making. Suddenly lilies start looking prettier. Suddenly you buy items for no occasion that don't go with anything, because you've dreamt up occasions in your own head. Suddenly you're happy when you thought you wouldn't be, sad when you shouldn't. Suddenly you have crazy conversations with friends about growing up and ruin it all with some really bad joke about some boy and a girl, like always.

Suddenly you write a blog post that makes no sense to anyone, simply because it's an account of how things are changing, things can change. Random as they may be. Suddenly you're wondering if you're dressed right for an occasion, acting right, doing the right things. Yeah. We all sail on the same ship, only to find pirates one time or another.
Only to realise that what we've heard could be right all along.

What you know, I now know

Probably the most impulsive post I'm ever going to post.
But, a realization that everyone's already been through.
When you like doing something,
You'll do it.
No matter what.
Even if you don't have full ownership, even if you don't have time, even if you don't have money or contacts or full reasons or support or a guarantee or whatever- regardless, in some small way, you'll do it. In your own teeny way that makes you happy.
Question: Does how much you like it go away when you do it full-time? Do you get tired of it? Or does it grow and consume you with how much you love it?

Only doing what you love, will tell.

For some people, there comes a day when they can't wait to get out of bed. When sleep evades them, when their blood is too busy boiling and gushing, when they'd rather not sleep. When they feel like they just ran a mile in the wind and then showered in a spring somewhere and STILL have enough energy to go on one more walk, because they simply must. Because they just feel like it, because they want to. Nothing wrong matters, everything can be fixed, everything's ok, everything's either a lesson learnt or a lesson in the making, because somewhere, somehow, their minds are at the peaceful gates of satisfaction with everything that's gone wrong, everything they've learnt, everything they've put right because they realise they have the power to do so, and everything they're going to do right and love from now on.

It swells, and it's swell, and it's called Passion for Living. I know I have it somewhere inside me, and I can't wait for it to spring out one day, and run many miles and take you with me.

Afterglow

It is in these moments that I miss you the most. The grey between the black and white, the wind between sunshine and rain. The empty gaps between the curtains, the minutes between the hours and the times I see things that remind me of you everywhere. The walking sticks I see, the dogs that chase people, the trees that shed yellow leaves. The boxes of candy, the carpeted floors and the smell of old books.

You're there, in every bookshelf, every page of every magazine, every chipped fingernail, every time I glance up at myself in these mirrors. I can smell the smell of your washed ironed clothes every time I walk into your room, I can breathe your conscience in every time I step out of my comfort zone. In every page I turn, in every smile I fake. In every bold decision I make.

Ever since you left me many months ago, I've missed you, but I've also seen and felt you everywhere. You pierce through the thoughts in my head, you pray with me beside my bed, you hold my shoulders straight when I face the world. You push me along when I can't move, you hold me back when inertia doesn't take over. I'm looking at myself now and I can see you looking back at me.

Ever since you left, I've been wondering whom to go to about all these questions I have. My eternal google. Today JJ asked me about scripture and I wished you were around even more. I have so many questions. SO MANY, that only you can answer them. Ever since you left, I've been adding more milk to my coffee, more sugar to my life, and stirring much faster. I'm facing the world, because of you. I'm a better person because of you. I still believe in things, because of you. I won't change a thing, because of you. I'm living in your afterglow.

What they teach me

And yes, I learn best from people. I used to think it was books I like to read, but the books I like reading are people, really. The authors behind their stories. The people in my life. What they all teach me.

I don't know why but it's all coming back to me now, everything everyone's ever said to me. The things I believe in are all pieces of light and dark. Contributed by everyone I've ever met. Documented only in my current personality, exhibiting influence only in the things I do and feel. If you know me, know that at some point, you've taught me something.

Always believe things to be good, until you find them to be contrary.

Shit happens.

Fear nothing, because honestly woman, nothing really fears you.

That belief is what helps me figure out the difference between right and wrong.

Passionate people will never be happy with anything that isn't them.

Always give people one chance.

Shut up and eat! (my personal favourite)

Maybe we shouldn't over-analyse everything.

Maybe we're not supposed to understand.

You should always experiment.

Tree-man, and about how I should be glad I even have feet.

Slow down once in a while.

You're allowed to have days where you do absolutely nothing.

No feeling is a hundred percent; that can only be a good thing.

Always be positive.

There's nothing a good watch can't cure.

You will change completely every five years, no matter what.

A whole load of things about education.

Top three things to avoid: Cranky, sappy and crappy.

First think about what you have to do, not how you're going to do it.

Love exists.

Everything is perspective.

Everything is an illusion.

You can't sit down and think about what you want. You either already know or don't.

Marketing and Sales in life: Lesson One

I know nothing about marketing and Sales, but I'd love for my career to have everything to do with them, someday. I've been reading a lot, and most people have one thing to say about marketing- it is ubiquitous. You can look for snippets of marketing, everywhere, and apply things you've read, heard and learnt to daily life.

Presenting, my very own, Lesson One.

DISCLAIMER: This WILL disgust you. Don't say I didn't warn you. But it's a big, weird world out there and I write about the real world, more or less, so, brace yourself.

Let's begin.

Situation: Seven of us decide to watch the noon show of the movie "Nine" in a well-known multiplex. A Whopping THREE people cannot make it, even after the tickets are bought. If you must know, Reason: Illness, doing it's city rounds.

Ideal solution: Let's sell the remaining three tickets somehow!

Pitfalls:
- People would rather watch some other movie.
- Most people already have tickets.
- One person who did want to buy a ticket wasn't happy with back row seats.
- We got close to stalking people. Boundaries were mentally re-drawn.
- If you didn't know this already, being a salesperson is hard. Firstly, no one really wants to hear you out, and secondly, "No" is almost always the answer.

First thoughts: Our first thoughts were that we needed to get our demographic right. We targeted couples, groups of girls, groups in threes, people who looked likely to watch a movie like Nine. I really don't want to get into the details of this. We actually thought we were "Understanding our Demographic".

Shocking Revelations: It turns out, our first ticket was sold to just one person who'd come alone to watch the movie. One guy. "Hmm", we thought. Single people?

The "But of course" moment: Wham! Guys had turned up solo to watch the movie Nine, what with it's all-star gorgeous, seductive looking women cast. We didn't think that was the case, but were shocked to discover that this indeed was. Ah well, shock or no shock, it's time to move to the next step.

CAPITALIZE: And that, indeed, is what some of my friends did only too well. Changed our understanding of our "demographic". Capitalized on our new understanding.

End Result: We sold all three tickets, to three total strangers, each of whom had come to watch the movie alone, all three being men. 1+ 1 + 1.
Hallelujah.




Lesson learnt: When in doubt, reconsider your demographic. Always get your true demographic right.

Ta-da!