Break - 1

I have been allocated a new project called 'Meteor' and have been put into two day training. The training is going on really well but I have decided to enjoy my breaks too by writing something whenever I get one.

The new cubicle allotted to me is really good. It's very close to the entry and exit door, the rest room, the cafeteria and most importantly the fire exit :). The people around here recognize me unlike the old cubicle where I sat all alone. It’s a good feeling when somebody smiles at you early in the morning and wishes you good morning. Gives you a good start.

Break - 2

The training that I am attending is a financial training. It's a training about financial and accounting aspects of a telecom billing world. People in my organization have waited for almost 2 years to get this kind of training but lucky me, I am attending it the 2nd day I got into my project. I always wanted to get a degree in commerce but feared that it would take me no where and followed the crowd who were jumping into the world of Engineering. I have no regrets about the decision as it has done a world of good to me and has given me a lot of good friends along its way. Finance is a domain one can learn any time one wants irrespective of his or her educational background and since the term ‘finance’ is so closely associated with money it always amazed me. The words 'assets', 'liabilities', 'expense' etc never fail to astonish me. Break - 2 was a lunch break. The menu for lunch was two chapatis (6 inch radius) with chatni and a sabji. It was a welcome change that I enjoyed thoroughly. Resorted to chapatis instead of a meal because I did not feel like having anything heavy during training. Sleep factor you know!! I fall asleep in almost all my trainings unless I find an interesting trainer or some activity that can keep me awake.

Break - 3

The activity or exercise that we did was certainly refreshing. Never drowsed off and most importantly, I managed to complete it with only two minor mistakes. I am feeling like an expert already. Bring on the account books!! :).

Final - Break

The day finally comes to an end. I was playing with Alice in our very own wonderland for most of the last session. Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day. I’m looking forward to it. Hope you enjoyed reading this piece during your break :)

It was just a 45 min drive from the new Bangalore International Airport but it gave me enough time to introspect on various things ranging from importance of relationships to a country's Infrastructure. I had been to the airport to drop my cousin sister and her family (husband and 2 beautiful kids) who had come to India from USA after a gap of four long years. One might ask why they had come anyway. If you've gone through my earlier posts, I had mentioned something similar. Even though we talk on phone everyday, see the other on a web-cam or write emails regularly the feeling that you have one meeting someone in person is simply out of this world. Something which is very hard to describe in words.

She was here in Bangalore for only 15 days but managed to visit all her relatives in their own backyards. It was great to see the love, the affection and the warmth she had for all her cousins and relatives. One reason could have been the gap after which she came to India. But broadly speaking, don’t we tend to forget people as days, months and years progress? So what had made her to come to India? Had she forgotten how we looked? Did she come here to remind us that she existed? Did she come as if to apologize that she didn't come earlier? These were the stupid questions that flashed momentarily in my mind but I knew immediately that the answer was a big NO. She was here because she respects relations; she visited everyone at their own homes because she knows the importance of spending quality time with each individual.

Without boasting any further about my cousin, I just want to stress upon the fact that relationship is one thing that bonds every one of us every where. So please start respecting them and give them the importance they deserve. It could be any relation under the sun. Even your dog shares a relation with you. 'Deserve', why do you think I used this word? I am a firm believer in giving back what I get. I respect people who respect me, I adore people who adore me and ignore people who ignore me. It could probably be one reason that I can still count my friends using my fingers but then I don't really care. I am happy with what I have.

Let me speak about the Bangalore's infrastructure now. I know I have picked two topics that are no way related to each other but then I’m just going with my brain and my eyes. Just writing what I felt and what I saw.

The new Bangalore International Airport is truly an engineering wonder. It takes you to a new world altogether. It’s like one of the episodes of Alice in wonderland. Makes you wonder whether it's really Bangalore. Placed a little distance off the Bangalore - Hyderabad highway, the structure has come up beautifully. Cars coming in from 6 lanes, Colorful taxis queued up for the passengers to arrive, hep coffee shops, subway sandwiches and not to mention the amber sodium vapor lamps that light up the entire airport.

The only complaint people have about Bangalore whilst flooding it is the infrastructure it lacks and the never-ending-always-growing traffic. I am glad that it has come up with a new international standard airport which gives us sure signs that it is definitely headed the right way with respect to infrastructure but am not sure what it's doing with respect to traffic because given an opportunity, I would have killed few drivers and two wheeler riders on my way to office today. I’ll probably vent out my frustrations in posts to follow. Until then, ride safe and do keep in mind that you are not the only one riding on the road.