Dear Santa

Dear Santa

How have you been? You must be really tired after the grueling shopping schedules during thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Monday. With recession all around, I am sure your budget must also have shrunk. Did you manage some good deals?

Santa, I am writing to you ask a Christmas gift which would not involve you shopping around so much. I saw some frost on the cars, pavements and roof tops when I pulled the blinds this morning. I was excited and exalted. Now, I am hoping for a white Christmas - like the one they have always showed in Hollywood movies. I understand that the movies tend to twist the reality a bit and that the region that I am in hasn't had a white Christmas in a while. But please understand, this is my first Christmas in the United States, I mean in such a cold weather and I want it to be memorable.

I know you have been making your notes, but let me remind you that I have been a very good girl, well woman, all through the year. I have been a dutiful wife trying to cook some delicious meals except for few horrible ones. I have been a good friend, a good relative, a good volunteer, a good blogger and to sum it all, a good human being.

And I promise, going forward I will try to be as good as I can be. I will try to turn green to help our environment. I would wash the dishes with hand rather than using dishwasher. I will try to phase out the frequent usage of paper napkins and instead use reusable wipes. I will dutifully separate plastic from non plastic to recycle all the plastic waste that I lay my hand on. And I will continue to be all that I was this year.

So Santa, if you want to give me something material apart from a white Christmas, consider the diamond ring that is on sale for $1,000@ Macy's. Also, if you want to start early for next year, I would love to replace the current old Corolla that I drive with a ultra luxurious yet a compact car. BMW strikes me as a first choice. I will be glad to accept any other brand. Though it will be really cold on Christmas eve, I will try to keep the door open for you since we dont have a chimney here. When you come in, you can leave the gifts next to the TV though I will have the whole house decorated for you and I will be waiting for you, tucked in my bed.

Yours truly
Love
M

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Random musings

Before penning this one down, I read up this post and all I wanted to say was, I was planning to do a similar post - a post which will be called potpouri. Well, I will title this something else. If I had actually left a comment there, it would have been similar to the way I argue with my husband over 'idea property rights'. For example, when he comes up with some thought/idea/topic, I say, "I was just thinking about it. So I think it is my idea."
Husband: "But I said it first."
"But I thought about it first. I am sure it occurred to be milliseconds before it did to you."
"Oh God. Tell me, how old are you?"
"Hmm. 3 months since my last birthday."

Well. There is nothing wrong in holding on to your childlike antics to brighten up a argument. Moreover, it happens in every marriage. I mean, the little arguments you have for the sake for arguing. But tell me, do people agree with each other for the sake of agreeing after the first few months of marriage? I bet they dont. If anything they are looking for a reason to disagree for the sake of an argument ;)

Am I sounding too worldly wise. Sure I should. In a month's time, I would have been married for one long year.

On a totally different note, I have a question for all the US based readers who also watch US television. Dont you find the television advertisements extremely strange? I find them so because each ad talks of comparison of a certain brand with certain other brands on various parameters. I wonder, is comparing yourself to someone the only effective way of saying that you are good or is talking about your characteristics effective enough to get the message across? Well, all of the American viewers seem to get it, except me. Has my lack of understanding of this concept of trying to compare myself to someone to stand out costed me the interviews at all those positions that I have been applied for, all in the US? Does my Linkedin profile portray me as someone not so competent coz I have zero recommendations compared to lets say, someone with over two recommendations. (I have seen job postings which mentioned a minimum of 2 recommendations on linkedin as a requirement!) Do I have say more than 'this is what I am' and 'this is what I did' and 'this is what I have to offer'. Do I have to make up statistics (coz I know Americans are obsessed with 'stats' and 'data points') like I have delivered on or before time on time sensitive projects for over 99% of the time. Huh! Well, while I swim against the tide (as a friends put it) sticking on to my dreams and goals (and not wavering to enter into an sector of non interest), I am sure to find some answers the day I end up on the shore.

Another deviation. I have been reading WSJ regularly (we get the print edition) and I am surprised the amount of India focus (there is at least one article on Indian economy/businesses everyday) vs what I find in NYT (another paper I pursue with great interest and regularity and which covers India in international section once every few days). Any thoughts on this? Has this got to do with the tie up that WSJ has with livemint?

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Again 2012

I might make people envious when I say that my dear husband decided to take me to the movies on a rainy and dull Thursday evening. After an early dinner, he said, " Do you want to watch a movie?" I adjusted myself on the couch to turn towards the TV and said, "Yes." He replied, "Ok. Lets go and watch 2012."
"When is the show? It is already 7:15"

I am sure he realized that this was the only way I might end up watching that movie, at such a short notice coz I have been making up all the excuses in this world to not watch a pessimistic scenario. I continued, "Hmm. But I dont feel like watching that movie." "But I want to watch it."
Well, my management brain had to strike a deal now coz I was in an advantageous position. I said, "Ok fine. But you have to buy me soda there."
"But cola is as expensive as the ticket. Why dont you grab the one at home?"
"It is not cold enough."
"Add some ice."
"Naah. I want cola in my hand when I am watching the movie. And also a packet of chips. "

Since the movies here last for less than two hours with no breaks in between, he doesn't usually see the need for drinking up that big tumbler of cola during the movie. And he believes that buying cola at the movies is a waste of money. But I knew he would fall for negotiating skills this time.

Agreeing to my demands, my husband quickly booked the tickets on fandango and in 5 mins, we were set to watch a movie at Saucon Valley (that's a suburb). As we entered Rave (it is like Inox in India) theaters, it seemed like a deserted place. There was no one in the queue to watch the n number of movies that were playing. My husband walked up to the counter and said, "I booked two tikcets for 2012 through Fandango. I have the confirmation number here." The guy at the counter said, "But we are not on Fandango. Let me check with my manager." The lady came over and explained to us that we ended up at the wrong movie theatre (Regal theaters in Saucon Valley were on Fandango while Rave theaters was on movietickets. com). Disappointed, my husband said, "Well, give me two tickets for the next show of 2012." And the sweet lady replied, "I will let you guys go in for free. But remember movietickets and not fandango." Isn't that great. Though we lost the money for the tickets at Regal, we got free tickets at Rave! And I got my bag of popcorn and a big tumbler of cola :)

Spoiler for sure: Once in the movie, I was yawning a great deal. Its obvious I didn't quite like the movie. Maybe the graphics are great, but the story, oh my god, how does the hero always manage to beat the nature? If being selfless during the time of calamity was the takeaway from the movie, why did Jackson put in so little effort to save Gordon? I was pleasantly surprised when the movie opened in India, but the movie seems populist in many ways - I think there is India and China in the movie coz they are the biggest markets outside US for the movie makers. As we came out of the movie, my husband said, " We need to learn swimming and have to make a billion euros." And I said, " Maybe we can move to Africa too."

When we walked out of the theater, the corridors were no more deserted. Every inch of the space was occupied by teenage girls. Nah, we weren't hallucinating as an after effect of the movie. All the girls were queuing up for the midnight premiere of the new Twilight movie: The New Moon. Now that's what I call fan following!

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