Another year

            2017 is a year where i experienced the joy of waking up at midnight to appease a baby :P, was also a year of extreme reflection.We just need to purge the negativity from life and move on .There are things we can and cannot control. A fractured ankle is what reset my equilibrium and mental status. I was in a mode of extreme tension wrt to work. I just realized nobody really cares , work goes on , things don't stop. There will always be office politics. People will always be there to take advantage of your disadvantage , but that's just life.
          A baby certainly adds up to the equation called life. In the moment of extreme wonder , i just ponder on nature, how a tiny being gets your mannerisms and habits. You just cannot plan things to minute details as the baby is ever ready to change them for you.
    Career wise things were going great. Then the baby happened , despite all the feminist , all are equal-ism talks , i realized that they are just that. It certainly impacts , in my case it is a good thing. I am hoping 2018 to be a year of some major change.I need to focus on getting new skills .One of my mentor once said to have a secondary skills which can sustain you in life, i always wanted to do this. I did relearn trading and crypto trading during my break, made some money and plan to continue this.
     I am as usual thankful for the things i have, i am thankful to have a wonderful family and friends. I am thankful to my some wonderful colleagues. My mentors, who constantly make me think.  To that unknown entity called god, who pushes to rocky paths for testing you and making you a better version of yourself. A year passes by and we become more wiser and older . I hope i can strike the right cord on the things i planned, else there is another year :)

Life in time of social media

         Yes,, trying to copy from love in time of cholera.But mine seems less morbid title.But, i am not anti social media.I am on all active platforms and hooked on them.I was into facebook when it was new and exciting.Then followed google+, blogger, twitter, quora, wordpress, snapchat, watsapp etc etc..But, we move on from one to other , as there are too many options. Its easy to mindlessly get addicted to these. I however have become addicted to quora lately. I do update or look at facebook sparingly. I see now people have realized that they don't need to provide live update of their lives. Just new places, new additions, new dedications need to appear on social media. Some of my friends who posted almost everything have disappeared from social media.I have deactivated my facebook for couple days sometimes. But, just giving it up is too much! I do have subscribed to some fun pages and groups. I get a ton of information there, on things like fashion, food, charity, travel! So it has its own uses. However, few use it to copy others or stalk exes.
   I have been mindlessly been shopping online almost everyday, owe it to unable to go anywhere as i find it hard to travel with baby and India still doesn't even have space for feeding baby in restrooms.God forbid public breastfeeding ! I have been inspired by a person i follow on facebook (a CEO and avid traveller), who hasnot shopped the entire year ! Even when her last pair of running shoes were torn!I  have vowed to not shop anything for next 30 days(ofcourse diaper and baby stuff is excused :P ).
     Also, i read this inspiring story where a lady decided to not treat the children like "king and queen"  on watsapp.Basically most people buy children specific things like umbrella, small this , small that (all useless stuff).Why can't the child use what we use??Also, i had told my husband not to mindlessly get clothes for bub, which is good, few pairs of clothes and toys will get him to value what he has. I have lately seen children breaking expensive toys within seconds of getting those. I am not talking about breaking while playing, but just breaking for the sake of breaking! I can't say how bub will turn out, but i will try to steer him in right direction.
     Then there is another friend in Canada, she admirably is making organic stuff herself , she has a 4 month baby, works and has no help like in India! So, again people like these inspire you be a better version of yourself. So, social media has its own uses. Some people's post give you joy when you see their travel photos, children photos or their achievements.
     I can't forsake social media to make a statement.I have seen people giving it up and then going on and on  how they gave it up! Nobody cares, it your choice.Also, these days birthdays and festivals are no longer time to call and talk. Its just forward a photo and you are done with wishing someone. How i miss catching up and calling on festivals and birthdays. I did call until last year, i realized most people respond as if i am wasting their time :D, so i too just forward now. Some don't even call back and just message on some app, that too in times where voice calls are all time free! Sigh , maybe i was being to much of a relic of olden days, i am trying to change to modern times. 

5 months!

            Life has been hectic to say the least. I was oversimplifying parenting. I assumed my 6 month maternity break will be filled with baby sleeping peacefully and smiling when coaxed.I had a to do list of hobbies and career enhancing certifications (LOL).But, a baby is a baby (i was a ignorant oaf, owing to have nothing to do with babies ), who has a distinct personality from day 1. Day 6 , i still recall with fondness now.It was a classic case of me going by the book, the discharge summary was like "if baby is sleeping and is not pottying from hours, reach out to emergency" .The bub hadn't pottied that day and looked very lethargic and off we ran to the hospital. The nurses had the last laugh, as he had pottied on the way to hospital( i did smell something , but assumed its the usual Delhi stench ). And day 13 again bub was screaming like banshee whole night, next day too . Finally , i couldn't take anymore and off we ran to hospital again. It turned out to be gas in tummy, which again was something we had no clue on. I did google and google, which just showed colic or "run to doctor. By week 3, we were pro in not panicking.
          After that somehow i settled in a routine. But my leg in cast was a big hamper in day to day life. I was just a couch potato and had to rely on others to lift and shift the baby. But the fourth week of bub, i finally got a all clear to get the cast removed and all sort of "do not try and run" instructions!Though i smiled and joked through out it(save for few bouts of crying) , it was a real tough time which just shifted my thinking to "value what i have" "health is wealth" .Overall a jolt which steers you in right direction. I needed that as i was working until one day before the C -section.
           Today the bub is 5 months already and i am like , where the time has gone! I did find time to cram one certification in these 5 months  . I disclose to someone and they assume i have cheatsheets to pass them. I really did read and pass it(barely)! I am trying to cram another one, all this as the whole technology has shifted to cloud in last 6 months and i might have to try and run a different type of team/projects when i join back. I need to know things before i expect to lead. Since, i dont sleep more than 7 hours per day, i cram in reading in between or late nights. I really value knowledge, its something believe is the only earning in life.I also crammed in new books which were on my list , that was easy , feeding bub and reading (multitask :P). I also constantly keep in touch with friends , easy to become singleminded with a baby, but friends matter !
        I have accepted that i no longer can have a to do list and expect it to become "all done" list easily.But, life is more interesting as its unpredictable small moments now.