My First Smart Phone With Moto E #ChooseToStart

I read today on Facebook that a person spends 70% of his/her lifetime in recalling memories and thinking about a perfect hypothetical situation in their mind. I do that a lot! I love remembering and reminiscing about the happy moments of my life- the first day in my new school where I met my best friend with whom I’ll be celebrating two decades of friendship this year, the first time I had a crush and I proposed and he rejected (ok, that’s not a memory I love to recollect but it brings a smile on my lips), the first day of my dream job, the first salary check for a total sum of 4000/-, the first time I held my baby in my arms. But these days it’s not necessary to recollect everything from memory, which gets overloaded with excess information as we age.

With smartphones becoming more affordable and essential, it’s easier to just click photos and whenever you feel like going back to that particular moment just take out your phone and relive the moment again.

Of course the advent of the smartphone era dawned upon us only few years back and till then we had to make do with the grainy photos taken from a 2MP rear camera and if anyone would have uttered a word called selfie, we’d have probably misunderstood it for a kind of shellfish. Now even my 90 year grandmother knows how to click a selfie.

I got my first smartphone in August, 2012, a gift from my husband and it took him a couple of months to pay back the EMI which he had taken to buy the phone. Yes, buying a smartphone then cost as much as an entire month’s salary. For the first few months I didn’t know how to operate my smartphone. Whenever I tried to receive a call I had to swipe at the screen multiple times to answer it correctly. And the size of the phone was totally another matter. Sometimes I had to hold my phone in both hands while talking, because I was used to my palm-sized miniscule phone with a screen that was the size of my thumb.

Although there was an option to connect to internet on my phone, I never used it much. I preferred browsing using my laptop. And I didn’t know how to use the front camera. It was only when selfies became popular that I realized the worth of a good megapixel front camera.

It took me several months to become used to smartphone but once I got the hang of it, I became addicted. A smartphone has made life so much simpler and convenient. Ordering food, booking cabs, chatting with friends on Whatsapp, listening to online music, connecting to social media networks on the go, writing my blog posts, clicking pictures of perfect moments, watching videos with my daughter, playing online games-there is an app for every task in the smartphone. In fact the only thing that I use my smartphone very sparingly is for calling because I’m not a very call-friendly person. But still my smartphone is beside me at all hours of the day. Irony, isn’t it? But that’s the magic of smartphones-they are devices not just for calling but they offer entertainment and they keep me informed about what’s happening around the world.

My first smartphone is still with me; I haven’t bought a new phone because it was a gift from my husband and probably I’m waiting for him to gift me another one J

But it’s definitely time to upgrade myself to a better smartphone and the below image of my phone should justify my decision J

My next phone has to be sturdy because I carry my phone all the time and when you are around a hyperactive kid aged 3, there are more chances of your phone getting smashed/cracked/broken. (That’ll explain the above picture)

The new Moto E meets all my expectations and it offers cutting edge technology with user-friendly features in affordable price. The bright and colorful bands are easy to swap and give an extra dash of style and oomph to the phone. These patented bands come with a unique ridged pattern providing a better grip- a useful feature for me with a proven talent for cracking phone screens when chasing errant brats with phone clasped in slippery hands.

I also travel a lot and I’m scared of missing out on contests while I’m away from my home. My current phone has 3G networks and as for the speed of connectivity, the lesser said the better. As a result I lug my bulky laptop everywhere. How I wish that I had a new smartphone with a superfast connectivity using which I could submit a blog post in time. This is where Moto E fulfills my wish because with an ability to connect at 4G speed, I’d never have to worry about missing out on a contest. I can listen to music, connect on social media sites, read books on Kindle app and watch videos without being interrupted by the annoying buffering icon.

But when I’m constantly on the phone, I’d be worried about the battery life. I don’t want to carry my mobile charger everywhere, nor do I want to curb my fun because I’m worried about the battery on my phone going kaput. Moto E comes with a 2390 mAh battery that promises to last a full day so my recharging worries can be laid to rest.

But what good a smartphone is if I cannot click stunning photos? Moto E comes with a 5 MP rear-facing camera and a second camera in front which makes it perfect for clicking selfies or making video calls. Another feature of Moto E is Quick Capture which allows you to switch between front and rear camera just by twisting your wrist twice. That’s a wonderful feature to have for mothers like me who see a precious expression on their child’s face and wish that they had a smartphone to capture the moment. No more missing out on picture perfect moments when I have Moto E with me!

Images captured using my smartphone

The first picture that I clicked using my Smartphone

A smartphone is not just any phone. It unites the world together in happiness and grief. It allows to you to share and learn.  It becomes a true companion offering you entertainment and ability to connect with your loved ones even when you are far away in a distant land. A smartphone, in the present age, has become the smarter way of living.

All images sourced from https://www.motorola.com and http://www.startwithmotoe.com/

#ChooseToStart

http://www.startwithmotoe.com/ 

Why Women Like Bad Boys

I sincerely believed that the clan of good, courteous gentlemen were long extinct from the face of earth until I had a chance meeting with one of them in my office. It so happened that my friend (the guy belonging to the rare species) and I were waiting for the lift. The lift stopped at our floor but my friend, who was a few steps ahead of me, dint get into the lift. I looked up in confusion and wee bit of irritation to check what was keeping this guy from getting into the lift. To my surprise, I found the guy making a hand-waving movement to me, gesturing me to get into the lift first. 

Source: Google Images

I was stunned for few minutes, I never expected such a gesture of chivalry from men of today. The feminine side of me was charmed to a large extent. I was gushing like a schoolgirl the whole day. But few days of being in the guy’s company made me realize that we women don’t appreciate the gentlemanly behavior well, because I was fed up of the chivalry. I mean, how much could I take of the hand-waving gestures, the ‘its-ok-I-will-pay-for-your-coffee’ words. I earn, I pay for my own coffee, damn it. I don’t mind if you foot the bill for the first few coffees, but after a couple of times it makes me feel like a lame dame, like I cannot take care of myself. I was not brought up that way. Is something wrong with me? Maybe.

If my husband were to turn all chivalrous with me, then I would be skeptical. I would be sure that he would have some hidden intentions behind the gallant behavior and it would drive me crazy guessing what he was up to. I would prefer him the way he is now, that is, arguing with me every time we go out to eat as to whose turn it is to pay the restaurant bill :)

Source: Google Images

This gets me to the topic of why girls get attracted to the bad guys. Introduce two men in a girl’s life, one a good guy who opens the door for her, pulls out the chair for her, and pays all her bills. And another a dark, brooding, rugged, bike-racing kind of guy whose idea of a date is taking the girl out for a burger joint or maybe a drive-in theatre where, if he’s lucky enough, he’ll be able to make out with the girl . And the chances are that, the girl will be attracted to the bad guy, the bike racing, the leather jacket wearing kind of guy. Why? 

Is it the thrill, the sense of adventure that makes women seek out these bad guys. 

I personally believe that women love tragedies, they love crying. So when they go out with the bad guys, they are sub-consciously aware that they are heading for heart-break, for turmoil. And this makes their heart race faster than a prize-winning derby horse.

I appreciate men in this regard, because their views and choices are very clear. They would prefer to date ladies who can handle their drinks well, who enjoy dancing and who are generally “open-minded”. But if they are on the lookout for long-lasting relationships or marriages then they would like to meet only women who speak well, who dress well and conduct themselves well in the society. In short the “parantha-making” type of women. 

There’s lot to learn from men, I say.

Source:

http://arlcomics.wordpress.com/

What’s cooking?

No, I am not going to give you the recipe of my favourite dish here. Far from it. Instead, I am going to let you in on my secret. I am here to confess my sin and that is-I HATE COOKING. Ok, I am kidding. Not about the ‘I hate cooking’ part, I really hate it. But about the sin part, I don’t consider it as a sin that I don’t like stepping inside the kitchen, except for maybe to get something to eat. Gone are the days when kitchen were considered to be a women’s den. In fact I think men make better chefs. Go to any restaurant, chances are that the chef there is a man. So why is it that, at home some (I say some because the percentage of men who don’t know cooking, is gradually decreasing) men look befuddled when asked to prepare a simple dish?

It’s not that I can’t cook, I can and I do, but without any enthusiasm and I do it because I have to. I know many women consider cooking as therapeutic, but for me it’s stressful. The funny thing is I like watching cookery shows and I love Nigella Lawson’s cooking. I enjoy watching her prepare a chocolate based recipe. She makes chocolate look more gooey and yummy. If I was a guy, I would have been in love with that lady. Even though I love watching the cookery shows, I wouldn’t try any of the recipes. In fact if left on my own I think I would survive simply on tea and Maggi noodles. It’s not that I don’t like to eat, I love to eat but only what others cook (or what a good chef cooks). If I was to cook anything I like, then I would just prepare rice, dal and a potato sabzi. Yes, basic and yummy J

Again, it’s not that I have not tried my hand at cooking elaborate dishes. Before marriage, like any good Indian girl I tried to hone my culinary skills. I copied recipes for Alu Gobi, Palak Paneer and Paneer Ghee roast from the net, got all the ingredients and during weekends prepared the dishes with great enthusiasm. My family became guinea pigs to me, but to my credit most of the dishes turned out to be OK, which probably means that I am not a bad cook. But after marriage, the enthusiasm vanished and slowly the morning breakfast menu had only one item on it-the Dosa. You see, dosa is the easiest to make, prepare the batter on weekends and it comes throughout the weekdays. And on weekends, the breakfast was usually the yummy Benne dosa. Err, from the corner “Davangere Benne Dosa” shop.  Lunch and dinner is usually Chitranna or Rice/Sambhar and when I am too lazy to prepare anything it’s just curd rice :P

I know you are wondering how come my husband has not divorced me by now. But you see in Ashok’s case, the heart is stronger than the stomach. In my defence I did learn to prepare Paranthas after marriage. But Ashok liked it so much that he demanded paranthas every weekend. So I decided that I would learn nothing new (something about apne pairon par khud hi kuladi marna).

Ok maybe I will include a recipe of my favourite Chocolate Dad to conclude, but just because it’s easy to prepare:

To prepare Chocolate Dad you need:

Tub of your favourite flavour ice cream (it’s always Vanilla for me)

Powdered Groundnut chikki (available in your local stores)

Slab of chocolate and some dry fruits

Preparation: Melt the chocolate in a pan .Roast all the dry fruits in a separate pan. Grind the chikki so that it’s coarsely powdered. Take a scoop of Vanilla ice cream in a stem glass. Sprinkle the powdered chikki, pour the melted chocolate and garnish with the roasted dry fruits.

Your Chocolate Dad is ready!!! So simple and yummy J

Chocolate Dad at Pabbas, Mangalore

P.S: Pabbas is a famous ice cream parlour in Mangalore, it’s the pride of Mangalore. If you ever visit Mangalore, make sure you don’t miss going to Pabbas.

Celebrating Togetherness :)

So the last month of the year is here and along with it I complete 2 years of married life*cheers**claps**hugs*. Now, if you are not married you will not appreciate enough the greatness in this achievement and, if you are married I know you are still clapping. Mine was an arranged marriage, but I met Ashok several times before I got married on 11^th Dec, 2009. In fact since I got a job in B’lore in October, 09, I got to spend almost 2 months with him and if not for him, I would have been extremely homesick during those 2 months. Well, being the list-lover that I am, I thought that I would make a list of all the things that I did right and the few things that I did wrong in the past year of my marriage.

Clichéd but true, marriage is not a bed of roses. If you are getting married with a happily ever after fairy tale kind of story in mind, then it’s time to wake up. Marriage is not all hunky-dory, there are times when I and my husband are practically at each other’s throat. But yes, there are times when marriage is bliss. There is a person always with you, taking care of you and at the same time who needs your love.  I was always a practical person but even I had romantic ideas of going on Euro tour together or spending lazy afternoons in the Goan sun with my partner. But post marriage we keep postponing these trips for some reason or the other. It’s been so long that we took a vacation together, sometimes it’s frustrating when your wishes are not fulfilled. It’s better not to keep a long list of expectations from your partner before marriage. Just accept him/her as he/she is. That’s the best way.

There’s nothing that breaks a marriage faster than ego creeping in between the couples. And in this regard I have a large scope for improvement. I am a very impulsive person and when in a heated argument, I say things that I don’t really mean. Ashok is much better, when in argument he never loses his cool. I say things that I repent later, you know things that hit below the belt. I know, I know this is bad, but believe me I am working on this to improve myself.

Ashok and I are very childish to the core. After an argument, when we are not on speaking terms, Ashok is the first to give up (He’s a very talkative person and cannot remain silent for more than 10 minutes). He usually comes to me, makes faces and, once he even danced in front of me to make me talk with him.

 It’s very important to spend time with each other and at the same time to give space to each other. I and Ashok have extremely different personalities. Our tastes, like and dislikes differ so much, for example he likes to watch only Kannada movies where as I prefer going for Hindi movies. So even going to a movie is much debated between us. He has a large circle of friends and whenever he wants to have his guy’s only trip I never stop him. Similarly he never stops me from going out and meeting my friends. Nagging in women and over-possessiveness in men (and sometimes women) can make marriage suffocating.

Now all girls please don’t get jealous, but I have got the perfect husband who cooks and sometimes on rare occasions even cleans the house. Most of the days Ashok comes home and prepares dinner, I am too bushed to even lift a finger at the end of the day. I thank God for about thousand times in a day for giving me a husband who doesn’t think that household chores are only women’s responsibility.

It’s very important to have a very compromising attitude in marriage and this is something I am continuously learning in my marriage. Sometimes it’s better to let go of the matter and agree with your partner, just to have peace. I am a person who always wants things to go my way and, it’s difficult to compromise. But I am learning slowly and hopefully getting better at this whole marriage thing.

So now that I have shared my marriage gyan with all you wonderful people, let me tell you that the above points are definitely not pointers on how to live a happy married life. Hell, not even closeJ. I am writing from my own experiences of my married life.

P.S: Below is a snap of Ashok and me in Shimla. This was the last long distance trip that we had.*Ahem* Just dropping a hint if you are reading this, Ashok J

A ride in Namma Metro, Bengaluru

When Namma Metro launched in Bangalore on Thursday, 20th October, 2011, I couldn’t do a first day first show appearance. However when I had some respite from my work yesterday, we decided to take a ride in Namma Metro.

I and my husband set off from our house early at 10 AM (Yes, yes this is early for me on holidays!) and we were happy to see that there was not much rush at the M.G Road Metro station. The first phase of the Metro is implemented from M.G.Road to Baiyappanahalli stretch and we got a token for Baiyappanahalli. This cost us 15 Rs. per person which is quite reasonable considering the time saved when compared to travelling in bus or auto. The black token shown in below pic is used to enter the electronic gate and we hurried to board the Metro waiting at the station.

Namma Metro token

Most of our co-passengers were like us, in the sense that most of them had come for the experience and were excitedly clicking snaps. The entire journey to Baiyappanahalli took about 15 minutes and I was wonderstruck, because the same journey in bus would have taken somewhere around 40-45 mins. I should know, I travel by the same route everyday as my office falls in this area. There were 4 stops in between- at Trinity, Halasuru, Indiranagar and Vivekanada Circle stations. We were happy to see the kind of arrangements at all the stations. Security guys ensured that people did not wander close to the tracks and no photos to be clicked at the stations(all though people were happily clicking including, moi).

At Baiyappanahalli station, the line at the ticket counter was longer and we had to wait for 5 mins to get our token. And before we knew it we were back at the M.G Road station. It was an awesome journey and let’s hope that once this entire project is implemented it would solve the perpetual traffic congestion problems in Namma Bengaluru. Or is that too much to expect, huh?





@ Baiyappanhalli Metro station



What is Love?

Ugghhh! I am not sure how I come up with such corny titles for my blog post. But then, that’s me-filmy and exaggerating always. So anyways, I have had this question in my mind for a long time now, how do you know that you truly love a person? How do you define the feeling that you have towards your beloved ones, be it your spouse or parents or children or siblings. How do we put that emotion in words?

Source: Google Images

Until recently I had no clue. But then few days back a small incident made me understand a bit more about love. We had a function at our house and my entire family (my mother, my 2 elder brothers, my sis-in-law and my niece) came down from Mangalore. On the day they arrived, they were tired of travelling and that afternoon after lunch, all of us were planning for a nap. I was really tired because of all the work during the function time and desperately needed a nap. Seizing this opportunity my li’l niece Shreya (who is all of one and a half years) decided she wanted to play (this translates to screaming loudly and running wildly all around the place). Because of her none of us could sleep, so I did something that took me by surprise too. I volunteered to take her out and play with her till she fell asleep. Every bone in my body were complaining and I desperately needed some rest and but I assured everyone that I was not feeling sleepy. Later on thinking about it, I understood that I did this because I loved my family so much that I wanted them to be comfortable and for this I was happy to sacrifice my needs. Isn’t this what love is made of? When you truly love a person, no amount of sacrifice is too much. Compromises are made without any grudges or complaints.



Source: http://heymissawesome.tumblr.com/

But not everything is lovey-dovey. I think we take utmost liberties with the person we love the most. For example there are only few people who have really taken the brunt of my anger. The top in the list are my husband and my mother. Few days back I and my mom had some petty argument. And I said her not to come visit me in my house at Bangalore. This happened as she was returning back to her place in Mangalore.
The instant the words came out of my mouth, I was guilt ridden. Of course this isn’t the first time I have spoken rudely to mom, but I don’t know I have been feeling awfully guilty about it. I can speak so harshly only to my mom and my husband maybe because I know they won’t take me seriously or because I am comfortable with them to speak my mind.

Source: http://heymissawesome.tumblr.com/

So according to me love is when you are ready to sacrifice your desires, your happiness for the person you love and you don’t even have second thoughts on it. Also, when you truly love a person there is no need to fake or hide your true emotions. You can be yourself without having to mask your true feelings. Does that make sense? If it doesn’t do let me know how would you define the love you feel towards your beloved ones.

How many times have you been proposed?

No no, I don’t mean proposals where the guy gets down on one of his knees, looks romantically into the girls eyes, opens a small box, inside which resides a beautiful solitaire and says dreamily ‘Will you marry me?’. That happens only in movies, right? I am talking of the before marriage, girl meets guy, guy likes girl, guy’s parents agrees and sends proposal types? Boring? Not after you see ‘Vivaah’ where Sooraj Barjatiya makes even arranged marriages look enchanting and romantic. Maybe they are!

Anyway getting back to my story, I have been through these “arranged meetings” an awful number of times before settling down with my husband. These meetings can be very agonizing and traumatic because you are supposed to decide if the guy in front of you is the ONE. You know the one with whom you want to have janam-janam ka rishta and all. I have had a few horrendous such situations and I give an involuntary shudder when I think about them.

The worst types are the ones that scan through their eyes in the first glance and you feel as if you have come in nude to meet the guy. If you encounter such types run, run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. Off course I don’t have to tell that, most girls would sprint for their lives.

Then there was this guy, who was decent and Ok to look (except that he had a moustache, I hate moustaches). But he was earning around 16k in Bangalore and not very ambitious in life. I was earning more than 30k in my hometown Mangalore, and I was ambitious and wanted to earn well. Since I had some sense of practicality left in me, I thought this could be a potential problem. When I said this to my family, they dint understand and most of my relatives thought that I was arrogant because I earned well at very young age. I cared two hoots and stood my ground. Finally the proposal got cancelled and I gave a sigh of relief.

After that my mom came to me with another proposal from an Ayurvedic doctor and all though I was specific that I wanted to marry an Engineer ONLY, I still went with her to this meeting. We met at a common relatives place. And the strange thing was, this guy had a kind of nervous twitch on his face which made him look like an axe murderer from a bad Hollywood horror movie. Needless to say mom and I scuttled out of the door before he could even say Marriage. I wouldn’t have been so bitter about this guy if he hadn’t called us up a week later and upon learning that we had rejected his proposal, started abusing and insulting over the phone. Well anyway, lesson learnt- never go anywhere near a guy with a twitch.

So in arranged marriages what is it that we girls look out for in a potential groom? Well that’s easy to answer-Stability/reliability, guy should be responsible enough, should be professionally settled in his job, should be understanding and caring, should be patient and loving, SHOULD NOT BE A MOMMA’S BOY, should not be a MCP, should have a sense of humor(must for me).He should be a gentleman. I mean if he insists that you go dutch on the first date, make an excuse to go to the restroom and head for the exit. Save yourself :)… I am liberal and don’t mind footing the bill in subsequent lunches/dinner, but first dates are supposed to be romantic and to be cherished forever. Well, the “MUST HAVE IN POTENTIAL HUSBAND” list goes on.

But what I would like to know is, what do guys look for when they meet a girl for marriage? Apart from the physical attributes I mean :) I asked my husband and I got a vague answer. Something about the girl being able to adjust to his family and should be independent and so on. Do let me know your views in this matter.

I am throwing in this favorite video of mine; wish everyone had a bro like the one in the ad :)