Home Project done OK!.. #2

Halo..this is my first home painting project that I am yet to finish, but so far so good, I guess!

Here is a sneak peek into what I have done so far!

Unfortunately, like always I never took a 'before' look of these three tables. I bought them in the local sunday market for AUD 20. They had a brown polish on them and I got rid of it and painted it black, and I am in the process of painting a true Aussie Aboriginal dotted hand paint on it. I am looking for an inspiration straight from the bush! For now, I just painted a simple design on the legs!

here & there #1

I just realised that, I don't publish my posts because I can't decide upon the 101 headings that bubble up inside my head! But this post can't wait more and I have decided to publish it at last! 'here & there' is what I am going to stick to at testing times like these!

1. Old habits die hard: I have done a very very good thing for myself this week. I was following an Indian fashion blogger's blog since two years. Not that I admire her or anything like that. I used to read her posts so that I could have a topic to criticise. She is the most arrogant, ignorant and brainless blogger ever! I hate her posts yet made sure I read them every damn day! I never could figure why I wasted my time on something so useless. Anyway, all is well that ends well - since last week I never opened her blog and now this has a become an habit, I am sure I would never read her posts ever again (but i still have an urge to meet her one day and give her my piece of mind)..I hope this old habit would never die.

2. Parenting overdone:  Parenting itself can be very exhausting!But what I  have been pondering over is, may be as NRI parents we sometimes (me - always) overdo as parents. why I say NRI is, in times like these where nuclear family is an undermined word in its own sense, as NRI families we have even smaller/detached/lonely lives (in its own sense again). So, all the attention is either on our spouse or kid(s) (am not talking about work life here - that's like a saving grace most of the time). At least as a mother I feel, I spend 16 hours of waking life of mine into planning for my baby and trying to figure out how better a person can he be moulded into! I even have long term strategies planned for all scenarios. I work myself up so much! I am sure there are many more like me. He's just three year old, I think I should give myself and him as well, a big break from all this power-packed parenting! Just chill...oh no..typing this is already freaking me out! 

3. Playing to the gallery: Is it good or bad? Well, over the past few years I had to learn to play it to the audience. Yeah, even my family - they are actually part of my larger audience and believe nothing works better than being diplomatic and shrewd when one has to. I am not saying one has to be mean and deceiving. I like to be open, not hide anything from anyone and just be frank but in a nicer way and yeah I 'play to the gallery' when that can help the situation for the time being! (Disclaimers welcome!). Being honest and yet playing to the gallery can go hand in hand. Its just an art one has to cultivate and yes it can be an art to happiness!

4. My bit to the environment: Lately, I have been so conscious about society and the benefit I am adding to the society. I started a compost bin (after three weeks, its smelling so good - such nice earthy smell). I force myself to separate wet and dry waste now. I have ordered for bamboo toothbrush for all three of us in our family (for more information about bamboo toothbrush and what good you can do to the environment , visit http://environmentaltoothbrush.com.au/ and have a look at the website). I don't waste water while brushing teeth anymore. Previously, I used to leave the tap open - I seriously don't know why the F*** I used to do that! What else..yeah, this has been the most difficult one to implement. I keep an alarm to remind me to carry only my green bags for grocery shopping. I now wrap my baby nappies and my sanitary napkins in a paper and throw them in the bin. Do your bit to the environment - its high time we give back!

Idhar udhar ki baatein bahut saarein hain..par ab ke liye Chao! (Hindi Translation: I can keep going on and on about 'here & there' but for now..Chao!)

Earning my day

I have always been a vey very lazy person when it comes to exam preparation. When I was in my 7th standard, my mom gave up on me and then roped in this guy I used to call and still call him "Tuition Bhaiyya" (Bhaiyya in Hindi means Brother) just to make me sit at a place for an hour and finish my math and physics assignments. I remember I used to show him what hell is like. But, of course he was the most patient guy ever and I am what I am in my basics because of him and that's another different story altogether!

So, I have been thinking about this a lot for the past few months. Why am I sooo lazy regarding the most important part of my life? I have to write these supposed to be 'tough' Actuarial exams ( To know more about Actuarial Science click here:http://www.actuaries.asn.au/becoming-an-actuary/what-does-an-actuary-do) in order to progress in the career I chose for myself. 

I tried to think if the reason for my laziness was may be I din't like the subject after all. But soon I realised that this is not the case. Because I enjoy reading a text book chapter like a story and keep getting so many ideas and thoughts and questions IF I WANTED TO! This, 'IF I WANTED TO' had become an integral part of my answer to why I was lazy. 

I needed some kind of incentive. In school, my mother used to give me small little incentives. When, my english grades were low, while helping me learn grammer in the summer break, she used deposit Re1 for a page each of the exercise book I finished. So, similarly I thought for the up coming exams, to make myself prepare properly I need to give myself incentives such as..

..i love to watch these daily hindi serials (only couple of them)..I usually watch them early in the morning while having coffee and when I am all by myself. But now I decided to switch this routine - I tell to myself to finish a Question Bank and then watch one serial. I was successful 7/10 so far.

..Another thing I looooooove to do online is SHOP! wow! nothing excites me more than web shopping..there's no pre-condition that I have to buy something, just simply drool over stuff! Now, I do it at the end of the day before sleeping, after I have finished reading what I had to!

These are very simple to-start-off, to-get-me-going incentives I decided to do for myself, for my precious exams. Believe me its so difficult for somebody like me, who's mind can easily wander off to million other ideas around, to stick to this regime! But I am doing good so far and I am proud of myself!

..ok then got to go and EARN MY DAY!

-Ta.