I #ChooseToStart

And here it goes again! My cell phone- Mind it, that mine was a very basic mobile phone nowhere closer to today’s smartphones. My poor phone died an innocent death. Poor chap had been with me for ages now. It fell off the second floor and straight down…it had eventually left me... sob sob….

I rushed home, opened the door without the familiar beep accompanying me today. But life needs to move on. I started my hunt for the latest, economical smartphone options. I am not a gadget freak so it was definitely a challenge for me. I kept on looking. I tried looking online (as is the buzzword), visited a couple of stores too. Things were too confusing than exciting.

I had almost given up. I was tired both mentally and physically from this endless search. But the truth was I definitely needed a phone. Who in today’s world even gets out of bed without holding onto their smartphones: no one “except me”?

After another unsuccessful weekend, as I parked my car, stepped down to get off, my fiancé stood there smiling at me. I was already pissed off and could not understand the reason of his smile. Well, hiding my irritation I greeted him.  There was something he had in his hands that he was trying to hide. An attractive box waited for me. I grabbed it and without a blink opened the box. What waited inside was priceless. Really, was it for me? I asked him twice. It was my all new Moto E. It looked exquisite. Beautifully crafted, bright and shining.

I gave him a tight hug and shouted aloud with excitement. He quickly asked what did I #ChooseToStart my smartphone journey with the all new Moto E. I thought for a couple of minutes and had the answer immediately. The moto E smartphone opened myriad of opportunities for me. I had always dreamt to write and share my thoughts. I could pen down my ideas quickly and share it with the whole world using my new Moto E. Moto E was the perfect gadget for me. I immediately added all my friends and family members. I wanted to tell the world the power that I had now in my hands. I clicked a selfie with my new love (read Moto E smartphone) and immediately shared it with my loved ones on the messenger. I was surprised to see how fast it was. Moto E had brought me at par to my peers. Most importantly it has given me the ability to stay in touch.

I was really happy with my first ever smartphone. It had opened the whole world for me. It made me fall in love with technology and the web. I love you so much my smart Moto E.

 

My happiness is you

It is strange how simple things could make your day. All the twists and turns that we take throughout the course of our lives, we just aim for #happiness and love. Our lives revolve around our loved ones. As I sat on my porch one beautiful evening this thought kept on crossing my mind. I sat there watching the birds fly back. Everyone together in complete sync. The sky kept changing its colors. It turned from blue to really, to a beautiful orange. I kept o staring at the changing hues. The cloud changed their forms. It was as if I was trying to look for a face. It appeared as if I was meditating. Multiple planes passed by as I looked at the sky. Where were these people coming from? The chirping of birds, the rattling of leaves- everything was music to my ears.

The doorbell rang…trrrriiing! I ran downstairs bare foot. Who was sit? I already knew the answer...smiles. It was someone that I had been waiting for long. My husband came back from work. As he entered I felt alive again. I felt happy. It was a daily routine but today was different. In spite of being married for a fairly, long time now, the way he looked at me, his smile still made me blush. It was the #happiness that he had filled in my aimless life. The vacant space was now filled with his love.

I made his favorite tea and led him to the verandah. We sat there without speaking a word. Just looked at each other. My soul danced to the music of his breath. We exchanged some of our day’s events, drank tea and relaxed. He continued with his newspaper and I with my newly bought book.

 

Suddenly we decided to go for a drive. We had no idea of where we were headed to. We packed some basic stuff quickly, put on our shoes and started off on a journey. We drove and drove. We drove away from the madness and the crazy city madness. Since I had met him, he had surprised me n  number of times but it was his spontaneity and unplanned moves that had made me fall in love with him every single day. With loud music, him by my side, laughter and giggles I felt as if time had stopped. He was the one who had made me happy all these years. He was the one who had brought all the joys back in my life. I wanted to say so much. I wanted to tell him what he was for me. However, I was too overwhelmed to speak. I saw a tear slowly sneak out of my eye. I wiped it briskly. This tear was the symbol of happiness that he always brings along like my secret Santa. My happiness is you “dear hubby”.

Magical Night

How do we define the word “together”? Out of all the definitions I thought of creating one of my own. I call it “to- get- there” phenomenon. We may not be looking for something material. Nah!!! That is really boring. Isn’t a day at work, literally grilling yourself working for others not enough?

Well, all of us are looking to get to a destination that has peace, happiness, and love of our dear ones #together.

Just think about it…
 

One fine evening, me and my husband returned from a typical social event, tired of wearing the fake smiles. My back pained of the 45 hours super hectic work week. As we walked in, the aroma that every house carries somehow brought a twinkle in our eyes. We exchanged a glance. The lights were turned off as everyone had already gone to bed. We slowly made our way upstairs without trying to make a sound. I almost tripped and surprisingly started to giggle…shhhh….

For some reason I just couldn’t stop laughing. Probably it was just the feeling of being home. I didn’t have to pretend or act or look happy or had to appreciate someone’s fake stones (popularly known as “diamonds”).

It’s 1:00 a.m. and we didn’t feel like sleeping. We moved to our verandah and started talking. The cool breeze was perfect to create the perfect ambience. We talked about how we met, our courtship, our travel adventures, our love, and most important of it all, the fact that we were #together. He poured me a drink and I kept looking at him. He talked and I listened. I felt as if all the volcanoes inside me had calmed down. The hot lava seemed to have been transformed into a free flowing river. My heart had new flowers that bloomed as we held each other’s hands. We drank, and talked and just looked at each other. It was a different two of us. We were the teenagers madly, truly in love. #together we gazed at the stars. It was our perfect date. There were no expectations, no expensive gifts, no flowers. Each other's warmth and company without any  noise was what we had been looking for long.

As I narrate you this innocent story, I feel empowered, filled with strength. Life comes with its own share of joys and sorrows, but sweet moments like these remind us of the optimistic outlook we should carry along. All the beautiful people out there don’t forget to wear that special, unique smile as you get ready for work it will make your expensive watch or the new matching lip color look even better. I am sure it will fill your lives with a magical sparkle that you thought was missing. This is what really makes me happy...

Second Chance

Life is strange and keeps on surprising you with its uncertainty. I call it the typical “roller-coaster” ride: *wink *wink. Who do you hold onto during this amazing journey? Family and friends, no matter how far they may be they could always bring that one smile on your face that may have been missing for a while. It was a snowy night, as I tried to sleep through, miles away from home. I had everything, a successful job, a house, friends, what else could I wish here. Someone would say, wow what a life amongst the skyscrapers. But deep down I knew there was a blank space in my life. My friends were miles away and so was my family. As I stared at the spotless white ceiling of my bedroom in the convertible apartment on the 43^rd floor, my phone buzzed. At wee hours of night my cell phone was my best friend. #startanewlife

When I still think of that night, I feel that God truly heard me. It was telepathy. A long lost friend (well was he really a friend), reappeared from past. We started with a formal “hi” on the social networking site. We chatted for straight 3 hours. Looked like ages since I had laughed. My jaws hurt from laughing and giggling. Was I ready to accept his friendship? Who was he? Why was I sharing my deep, dark secrets with this guy? It was his honesty and the genuine concern that made me feel I was ready to leave the past behind and move ahead to a prosperous future. As we continued to chat, international calls/video calls became a part of our daily routine. He was looking for a friend, and I was probably looking for a solace. #startanewlife

 

Finally, the day arrived. He put forward the most important question of our lives. Was I ready to take our blooming relationship to the next level? Was he the one? That one yes changes my priorities, my reasons for happiness, my life. I decided to leave the states and come back to India. We met a couple of more times and I was sure. His conviction and the love he had in his eyes for me genuinely swept me off my feet. Was I doing right or wrong? I still don’t know. He brought the fresh air of optimism and hope that even I deserved. Did I deserve a better life that had more love than money, more fun than just office tasks, the feeling of belongingness, the feeling of being loved? More importantly, he gave me the reason to smile.

Every morning when I wake up and I see him next to me, I smile. Somewhere silently I say my prayer thanking life for giving me a second chance. All of us deserve that chance. We just need to identify the right opportunity and take that jump. You really won’t know what’s waiting for you at the other end. #startanewlife. /https://housing.com/.

My encounter with hope

What a day!!! what a day!!! It was one of those days when somehow everything manages to go wrong. Amongst the long list of disasters the following topped. My roommates kept on fighting. My fiancé wouldn’t hear to my career aspirations. At work, there was a heated argument with my supervisor over a real pity issue as we tried to firefight. My subordinates managed to miss all the deadlines together. It was disappointing and frustrating at the same time.

My client who is usually extremely pleasing and supportive seemed to be completely off track. We had to struggle for almost three hours straight to explain her the relevance of the requests that we were making. She just wouldn't understand. She just wouldn’t hear. The meetings went on and on.

In short it was a day that was full of unexpected, tough conversations. If this was not enough, to top it all our project manager wanted to keep the amazing touch point on the same day. What did this mean to us? This meant that discussions from follow ups to delays to our inefficiencies would add on to the frustration that kept on building.

After all the drama I literally had to turn off my laptop. My brain was fried completely. At 6:00 p.m. as everyone already started to head home I sat there thinking what should I #lookup to? My head kept spinning, going round and round. Was this the end?  Had I failed to deliver?

I managed to gather my strength, started loading my stuff and began the journey back home. I felt extremely weak. I had tears. Tears of anger, frustration, disappointment. https://housing.com/lookup.

Usually when I head back home, my brain is still working. I start planning for next day. Today was different. I drove into what seemed like a black hole. Where was I going?

 Right before the highway exit that I usually take, I saw a sign. There was something glowing outside a school. In bold letters the sign said "HOPE". Somehow that grabbed my attention, I pulled over to the side and kept staring at it like a kid. Was this written for me? I was a fighter. A bad day at work didn’t mean I was finished. A weak moment and I thought of quitting everything. I smiled at the glowing signboard. I felt as if it smiled back at me. “everything will be alright” echoed in the silence. My heart filled with strength and zeal. A zeal to keep moving forward. A will to keep going on.

 Everyday when I still cross that sign, I ensure to slow down, take a deep breath and think that the hope is still alive. The hope to succeed, the hope to be happy, the hope that things will fall in place one day.