The weight-loss bug bites me!!

Courtesy: Google Images

I have been putting on too much weight lately. Though I noticed, I didn’t really take any action. I read somewhere that an expanding waistline is an indication of a happy marriage. Happy couples are not under any pressure to look attractive for their partner. Taking refuge under the theory, I was happy that we were a happy couple and let my waistline expand.  Even A’s waistline was expanding. It was expanding more than mine was. Therefore, it meant he is happier with the marriage. Last week, when my body refused to fit into my favourite pair of jeans I pressed the panic button. It was the green jeans, which is in trend now. It wasn’t even skinny.  It was like an alarm call to take action.

                I hate it!! I don’t want to go on a diet. I don’t want to exercise. I don’t want to look fat either.  I had to do something. I decided to cut out all fast food. There will be no restriction on home food though. A and I decided to go jogging on all days when I am in Bangalore. Because of the holiday season, I am spending around 12-15 days in Bangalore.  We stay close to IIM campus and it is a blessing. We are using their playground for reducing our flab. On Sunday, we woke up at 6 and went for jogging. At the end of half round, I was panting and felt breathless. It was another alarm call reminding me of my low fitness levels.  If the jogging for 15 days a month doesn’t work, I will have to continue that in Hyderabad also. Damn! Why can’t I get a transfer to Bangalore soon? There can be nothing worse than exercising alone!

                Anyways, like all people, I work better with deadlines. So, the deadline is a cousin’s wedding in December. I should reduce my waist by three inches and my hip by four inches. Wish me luck. Maybe peer bloggers pressure will keep me going. Your suggestions are welcome, as long as they don’t relate to more exercise and a more controlled diet. Till then, happy weight loss to me.

Stringing and singing along

Courtesy: Google Images

      There is a guitar lying around in our house. It was there with A for months before the wedding too. A friend of  his left it with him, never to collect it back. I was getting bored. Most days when I am in Bangalore, Ayush is either in office or in college pursuing that never-ending MBA. I generally go to Crossword and read.I was feeling particularly lazy and didn't even want to walk up to the bookstore. So, I was going around the house listlessly. My eyes fell on the guitar.I can learn how to play the guitar!! These days with the internet replacing the teacher, it would be very easy. Why didn't I think of it before? I would have been an expert by now.Ok, maybe not an expert but I could have played a romantic song for A. He would have looked at me in awe and praise me. He definitely would have praised me. He generally appreciates all the little things I do. Even after eight months of marriage, every time I make him a cup of tea, he says 'Mast chai bani hai'. So sweet!! (Kala tika!! I don't want to jinx it).
       So, I picked up the guitar. Cleaned it.Sat in front of the laptop and googled. I found one video, particularly useful. I held the guitar accordingly and tried to imitate what the instructor was doing. The sound that I produced didn't sound the same. But, I was never really great at identifying sounds. The chords were difficult. I had to place three or four fingers on the strings at the same time. Then the realisation hit me that my fingers didn't stretch so much. Not losing heart, I found a song that had only two chords and started strumming it. I could do one chord at a time, but couldn't do them successively. So, it sounded like a bit of music,followed by a long pause. The song was 'Neele Neele ambar par'. Leave alone others, even I couldn't make out that that was the song that I was strumming.
     I got exhausted and started playing randomly. I was just moving my fingers on whatever strings I felt like and whatever position I felt like. The music seemed really good. It was a lot better than my earlier futile attempts. To increase the rockstar effect, I started singing along. To my ears, it felt as if the music was synchronous to the singing. (both are very bad,but they synced well).It was literally music to my ears. I spent the next one hour stringing and singing along all the songs that came to my mind.
    Loving the guitar and am currently spending a lot of time with it. A however doesn't seem to appreciate the fact that the music and singing is in sync. But I insist,it sounds perfect. Not everyone has an ear for good music. 

Banking Woes

I had to take a Demand Draft urgently. It was the last date to apply for something and I needed it immediately. So, I didn’t go through the online mode of ordering a DD, which will be delivered at your door step. Even otherwise, I belong to the old generation thinking and like doing things offline. So, I reached the bank at 10 A.M. It was closed. The timings were from 10.30 AM to 4.30 PM. People were already waiting outside for the gates to open. I joined the hordes of people outside. As soon as the clock struck 10.30, the doors opened, and everyone moved forwards. It was like witnessing a human mass flow in a particular direction. There were four counters and serpentine queues formed in front of each. I felt a little lost. I approached one lady, who looked like one of the staff.  I said that I wanted to get a DD issued. “Fill the form and pay the money,” she said, handing over a form. I had to get a DD issued for an amount around 2 lakhs. Since I didn’t have the cash, I decided to first withdraw money from my account.

                Here starts my journey. I wrote a cheque on my name and waited patiently in one of the queues. After 20 minutes, my turn came. I handed over the cheque. “For amount above one lakh there is another counter,” she said. I went to the designated counter. Thankfully, the queue was short. Actually there was no queue. People were huddled outside a room. Inside the room, a lady was disbursing the cash. After 20 minutes of waiting, I realized that she was never going to call me. So, I jostled with the crowd and made my way inside. She took the cheque and handed over a receipt. “Get this signed by the officer in the last counter,” she said. I went to the last counter and again stood in the queue.  A stern looking man was seated. He signed the receipt and kept it with himself. “You can go, I will send it,” he said. I did not want to wait any longer. I politely suggested that I could take it with me. However, he didn’t agree. Having no choice, I went back to my place outside the door. Some boy came and handed over a few receipts to the lady. Eagerly, I pushed my way forward and went inside the room. “Your receipt hasn’t come. I will call you,” she said. Resigned, I went outside again.

                Finally, she called me inside. She first counted the cash using the currency-counting machine. Then she manually counted all the cash. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to verify my passbook, count the cash and hand it over to me. I took my hard-earned cash and came out. Then I took the receipt for DD and filled it. The bank now became even more crowded. I stood in the queue again, waiting for my turn. My legs had started to ache. Last step, I told myself. I will finish it soon and can go home. My turn came after an agonizingly long wait. The stern man (yeah the same one who signed the receipt) looked at me and said, “For DD exceeding fifty thousand rupees, we accept a cheque only. No cash.”   I was at my wits end. I enquired as to what could be done now. I didn’t have enough balance in my account to write a cheque. The only alternative left was to deposit the money again and then write a check!! I took a form for making a deposit. Deposits above one lakh had to be made to the lady in the room. The same procedure was followed for making the deposit. Handover receipt, take signature of stern man and deposit cash, which was counted meticulously yet again. It was Saturday and the bank closes at 1.30. It was already 12.30 pm and I had to hurry to get the DD.

                After making the deposit, I approached the stern man. This time the other people in the queue let me approach the counter directly. He took the cheque and the DD form and asked me to wait. After half-an-hour, he called out my name and handed over the Demand Draft. Phew!! It was 1.00 PM. Mission accomplished. All these days, I thought it was hard to earn money. But I realized that encashing my hard work was also hard work!!