The year of the odds

So new year's resolution has always been a bad idea...but for some reason, this year has been begging me to set and hopefully, finally follow through on a few (long overdue) resolutions. Brief and getting to the point:

1. Size 8 by New Year's Eve 2011 - go for a photo shoot (with makeup and clothes) when target goal reached...
2. Save more!!!
3. Boxing/MMA training (maybe even a belt...a girl can hope)
4. Excel proficiency
5. Swimming lesson
6. Bartending license
7. Certification training
8. Flying lesson
9. Bike riding
10. Winter break in South America, summer weekend Jamaica
11. Date more (maybe once a month...again a girl can hope :))

So here is to a year of odds and overcoming them...

Happy 2011!!!

And here we go again...

So today is my birthday...26 years and i am yet to feel wiser :(...

But in my journey toward wisdom, I figured maybe I can help some of the rest of you out by sharing some of my stories, whose lessons I don't seem to learn but maybe you can :P...

SO anyways...2 years and 10 posts later...here is round 2 of mooing from me...wish me luck!!!

26 years and counting...

Years pass
Knowledge amass

Friends are made
Friendships fade...

Love was found
Hearts unwound...

Resolutions were formed
Life reformed...

Journeys began
Adventures and stories followed hand in hand...

Heroes were discovered
Treasures of wisdom uncovered...

And now a quarter of a century later
the joys found could not have been any greater
The ride has been bumpy with turns and twists
But on the road of life the journey persists...

Missing you, my old friend

I can hear you outside, calling my name,
"Come quickly!" you impatiently exclaim.
I hear the ruckus, you are causing outside,
"Be quiet, I am coming," I sleepily replied.

When I come out, you embrace me joyfully,
"What took you so long?" you ask me angrily.
"I waited and waited for you to come,
So that we could play, dance and create mayhem."

"I know, I am sorry," was all I could say,
And you, my old friend, forgave me right away.
You started humming that pretty little tune,
"Pitter patter, pitter patter…" you began to croon.

My feet, you know, could never resist,
The temptation, which, in your sweet song exists.
You and I began our usual dance,
And soon we fell into that peaceful, ecstatic trance.

And then I opened my eyes to see,
That you were no longer there next to me.
I hear you whisper, "sorry my friend,
But our time together must now come to an end."

"Wait," I begged, "For a few minutes more,
It's been so long since I danced with so much soul."
"Wake up, wake up," I heard my sister say,
"Look outside, I think it's going to be a rainy day!"

If you could visit anywhere, where would you go?

Today was just one of those days at work, quiet, lazy. Taxes done, quarter ended, pay day…calm seas. Lunch was an unusually happy affair, with good food, laughter and intimate conversations, during which a question was raised, "If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

Our Berkeley intern, whose graduation present to himself is a backpacking trip through Europe, gleefully claimed Europe as his choice of destination. Some said Africa (for the lions of course), Australia (to check out some hot beach bods?!?!), India even ( their selection of spicy food…). They were all places I wanted to go. There are so many places in the world with so much beauty and history, how do you pick just one?

For me, that's an easy choice. If I could go anywhere in the world, there is only one place that I would always choose, my dimma's house.

For I have traveled far and wide,
And in the end I always find,
The love and warmth my dimma bestows,
Is truly a healing balm for my soul.

A mother, a friend and a mentor she has been,
Her unending wisdom inspiring me within.
So therefore, you see, my place of solace,
Will always be in her loving embrace.

Get well soon Dimma, we miss you!

a floating boat on the ocean of life

If we really think that home is elsewhere and that life is a "wandering to find home", why should we not look forward to the arrival?

~ C.S Lewis (British scholar and novelist)

Today, during my routine voyage to work, a bolt of nostalgia and wistfulness struck me. I had my Ipod on full blast like always and the songs played through my mind, not really registering, but having a serene effect on my mood all the same. And then that song came on, a bangla song with a sweet melody and pretty lyrics, nothing tragic just a simple song about a wandering soul. But for some reason every time I hear that song, something stirs within me. For someone, who is not usually emotive, those words make my eyes well up. Here are the lyrics with my own version of a translation to it:

Amar prothom dekha brishtir jole
Bhashiyechi phela khelar chole
Sheyi jol geche mishe kon nodite
Geche Hariye kon Sagare

The first time that I truly experienced rain,
I drenched myself playing tag with the water and my friends.
But the water and those games are now just memories,
Hiding somewhere subdued by the stress of everyday.

Majhi re, o majhi re
Dekhecho ki tumi tare
Nouko amar chelebalar
Kogejer…

Now all I can do is seek your help,
To find that little paper boat,
My friends and I made so long ago,
On a lovely, quiet monsoon day.

Amar prothom pawa aakar khata
Amar prothom lekha kobita
Sheyi chelebalar sopno hajar
Geche hariye kon sagare

That coloring book I used to scribble on,
And the rhyming gibberish I would babble on,
The childhood mischief that I was once famous for
Hiding somewhere subdued by the stress of everyday

Neeli ambar si naiyya meri
Leheron ki dhun mein beh chali
Gehre sagar mein tanha kahin
Geeton ko tumhari khojti

So here I am a lonely boat,
Drifting on the waves of life.
Looking for a place, you know,
Where I can relive those memories of mine.

Ekta jolshe jawa bikel bela
Ekta lalche sagarer jole
Jaye bheshe Jaye sopno bojha
Nouko amar kagojer

A rustic little house I see,
On the very edge of my reality.
And there I see myself also,
Playing with my paper boat.

Majhi re, o majhi re
Dekha hai kya tumne usse
Kagaz ki Nau mein hain bhare
Sapne mere…

Please, I beseech you
Help me find my paperboat
On it I have safe kept my memories
Of childhood lessons learnt so long ago…

(Movie: Bong Connection)

cover letter for all my future employers

Hi,

My name, you see, is Arinha Dey,

Myspace sent me looking your way.

I am told that you are searching for

The one, who online, will help you soar

So here I am telling you

That even though I know not much,

I am very good at research.

I browse the internet daily,

For facts and fun equally.

I also write incessantly,

Stories about people and places mostly.

I went to school to be a doctor,

But holding someone’s life in my hand,

Was a task, I was sure, I could not withstand.

For a while, then, I soul searched

Far, near and in many places of the earth.

One day my luck finally ran out,

The bank called I was broke and in a rut.

I looked for jobs but they were all in a lab,

And that I felt would be a drab.

At long last I found a job,

Affiliate manager is what it was called.

I had no clue what the hell that meant,

All I thought was “yaay money for rent”

But through my work, I discovered a world

That let me dream, write, browse and learn.

I blogged, I browsed, I designed

And slowly I started converting.

Search engines, banners, landing pages, EPCs

Terms I had never even heard of,

Were now a part of my everyday words.

I have a blog you may read if you wish (http://mooooftheday.blogspot.com/),

Just a place I use to unload my stress.

It doesn’t get much traffic or readers yet you see

But I am learning and improving quickly.

I see you do many cool things,

Blinklist, Clickmuse and other such money making machines.

I have some experience that my resume will detail

But I wish to learn much more,

And with your support I hope to prevail.

Please do let me know,

If there is anything I can help you do.

A chance is all I am asking for

To grow but mostly to grow with you.

Sincerely,

Arinha Dey