Cheesy Express

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I recently watched Chennai Express. A few things happened after I watched this movie - first and foremost, I was unsure whom to blame - SRK because the man CANNOT stop hamming even for a second, Rohit Shetty for agreeing to be a part of this nuisance (dude you should've stuck to Ajay Devgan), or myself for helping contribute to the super ROI of this film by buying tickets to the same! Man, some mistakes in life you cannot undo :p 

 

Secondly, I realized who the real winners of this movie are! Any guesses?! Well it's the Nokia Brand Management people, of course! Those who have watched this know exactly what I'm talking about. Want the mighty SRK to promote your doesn't-matter-what-product? These people show us how!

 

So anywho, after being subjected to this disaster, I decided to compile a list of the top ten things that I would have rather done than watch this "mega-hit" -

 

#10 Find misspellings in the Oxford dictionary

 

#9 Spot the difference between Will Smith & Jaden Smith

 

#8 Rearrange my closet based on the texture of my clothes

 

#7 Hear all of Himesh Reshammiya's songs - again and again

 

#6 Recite the English alphabets - in reverse order

 

#5 Travel the Bombay locals during rush hour

 

#4 Watch all seasons of the Real Housewives of Orange County, New York City, Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, Miami, and Vancouver

 

#3 Try to refill toothpaste in an empty tube

 

#2 Argue with Arnab Goswami

 

#1 Get my tooth extracted

 

And I would've enjoyed any of the above - far and much more! Enuff said :D

Pinterest...and why I love it!

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So I am writing after a hiatus of sorts, but here goes. Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about the wonder that is Pinterest!

 

I recently crossed a 1000 followers on Pinterest - a feat that was certainly not preplanned by me ;) So I think I owe it to Pinterest to mention a few words on why I love it and where is it useful (the question most users wonder about).

 

What is Pinterest?

 

For those of you who have not yet heard about this little marvel, Pinterest is a free social tool that lets you browse thousands of pictures (either pre-existing or you can upload your own too) and 'pin' (hence the clever little term 'Pinterest') any pictures that you like on your Pinterest page. You can essentially create something called as 'Boards' on your Pinterest page with categories that interest you (think Architecture, Fashion, Cars et cetra) and then 'pin' any pictures that you come across on your relevant 'boards'. There is no limit to the number of boards and no limit to the number of pins on each board.

 

Your followers (the individuals following one or many of your boards) essentially get an update of the pins that you have pinned so that they can then repin the pins onto their own boards if relevant. This is how a pin propagates in Pinterest. Finally, you can also follow boards from others that you find interesting so that you too can get an update when they pin something on their boards.

 

Another interesting concept is that of 'Community Boards'. If another Pinterest user finds one of your boards super interesting, he/she may invite you to start pinning onto their board as well. That is the basic premise behind Community Boards.

 

Why I Love it?

 

So now that we have an idea what Pinterest is, here are the top reasons why I love it -

 

1. Places! Oh the beautiful places that I come across while browsing photos! Places in France and other remote locations! Places that I haven't heard of and that make me realize what an artist God is :)

 

2. The picture is worth a thousand words adage has not been truer than in this case! Pinterest gives me a way to enhance my other passion - that of baking! Ever so often I come across food images that are just so scrumptious that they beg to be tried out ;) And the best part is that not only can I repin these images but can also click on the image to go to its source - be it a blog or a site. I can then get further details about the recipes or other information from there.

 

3. Unique categories - You could have unique and interesting categories such as 'Street Art' (this is also one of my favorites). Street Art, for instance, never fails to amaze me with the sort of art that nameless street artists around the world come up with. There is truly so much talent in the world! Alongside is my favorite street art portrait from Pinterest -

 

A Note of Caution & Other Comments

 

Pinterest is highly addictive. When I first started pinning stuff, I did not realize that I would slowly yet surely get addicted to it. But then again, this is kudos to the makers of the tool for coming up with something so innovative and refreshing that users (last time I checked they had 25 million users) find time out of their busy schedules to actually enthusiastically use this tool.

 

Another interesting point to note is that the Pinterest App is actually much much better than the web version of this. Maybe another reason why I love this ;)

 

No Spamming - It is highly recommended to not use Pinterest to promote your own blog or such by let's say, providing a link to your blog as a comment on each of your pins :p. Pinterest will suspend Spammer accounts when they come across it.

 

And that's it my friends. If any of you are interested in checking out my pins - here is the link - http://pinterest.com/shrutasatam/. Happy Pinning!

Work-Life Balance?

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I was suddenly inspired today to write a little bit about my thoughts on one of the things I have started to strongly believe in. So bear with me as I pen (type? ;) down my thoughts about this.

 

What I am referring to is the proverbial Work-Life balance. Now I'm sure this is a topic close to most people's hearts as almost all of us are busy juggling our life and our work. But which one of these takes a backseat? And more importantly, which should?

 

Work-Life Balance

 

I first came across the term Work-Life balance at my place of work - Deloitte. Now this is something that Deloitte strongly believes in and painstakingly promotes. What they want to ensure is that an individual tries to achieve a Work-Life fit. A seemingly good balance of your home and office life, so that one can enjoy and reap the benefits of both these so very important aspects of life. This is what first got me to think about this concept. And I mean, really think!

 

At this point of time, right off the bat, people are going to argue that promoting is one thing but implementing is a whole different ball game. For instance, even though a company may endorse the Work-Life fit, an employee may still be inundated with a heavy workload, client deliverables, deadlines, and the list goes on. So isn't that counterproductive? Well, it is, but not if you can do something about it. Which brings me to my next point of how (in my opinion) this is achievable...

 

So, what gives?

 

Two words here - Time Management. You can stop reading this right now and understand everything that I want to say with these two little words. It's all about making time. Everyone is busy - that goes without saying. But what makes the difference between making your busy schedule work for you in both work and life is this - time management. Bucket your time, manage your priorities (without compromising them), and then the most important part - stick to it.

 

Does it work?

 

I have a high stress job - numerous meetings every day, things to manage, things constantly coming out of left field during a given day and the list goes on. Every day at work is a brand new day, filled with the excitement of being unaware of what may come and so constantly having to reprioritize tasks. But amidst all the chaos, one thing I do not change (or try my level best not to) is sticking to my schedule! And no matter how chaotic your day, it is possible to do this with a little practice, with a little discipline and will power combined with a solid determination of wanting to make this work. And the result - My office life is as good as ever and so is my personal life. Win-win?

 

What's important?

 

I truly believe that at the end of the day, it is a good fit of both that makes an individual truly happy. I love my work but I love my personal life too. I love the excitement of deadlines, and meetings, and managing people but at the same time I love the excitement of social events, the fun in experimental cooking, and meeting friends. Keeping time for the things that I love doing and more importantly keeping time for the people that I love. :-)

 

So to sum it up - Work or Life? Should one take a backseat? I don't see why! Is it possible to have your cake and eat it too? I think yes. And oh, how very delicious that is!