Just One Moment ... Exactly a year later

It's been exactly a year since i published a post on this blog and posts on my personal blog have been sporadic as well. Last year 7th September, i spotted a rainbow in the evening while leaving from work.

This time things were different and to be honest, exactly the opposite.Talk about the other side of the coin or turning tides. I prayed to spot a rainbow as i left for work (as the sun was out while the rain worked) last year it was spontaneous.
It was the morning of 6th September, while it was evening a year ago. (Just FYI the blog clock is running as per EST not IST, it's 1:20am on Saturday 7th September as i type)
I was talking about being at the right place at the right time in 2012 while in 2013 i was contemplating about not being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Conspicuous by absence.

It also makes me realize, the fact that everything is in fact ephemeral. Nothing and absolutely Nothing in the world stays the same. Change is but the only constant. It is only movement that keeps the world in check.
While last year i was talking about dwelling in that one moment - a moment that makes you feel sheer bliss - this time around i talk about the need for constantly doing something, changing something in the world. I am sure for every bad that happens and equal an opposite amount of good happens too (balance a la Newton??)

I  realized i believe in Magic and wished upon a rainbow. The fact that when you wish for something good for someone with all your heart, not only does it happen but something good might come out of it for you too. I realised my beliefs change everyday with the things i come across and assimilate, the world as i knew it a year ago is a lot different than today. Yes, people change - not because they truly do but because your perception of them might have also been tweaked a little over time. So when you do think about someone changing, it's only natural. Don't beat yourself or them up for it. It is the way it must be. What fun would it be to play the same game everyday or watch the same episode of a SitCom everyday for the rest of your life? BO(OOOOOOOO)RING i'd say!

One year is barely anything and if i can feel my thoughts change in a year, i realize the significance of moments too. That one moment of defeat, embarrassment, fear, excitement, anxiety, nonchalance,calm, happiness, success, exhilaration and finally contentment. I know my state of mind changes from one moment to the next. So just a whole lot of "just one moments" are required to make our life what it truly is!
The formula of
{(just one moment) * (our time on earth)}/(negative experiences- lessons learnt)= ENRICHING Lifetime

And the moment of epiphany came by a second ago and i have made a new quote. "Always ask for a Bhelpuri or Life will give you a Bleh Puri!" - Karen Sonia Aranha... signing off... *I need my Sleep* zzzzzzz

Just one Moment

It was yet another normal Friday work wise. Each working day doesn't differ too much from another except for Fridays and Mondays which have a special place in everyone's life. We all go through our Manic Mondays and Freaky Fridays. No wonder "The Bangles" decided to sing about it and "Mary Rodgers" wrote a book.

Sometimes all we do is live in moments and forget everything that happened before or after - just like today.
I got out of office earlier than most days. It was about 6:05 pm and i was scurrying to meet my dad since he had come to pick me up. I was having a random conversation with Pravin and that's when i noticed - the most beautiful sight in a long long time.

I just stopped, right in front of the main gate and couldn't contain my excitement. Next thing i knew i was almost jumping up and down like a kid in a candy store.I tried to speed dial the last few numbers i had called
but everyone seemed to be interested in talking to someone else but me. Since it was drizzling and i had the pedometer to save as well, i made Mr. Banker hold half my stuff while i got the umbrella to open. After i managed that, we decided to click a picture of the "Rainbow" - which to my delight turned out to be quite good.
 Will put up the picture once i receive it from Pravin.

 Just as i was completely mesmerized and enchanted by the Rainbow - it began to fade and i was then jolted back to into reality by the honking of cars and bikes. It was then  that i realized how important it is to be at the right place at the right time. For those who didn't know there was a rainbow in the sky today it wouldn't matter much but i am sure if i would have been told about it after it had passed i would have regretted not seeing it.

John Keats wrote: A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever.. and indeed it is and you realize it in Just  that One Moment.

It's Time to "FOCUS"

When i received the calender invite for the Skin Cascade - 3rd September 2012, i really wondered why it was scheduled from 12pm - 7 pm. The nagging question was, why would any cascade take so long?

Little did we all know we were in for a very very big and pleasant surprise. It started with completely letting go of our laptops (which i think we really need once in a while).
Once inside the learning centre, we were all asked to rechristen ourselves to whatever we pleased and why was i not surprised? Of the top of my head i remember some quirky ones like True Man, Green Lam and of course, one of my favorites - BART, among the ladies there was a Mirage, Rainbow and Spectrum, aren't we a colourful lot?
Then, to really up our energy - we were made to do the Mexican Wave, the spa treatement and the different handshakes to get all our JOSH out.

We then played the Numbers game, which had three rounds wherein we were supposed to punch the number pads in ascending order and each team mate had to punch at least one pad. Both the teams had to go through three rounds and even though the first team had an awesome strategy, team two won despite redoing each round twice. I guess, we were more agile :)

The game of blindfold to make overlapping squares was quite interesting with all of us unleashing the true "Animal" in us and quite a few of us were caught on camera "Mew-ing".

We then spent some time on giving feedback on the things that mattered to us and ideating on how we could definitely improve and an  inspirational Al Pacino video of "Fighting for Inches" from the Movie - Any Given Sunday. In case anyone wants to watch it again, i am posting the link-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=530xNKy2nqs

We wrapped up singing "Nothing's gonna stop us now" and also believing in it. We are a high performace team and nothing is going to stop or change that as long as we stand by each other, shoulder to shoulder like we did initially.

Were given certificates and treated to Jhappis from our team mates ended the event on a High Note. :) :)

I would like to thank Shashank, CSN, the FOCUS team and everyone else involved in making the entire event a grand success.

A lot of the team mates were not in office yesterday and we surely missed them all.

This one day - i don't think we will forget!!!

Happy Birthday Shashank/Congrats Naina!/


Let's Pie Everyone Else in the Face While 


We're at it...

Beautiful and Original Product Designs

By: Vitality Friedman

   This article is especially applicable after the Skin Fair.  Someone reminded us all that we can convince consumers to buy any product once.  To get them to buy again takes a great product!

Successful product design manages to reveal useful functionality beyond its appealing form. No matter how excellent a design looks like, most customers aren’t likely to spend money on something they won’t be able to use. On the other hand, most people are likely to buy something useful despite the design it has.

Yet the key to a truly successful product design lies in designer’s ability to combine both beautiful design and functionality making it obvious to the customers how the product can be used and which benefits it delivers. However, one can combine the beauty of design with the utility it is supposed to provide.

Most products fail to pass this test and never reach the production stage; some products do manage to get to the stores. In the overview below you’ll find an overview of some beautiful and original product designs which will hopefully make the cut and will be available in the next years. Some of them are already available today.

Team Outbound - June 19, 2012
Thank you to everyone who took pictures, they came out great!

Pottery Making

Amazing Tight Rope Boy

Head Massage

Delicious Meal

Hey Ladies

Stilt Boy

Bungee Soccer

Sumo Wrestling

Laser Tag

Is this Vamsi?  You look terrified.

Shubha!

The Whole Team

Archery

Fortune Telling

David Kelley: How To Build Your Creative Confidence

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_kelley_how_to_build_your_creative_confidence.html

Here is a great video (That my friend Kim also recommended to me) about how to unlock your creative potential.  David Kelley argues that there exists no division between creative and practical people.