Kaam-a-Suitor-a

Good afternoon, buddies!

It's my fourth working day today, and I'm as excited as an American on the Fourth of July! My job has well-begun (is half done... duh! whatever) and I'm settling down into this crazy routine that I had outgrown in the last 2 months. I now rise at (wonder of wonders!) 6.45 am everyday so that I can arrive at office in time for training my first batch of 11 students at half past 8. Hardly is that over than trickles in my next batch which continues till about noon. A breather and a quick snack later, I'm back in class to interact and guide my next 2 students.

For those that don't know, I've taken up a full-time training position in communication skills (primarily basic and advanced English) with an HR consulting firm that recruits and trains candidates for BPO/KPOs, IT and ITeS companies. So, you could say my biggest KRA is to get the candidates to the right competency level where they are considered "hirable". The English bit I'm already good at - have been in ESL/EFL training for over 3 years now; but I'm also learning and teaching VnA (that's Voice and Accent) here, adding to my existing skill-set.

The place is good, the team is young and fun, and training was always my passion, so the going has been good so far. I work till about 5 pm, which makes my day extremely long, but I don't seem to mind somehow... I guess doing what you like to do beats all blues and stress :-)

I seem to be liking working on GMAT as well; I've completed Kaplan and am now halfway through Princeton Review. Of course, working full-time does not allow me to study too much daily, plus I'm pooped and ready to collapse with exhaustion every night so the "Anuja is a night owl" mantra is now passe. However, I do think I'm more confident now about the test, and my math proficiency has increased reasonably. Surprisingly, I seem to have improved my verbal ability also, as the Sentence Construction section teaches me correct usage of tenses, idioms and clauses. Yaba-daba-dooo!!

(Ahem, I'm still terrible with Reading Comprehension though, but I'm not gona discuss that...)

It's Raksha Bandhan today and Ganeshotsav is round the corner. So get set to celebrate, folks! If you're the sis, make sure you get something for Bhaiya-Bhabhi; don't just be content with gifting them an ek-pe-ek free rakhi!! If nothing else, chocolates do the trick! Cadbury's Celebrations will do fine... And if you're the bro, don't feel proud of yourself having given the behena a cheap dabba of chocolates or a 100 rupaiye ka note! Unleash the power of thy wallet, dude! The sky's the limit ;-)

How convenient, right?! ;-) Hehe... That's the way aaha aaha I like it!!

The latest on my front is that I visited Zafran recently. This swanky restaurant on the rooftop is set amidst the beautiful campus of Panchshil Tech Park, located between Airport Road and Nagar Road. The complex houses IBM Daksh, Dell and other IT companies, and has the cosy Aquaa Lounge next to Zafran, and the attractive Costa Coffee downstairs (both of which I intent to visit when I can). I found the place interesting as its decor was very stylish and the crowd was, too. The food could've been better, but the prices were as good (or bad) as any upmarket place in Pune.

My reason for going there was the engagement ceremony of a family friend. Though the venue was not well-suited to a large gathering, it was a wonderful change from the usual A-list restaurants that people choose for such occasions. (I'm sick of Garden Court, Mahesh Bhavan, thali joints and mangal karyalayas!!) While the pretty dulhan and the astonishingly clean-looking dulha were striking poses for the demanding cameraman, I and Bhabhi reduced the weight of the moving food-platters that consisted of chat, paneer and cutlets. (Of course, I also relished the penne pasta, Hyderabadi Dum Biryani and Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream later.)

Worry not, for my weight remains what it was and has forever been; but I wish I could say the same about my mouth and cheeks. Naah, it wasn't the food that had them sprained, but the incessant smiling and chatting which is a given at any such get-together.

I mean what's with these functions and small talk? You have to greet everyone you even glance-by-chance with equal and genuine warmth and enthusiasm. You have to ask and answer the same ghisa-pita questions. You have to ooh-and-aah-and-wow-and-oh my god at regular intervals to make up for the lack of emotion on your face. You have to make the same remarks a 100 times - "Of course, I haven't lost weight", "I work as a trainer", "Ya, it's been a long time", "Why don't you come home?" and so on. Plus when an adoring uncle squeals, "How you've grown" and "we must find you a good match soon".... Grrrr!!!

I'm gona carry a sign next time I go anywhere with my parents...
Watch out, Anuja bites.

And makes dirty faces.

And can be extremely curt and impolite.

Meddle at your peril.

I was (comparatively) more at ease when I was partying with a gang of friends the previous night. I hadn't seen this group in the last couple of weeks. (One of whom makes the most enlightening remarks without batting an eyelid - this time she impressed me by saying that modesty is hypocrisy, coz you are sort of aware that you're good! Food for thought, eh?)

Though the bash consisted of about 20 people I didn't know, I still felt comfortable as they got hammered and smoked. Each one was having a good time, talking as he pleased and sitting as she wanted. This did lead to quite a few embarassing PDA scenes, but then, nothing is entirely perfect ever. What rocked was that I got to meet my pals after quite a while and I get to practice proficient English with them; what sucked was just like everytime, my hair was stinking of smoke. Yin-yang. There's some good in the bad and some bad in the good.

While I'm very tempted to go on talking, I must rush. My watch says its time to get back to class!

Ciao...

(Ok now guru?!!)

-Princess