Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The Thanksgiving update

So many things have been happening around me and to me that I haven't had the time, nor have I had the energy to write about it.

Things have changed.
Yet again.

As I write this update on my blog, I am sitting in an office in Delhi. Yes, you read that right. The Husband and I have moved back to the Dil walon ki Dilli. He got a new job, I took a transfer. This decision was taken a long time ago, however, we were planning to take it a little bit slowly, and had hoped to move back here with a little bit more mental preparation and emotional stability.
But life has a way of throwing curve balls and the timing is always wrong.

So, instead of moving with our timelines, we ended up moving much much earlier. We have managed to finalise a house in the NCR region, and since I will the victim of long travel again, I shall be writing about the ever amazing failed public transport system in this city. [If you have stayed in Delhi all your life, you know for a fact that the Auto walla bhaiyas have perfected the art of ignoring your presence when you try to flag them for a ride, and the buses may be used at your own risk and lastly, even though Delhi Metro is the BEST, there is still a lot to be desired].

We did the most epic road trip to Delhi, since we wanted to get the car and Sugar along with us. We drove from Mumbai to Delhi via Ahemdabad and Pushkar (Rajasthan) over period of 2 nights and 3 days. We had our friend, Mr. Mad Cap Loony, who on my insistence flew down to Mumbai to do the Road trip with us. There was thus never a lull of conversation, weird songs and amazing time on the trip. We were on a timeline to reach Delhi and therefore, we could not really see much of the cities that we passed through, but yes, we did stop over at Mount Abu for Lunch.
The other epic part of the journey was us getting trampled by a bunch of cows on the national Highway. We are all okay, the car, is a different story altogether (It is not as bad as I am making it sound!).

The fact that we have moved back still hasn't sunk in. There are those butterflies and nervous episodes that make me feel that this is just another vacation that may get over any time.

The biggest thing that has happened after our moving to Delhi, was a distinct change in everyone's attitude towards Sugar. While my Mom still stays away from her physically, I get an update about Sugar's day down to the T. From how much did she play to with who all did she play and how much did she sleep and all that jazz. Sugar has somehow gotten hurt on her knee, and has therefore been limping, and before I could make that out, I got a report from my Mom, that there is something wrong with her, and that she has been licking her paw constantly. Of course, there is still a lot of apprehension around Sugar, but it is still better than having a wall in my house.

And this is how we marked our 3rd Marriage Anniversary. In middle of finding houses, staying out of a suitcase and rediscovering the joys and constraints of having the entire family hounding you day and night..

Here is thanking everyone who has helped me in this journey and here is hoping for the best in the coming challenges! 

Thursday, November 5, 2015

How "Not" to be a Boss

I have had a plethora of bosses, with each one giving me something or the other to ponder about. As chance would have it, most of my bosses have been women, and that have made things slightly complicated (You women are complicated beings!)

So while the post is going to be a critical analysis of the Bosses and lessons to take from itr, they are purely my own, and IF any of my bosses is reading this, then well, take it with a pinch of salt!!

Ms. MA:
My first boss, who is as fierce a feminist as can be. Someone whose husband is a foreigner and stays in a foreign land, and she was managing a long distance marriage (at that point in time, I could not piece together my relationship over a distance!) and she taught me that I would not want to have a life where I cannot balance my asperations along with my family. She also taught me that there is absilutely no short cut to success, but time management makes working smarter an easy solution.

Ms.PC:
She was/ is my mentor. She may not have the hard hitting attitude, but she sure does have a lot of patience. She taught me the value of confidence, of reading and learning, and she has constantly been my guide. She has taught me grit (she is a single mom, who is raising a teenage son, with a heart of Gold). I have learnt from her never to give up, and the fact that as a boss, if you trust your junior, you will always always get loyalty in return.

Ms. SS & Mr. RS:
These were my bosses in the "corporate world" and have taught me so much about corporate politics that it makes me shudder to the core. Ms. SS, has taught me how not be a bitch who gets swayed by anything and everything, and how important is it to use your own brains to make the most important decisions.
Mr. RS has taught me that, when you act like a "SOB", then you will loose good talent, and your own ego will make you choose the most wrong people for the jobs that they are doing.

Both of them also taught me, that it is a very bad idea to look at things from one perspective, and being non appreciative about the things that have been done by your juniors over the years and otherwise.
They also taught me the imporance of appreciation (rather non- appreciation).

Dr. PA & BNM:
The current crop of bosses. The more you say about them, the less it is. They have taught me the most in the last 8 months of my stint here.
One of the primary lessons that I have learnt is about deciet.. Yes you read that right. When you promise something and do something else.
The next lesson that I have learnt here is about pulling the strings from behind a puppet, and how easy it is for you to do that if you have the money.
The other lesson that I have learnt is about knowledge. While Ms. PC was weak in certain portions of law, she would always ask for help, and trust the person who has more knowledge than her to ensure that correct advise is given. Here, even though, the knowledge bank is empty and the people who know their stuff are willing to help, the trust is missing.
Micro management is another aspect that is a part of the deal.. when you micro manage and don't trust, you will have people (even the most loyal ones) resenting you all the time.

These are just a few things that I have learnt, and I hope that whenever, I have a set of juniors I am able to take the good and leave the rest.