What I like about Edinburgh!

So its been two weeks in Edinburgh. Not a long time but still enough for me to experience a little bit of the life and culture of Scotland. What I like about life in Edinburgh is not the beautiful architecture or the picturesque scenery. Of course they are lovely, needless to say, but after sometime you just get used to all the beauty around you. And not to forget beauty also includes the good looking people around you!

What I like about living in Edinburgh is that I get to meet people of different nationalities. Get to know about their culture, their country, their families, and them as individuals. It is the exchange of knowledge and ideas that makes moments interesting here. We discuss topics like religion, politic, economy, etc. The questions are endless and the answers are diverse. Discussions last anywhere from five mins to a few hours, but the knowledge gained is immense. The answers may not be spot on but it is does give me a decently good idea about the things I am asking them. And to think of it, searching these topics on the internet would have taken hours and hours of my time!

Same is the case when they ask me some questions. It is interesting to know what kind of image people have of India and Indians. Sometimes there are some question about which even I have never thought of! "Why is the cow considered holy?" I had never even thought of this. It was just imbibed in me and I just accepted it without questioning it. I found the question very interesting so I made a point to google it. And it was then then I came to know why cow is considered holy. So it is not that you just get to know about their culture but also get to know things about your own.

But one thing that is true for each one of us no matter from which country we are from, what religion we follow,or  what our family backgrounds are is that we all enjoy a good laugh, treasure a true friend, are concerned about our futures, and just want to be happy and content with life!

Yet it is so scarce

A tear drop trickles down your face,
a faint smile lightens up your days,
the glint in your eyes adds to the grace,
yet it is all so scarce.

There is a calm outside, that I can explain.
There is a storm inside, that I can't.
Is it regret or is it fear?
I still miss the things that I held so dear.
Am I a fool or just a human?
To miss the things that were never so near.
Everything is here, yet it is not.
Everything is there, yet it is so scarce.

Missing Motorola

I miss Motorola. The simple and the complicated things that were a part of life there. So here are the things I miss about Motorola.

1) I miss waiting for the weekdays to get over so that I can enjoy the weekend and then waiting for the weekend to get over so that I get back to work.
2) I miss the frustrating Wednesdays. Wednesdays were frustrating because they are exactly the middle of the week, you have already worked for 2 days and 2 more days are there to go. Agrrrh! 2 more days of work before the relaxing/fun weekend. [I seldom had the Monday morning blues, I rather enjoyed going to work on Mondays!]
3) I miss the cab rides. The random talks about the most arbitrary stuff. Listening to FM and then commenting. Teaching Hindi to a cabmate, irritating some other, winking at one of my cabmate, finding out new routes...
4) Getting my bag checked. Never could figure out what they checked!
5) The Butterflies in my stomach before checking my emails. Being ecstatic when I received a good feedback. Being irritated when I got a bad one!
6) Reading specifications and saying 'what an utterly useless invention' or 'wow this one is interesting' or 'this one should be dropped', 'I'll get this one allowed'...
7) Making claim maps and responses. Drafting patent applications, thinking about the various ways of making the claim maps, responses, and patent applications interesting!
8) Talking and chatting with my mentor.
9) Exchanging songs (you tube links) using IM with my neighbor.
10) Chatting/gossiping/bitching with office friends using Motorola IM.
11) Watching random/absurd you tube videos. Thanks to some people who were a repository of such videos.
12) Dropping at Arthini's cubicle and talking to her while taking printouts. Teaching her all crazy Hindi songs and Hindi phrases!
13) Dismantling Roohi's cubicle.
14) Talking to Athira, my shrink!
15) All the closed door conference room meetings especially those in the mornings!
16) Sitting at Nisha's cubicle and discussing.
17) Saying "Daa! Sapadha poone-ma" to Sunil.
18) Irritating Chandni with my unending questions about the team and work!
19) Sitting comfortably cross-legged on my seat and working/chatting/listening to music.
20) Going for lunch exactly at 1 and leaving office exactly at 5:15 without fail (at least for lunch).
21) All the South Indian goodies Sunil, Arthini, Sangeetha, and Ragu used to get from their hometown. The yummy south Indian dishes Sangeetha used to cook. Athira's Imli rice.
22) The irritating ways in which Lakshey used to entertain us.
23) The 'Oyeee Cheetahee!!' I used to think this is really a jungle!!
24) Mr. HS's constant HSpanti. (Though I am not going to miss this because I still have to bear this for another year, it is still worth mentioning!)
25) And of course the permanent mun-dane!! :P

Gosh! there are so many more things I could mention, little and big. Life at Motorola was fun. Missing you all.