OH – FOR A BREAK!

I have put myself in a rather piquant situation – and I am now waiting for the day that I will tide over the situation. Well, it is just about a day off for rest!

The workweek from Monday to Friday is something normal that I am used to – even the long hours not so frequently. That is not a problem. The issue is the weekends. I have joined a course that costs me a bomb – but a very good one at that; one that will be a value addition given my language and writing skills in English. I am putting my modesty on the line in claiming to be slightly better than average in my English writing.

It is this course – on weekends from 0930 to 1800 hrs that is putting all the pressure on me. No weekends – even a class missed is about a grand down the drain. I am determined to make these few weeks of classes count; thankfully there are, as of today, two less weekends to handle.

At the end of it all, I am not sure I will be one of the greatest writers English has ever found. I am not sure I will be one of the greatest English communicators that an IT company ever found. I am not sure this course, which I paid king’s ransom for completing, will pay me back handsomely as a money-spinner. I am sure, though, about one thing. I will take a Friday off, make it a three day weekend, and let my hair down the way only I can – a rail trip!

So, members of IRFCA, keep your eyes and ears open. You might just find a chance to be on the same train as the not so greatest English communicator!

HOME SWEET HOME

It is upto the family that lives in the house to make it a home. I am sure that the house I owned – a small one compared to that Antilla of the elder Ambani - was never short of mirth, joy, happiness, and all the basic things in life. Squabbles did happen – sometimes shouting bouts among the family members, but nothing that needed the intervention of Amar Singhs and the Manmohan Singhs. We squabbled for a quiet corner to study, a noisy television, to put out the lights when asleep and the like. Never over property, companies and such trivia!

The air was thick with expectation when we shifted recently. The single bedroom flat was getting a little too small for our liking – as a family we were outgrowing the flat. With prices on the zoom, the only alternative was to take a larger house on rent. Brokers came and went, so did my wife’s legs on her interminable search for larger houses. Not to forget the telephone bill – every visit of a prospective house had increment the telephone meter by at least half-a-dozen telephone calls! Finally, the wife found the right house, and the shift happened on July 26 2008. The customary milk-boiling was performed on the morning of July 24 2008.

The house itself currently fits what we want – and hopefully will continue to do so. We cannot grow any bigger in terms of adding children of our own. That job I leave it to my daughters, and their periodic visits will not be a huge burden on stats of number of people per square foot in our house.

Teething problems apart like small matter like telephone shifting, setting up the computer and the broadband, initial hiccups in water supply etc., we seem to have settled down nicely. All that remains is to get a decent tenant for the my Antilla - even that seems nearer now.

Finally, the house is set. I am sure my family will surely make any place called a house a home – they are great to live with. Thanks to my family for my small Antilla.