Nidhi Srivastava's Blog, page 13

Happy Birthday Harneet

October is the month of birthdays in my family. I would say the most populated month with birthdays. I was busy for the past two days and missed out on writing a blog.

I am dedicating this blog to the most special person in my life, as it is her birthday. People would suggest that your college or school friends are your long-term well-wishers. We make good friends during those days of our lives. Well, I would love to bust that myth.

My first corporate job gave me amazing friends in life, and one of them is Harneet. I remember that day crystal clear when I met her or rather when I spoke to her. From that day till today, we have had our share of fights, happy moments, and bitter ones. She has been my support ever since I resigned from my job till date. Lockdown has been frustrating for everyone, and it is that time I have missed her the most. Harneet is a pillar of support in my life. She has brought a flood of good-hearted people into my life- her sister, her husband, her husband’s group of friends, and the list goes on. She has never left my side whenever I am MIA or even sitting alone at home. I am glad that I got a chance to go on a woman’s trip with her, where we walked around, sipped mojitos, and ate ice cream by the seashore. We wanted to establish a brand together, but we never sat and got to plan.

Today on her birthday, I can’t thank her for existing in my life. We have loads on our list, and we have accomplished some of them. We have explored Charminar together, shopped, completed our dreamcatcher workshop, agreed on innumerable cups of tea, sat in silence, and watched favorite shows together. Yet, there is a list lying around to be explored, to be lived, and to be enjoyed together.

Fall season ahead

We reached the end of September that was a quick wrap of the ninth month of the calendar. People have started writing blogs and shooting vlogs about the fall season. In India, we don’t experience the fall season. Currently, it’s been rainy in a couple of regions due to the cyclonic effect. I was watching a vlog shot at Canada, where they described AQI of Canada as 3. I was amazed to hear about the AQI. In India, it is pretty much not even close to single-digit AQI. I am trying to make a point about the fall season here, and we are certainly missing out on that as a country. But, we would soon experience winters, and it sounds great.
Starting my morning –
New avenues have opened up for everyone in terms of short and long-term investments. People are following stocks rise and fall trends. Every buzz about cryptocurrency is also hitting the news headlines and smashing Twitter. I wish to learn more about crypto and maybe then talk about it. The trend came to my mind while writing this blog since Dogecoin just hit a low mark. I was preparing my budget sheet for October. Generally, I go old school while preparing charts and budgets for every month. I love to check my expenses and keep control of my spending. I hope everyone tracks down spendings and improves hoarding habits.
Anyway, today’s highlight was my father preparing breakfast. He made cooked onion parathas (Indian bread), which is the only food item he is an expert on. I had a slow start to the day but ended it with quite a lot of work emails. I am hoping October will bring us closer to the new life venture. I wish the rest of the year turns out subtle, waiting for the pandemic to end.

Lets talk about a Dream

I woke up to an absurd dream, where I was diagnosed with an incurable disease. I couldn’t get through with that dream. I woke up in a cranky mood as I did recall that dream, and sadly it was about my health. I brushed lost in my thoughts, booked my mother’s doctor appointment, and headed to my desk. I skipped my stretching exercise, blamed the dream and the rainy weather.
I started my day with thoughts hovering over my mind. Working from home always surprises you with expectations, rewards, and rebukes. The day wasn’t getting any better, and my junior responded disrespectfully. I made a point to ignore the behavior, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. All I could think about was the statement while writing my previous blog today.
I have worked with many managers, seniors, colleagues who turned out friends in my corporate career. Never has anyone disrespected me. I have made so many friends in my corporate journey whom I call my “extended family.” There is always a class of people who have not been raised appropriately during their growing days. They have not been mentored correctly. Well, that colleague needs a place in a fishbowl. I cannot even disrespect my younger sibling. How can you disrespect someone you work with?
I was under the impression that I was mentally healthy. But today, I feel the pain of being mentally troubled. I am working on a presentation with 40% attention, which means the incident has taken a toll on my work.
I felt terrible reading that statement, and it surpassed my horrible dream from the morning. Have you experienced something similar? I am going to watch a few FRIENDS episodes and put through the night. I don’t wish to hate that person as they say, “Hate is a stronger relationship than love.”

Another corporate culture

Everyone working from home is wishing for the end of this work culture soon. People have lost their communication skills. There are a handful of people who have adhered to the corporate culture rules. We blamed the corporate culture at various levels. Companies aspire to become Google or Microsoft. No one is paying attention to the cream layer working in the big giants.
Companies have hired masses during the pandemic, as it was the need of the hour. How many focus on hiring the right talent for the position? Not sure, if anyone would like to answer this question.
Hierchary system is not encouraged in most companies. Most of the time, it is just not an organizational mishap, and it happens because few people take the system for granted. Companies give the liberty to the employees to disrespect another one. Every second individual in companies would agree with this. There are incompetent ones, who try to take down the competent ones. There should be a cell to address situations like these. Unfortunately, no one cares about another person’s mental well-being.
I would quote it under mental well-being because when a colleague shows disrespect to me, it hampers my working ability. We are still far behind the big four companies in addressing the mental health issues of employees. Interpersonal skills might help people be better corporate employees, but doesn’t get people to respect others’ individuality. Just as harsh as it gets every day!

Best Teacher – Life

I feel this month has passed quickly. I count on my accomplishments and failures for this month. We have festivals coming up and birthdays. I love birthdays as I get to bake cakes for everyone. Due to the pandemic, I have baked so many perfect and imperfect distorted cakes. In my head, I am busy planning the birthday of my sister. Though I knew she would like my old clothes better than her gift. I am waiting for few other announcements in the family and at work. It feels we have neared the end of the year, but yet there are so many memories to collect.
Yesterday, I had one hell of a Monday working on deliverables, burning hands in the kitchen, and skipping my daily walk schedule. But I am turning into a good cook as my mother cannot cook for few weeks.
Today, I found the reason behind the food on the plate of my mother. So, this is somewhat my theory. Anyone who cooks wants to serve the best to others, and they don’t mind a lesser share. I accidentally burnt a portion of the sandwich today. My father insisted on having it, but I transferred it to my plate. I realized why mothers act when there is lesser food left after serving everyone. It was a life lesson for me, and no one is going to teach you this. Sometimes the best teacher is experience, as they say!

Adulting

I promised to write a blog daily but, I skipped writing yesterday. Mainly caught in household chores, and my sister gets a holiday once a week. So, there was catching up with her since most of the days, she comes home and hits the bed. I am not happy that the weekend is over. I was delighted to enjoy the weekend with family planning for a big event. I have never been around my family for the majority of functions. Now is the time to have fun with the missed events.
We had a bumpy kind of Saturday with a car dent amidst all traffic. We also spoke to our nephew, who lives in the States. Next month, there are a lot of birthdays in my family and extended family. My nephew turns four, and we are so excited to see him in the outfit we sent as a birthday present. I always want to shower him with love as he lives far away from us. We waited to meet him last year, and then this year, a pandemic delayed the union, and he grew faster. Time flies as they say!
Adulting is a stage of life, and we aren’t ready to accept that we have become adults. We have to give up our privileges to act adults sometimes or rather always. The other day, I had a conversation with a good friend of mine. He was sulking that we are adults now and we have to take care of everything. It struck me with pride and laughter. We have to think about family and their well-being. We have to give a thought to maintaining relationships our parents created. We have to carry the legacy. At times, we also have to make few tweaks to mend salted relationships. We never thought about adulting but here we are living with it and making our choices gracefully.

Happy Monday on that note!

FOMO

I am sinking in the feeling of losing a Saturday to my laziness. I haven’t done any productive activity, apart from cooking. As we inch closer to the year-end, my bookshelf is screaming at me for attention. I have been living with my parents since the pandemic, and I don’t own a bookshelf. I have a million notes, books, bookmarks, and all stashed in my desk drawer. I hope to see my bookshelf soon, as my office is shooting reminder emails to get back to work. I want a vacation to sit, relax, and read a book. Damn! I need a holiday to sleep in the shower and eat junk. I want to book a hotel room, have a relaxing bath, and sleep peacefully. I have worked my ass off in these past years, and I deserve this vacation for myself. But my adult brain feels I could spend the money shopping for books. I have stopped scrolling Instagram for every post that screams about travel and privileges. I am certainly feeling bad for missing out on many things. However, this year I have made some great decisions in life, and I am proud of myself. I would soon have a ball of a time, till then I will continue to be a writer.

Let me know if you feel the need to head to a hotel and sleep peacefully for one day.

Book up for grab

I am looking for book reviewers, who would be interested in covering the book on your social media handles. This project doesn’t offer any incentive, the book will be provided to you as a review copy.

Please do leave your email id and social media handles in the comment section. I will get back to your shortly.

Amazon link

Unplugged

I went for a walk in the evening after logging out for the week. I made a habit of walking or going for a run to calm my inner self. With the pandemic, there were restrictions for everyone. Everything is slowly returning to normal. People are heading back to gyms and parks. During my work hours, I don’t listen to music to concentrate better. So, I walk around listening to music. Today, the playlist reminded me that I am no longer a college girl. Back in 2011, all songs connected to a person. When I lost connection with that person, those songs did hurt. Sometimes, Facebook’s memory post brings back the nightmare in my life. I hated some of my favorite songs, as they reminded me of that person. It was an absurd feeling that made me look vulnerable. I had stopped listening to my favorite tracks to avoid a nervous breakdown for almost two years.
I can say in 2021, I have loosened a bit and made myself to music. When I am lazy, I plug in to watch a random video on YouTube and start working. I have started giving myself space to breathe. There was a time in life I never cared about myself. Now, when everyone has been vocal about self-love, I feel I tormented myself for the sake of a person who never cared for me.
I believe everyone must put themselves first. You could also set priority for family, friends, or close ones. Never connect temporary people with your habits. I remember I stopped eating my favorite food as it reminded me of the time; we spent as a couple. Never harm yourself for somebody else. Take charge of your life and love yourself. None would understand your feelings better, so trust yourself with them.

Standing leave balance

Hello everyone,
I read a blog post by Megan, who wrote about a concert she attended recently. I liked that even she promised to post for the rest of 2021. I am amazed that everyone is holding to that ray of light. Everyone wishes to head back to work for better communications. Everyone is dying to take a vacation and travel around with no laptops chimes, or work email anxiety in a shower. I am desperately waiting for this pandemic to get over. I want to travel and utilize my pending leaves at work. I had plans to see snowfall this year. With my health conditions, I cannot plan out my vacation. I haven’t accomplished my travel goals yet. When I had time to travel, I didn’t make enough money. And when I have sufficient to travel, I don’t have time. That’s the irony of life!
Remember to live your life wherever you are stuff. Be thankful for your life and the loved ones around you. We will suffer the pandemic and breath freely again.
So, how many of you called a friend after reading my blog from earlier today? I did call my best friend and she provided me updates. We put on the planner hats and spent some time talking about the upcoming months. We like to plan and sleep on it.

Thank you Megan for the amazing blog It has motivated and charged me