Finding Your Place

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Having heard this so many times, it makes you think, do we really need to follow the ways of others when in a foreign country or place? After 3 years in Bangkok I learned that by doing as the Thais did, it wasn't only about respecting their culture and their way of life, but it was also about survival. 

Bullying the Young One on a Trip to Koh Samui

When I first arrived in Bangkok, I was polite, courteous and in general nice to everyone. But as the months went on and through the exposure I had with my friends, I realized that being nice was not getting me anywhere; I had to learn where and when to be nice and when to be.... not so nice. Slowly I felt myself becoming stuck up, mean and doing things just to get what I wanted. But at that time, I just thought I was adapting to my surroundings. 

Then, I came here to Melbourne. Things were different. I realized I didn't have to have my guard up so much. I was able to calm down and relax. People were nicer; or at least they didn't hide behind a facade the way they did in Bangkok, so you knew when you need to take your stand. I could become a person I, myself, actually liked once again. 

And this big change that I could see in myself made me think whether we need to find places that suit us. And by suiting us, I don't mean going to a foreign place and fitting yourself into the culture and environment, but finding a place that brings the best out of you. Changing to suit the new place is inevitable; but if you're changing for the worst, you really need to stop and think if this is the place you want or rather, should be. 

Finding the Right Place with the Right Person

I'm back!

It's been quite a while that I haven't written anything and as each weekend goes by I feel this nagging feeling inside me that reminds me that my blog is just sitting there, untouched, unread, and if it were a notebook it'd be literally collecting dust! But week after week one thing or the other kept popping up leaving me with little or no time (and energy) to sit down and write something worth reading.

Even this, I'm not sure how worthy it'll be, but thought I'd write a little something to explain my absence!

My New Car- Punte!

Well about a month back I started a new job (which is probably obvious from my previous posts ~changes~, full time vs. part time and even ~phases~ in it's own way). And a few weeks into the job the Programs Manager (who I was to be working with) resigned.... which meant I was doing a little more than what I thought I'd be doing. As if the stress of a new job and two people's work wasn't enough I had my driving test as well (which I passed with flying colors)! 

I slowly and steadily got passed those hurdles, just to realize that I was coming down with a cold. One of those colds that makes your whole body ache. But did I get a chance to relax and take it easy? Nooo... everyone else was falling sick so I had to make sure I could fill in gaps wherever needed. So much of relaxing and recuperating!

Shrija, me and Pranita

And finally when I felt like I was starting to feel better, two friends from Sydney dropped by for a Hen's night here in Melbourne. Friends from Sydney + Hen's night certainly does NOT equal to getting any rest! I had a great weekend, no doubt, but certainly no rest (let alone the time to sit and write anything).

So here I am, on my RDO... having finished a long overdue house clean up... writing a few lines just to show that I'm still here and have a quite a few topics in mind I'll be writing about soon! So hope you'll be back to read more :)

Cheeeeese!

~Phases~

It's funny how life changes you and your priorities. This actually crossed my mind when I was going through my email inbox. I'm one of those people who don't like deleting emails or throwing away letters. Yup... I have separate folders for each year and all email received in a particular year is moved into the respective folder!

So ya, the other day I was going through my email and just skimming through some of the mail from the previous years that I exchanged with my best friends. And it was quite remarkable how the topic of the emails have changed so much!

New Friends Circle in Bkk

During the first year that we all went our separate ways to start Uni life, the topic of the emails revolved mainly on our new lives- new friends we made, new places we visited and how much we missed each other. Looking back, our main concern was having enough money to travel and shop! And slowly as we got used to our new lives, conversations gradually shifted to the topic of cute boys and crushes!

What a Difference!

As each of us began to finish our undergrad degrees (each at different times) emails started to be mostly about asking each other what to do next. "Should I work a little before starting grad school or just do my masters and get it out of the way? Help me guys!" Yup, each of us went through that "Oh my god, I'm done with college, now what!" phase. That also slowly started to pass as each of us pursued our educational calling. And then emails again were about how different a masters degree is and how different the place is (as we all ended up doing our masters at a different university and different place than our undergrad degree).

Source: OG Love

Soon enough our conversations loomed around love... and meeting the one. Boy oh boy was that a crazy time for all of us! Without giving away too much, let's just say there were many ups and downs, but looking back now we each have stories to laugh about. And now... conversations are about careers and jobs! And I have a feeling... verrry soon conversations will be about marriage (and babies- hopefully that will still be several years away!)

I guess this ties back to my earlier post about changes. Things in our life are constantly changing and to cope with these changes we need to re-prioritize to make sure that we are moving ahead. But I must admit it's funny how one day you're biggest priority is deciding which subject to take up at Uni and the next thing you know you're having to decide what career path to take!

Pictures:
OG Love: http://keturahweathers.theworldrace.org/?filename=og-love

~Piece of Cake~

The other day I received an email from my mom just checking to see that I'm still okay and wondering why I haven't been in touch. Along with that she forwarded a powerpoint slide. The forwarded powerpoint slides that my mom normally sends are interesting; but last night (after a long working week) when I saw yet another slideshow I just felt like, okay not really something I want to go through at the moment. So I just ignored it and went to bed. On waking up this morning I thought, my mom thought I'd enjoy it so mind as well have a look. And now I'm really happy I did go through it because it made a lot of sense to me.

So.... I thought I'd share it with everyone here. I just want to declare that none of this was written by me; it's all from a powerpoint slide show which I thought is worthy to share. On occasion I have paraphrased the words from the slides as the slideshow is largely about God and his mysterious ways... So for those of you not believing in God per se, you can look at it the way I did- not God's doing but just life and karma. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Sometime we ask ourselves: what did I do to deserve this? Why do these things happen to me? Here is a little story to illustrate why. One day a daughter tells her mom how everything is going wrong for her. She's failed an exam; her boyfriend has dumped her for another girl. And her mom, like all moms, knew just how to make her daughter feel better. She gave her a big hug

Raw Ingredients

Mom: Would you like a piece of cake? Daughter: Of course! You know how much I like cake.

Mom: Here drink some of this cooking oil.

Daughter: Eww yuck!

Mom: How about a couple of raw eggs?

Daughter: Are you kidding me?

Mom: How about a little flour?

Daughter: Mom, I'll get sick!

Mom: All of these things uncooked taste horrible. But if you put them together, what do you get? A delicious cake!

Life works in a similar, yet mysterious way. When horrible things are happening to us we don't realize why they are happening or where they will lead us. Most of the time we'll find that we don't need to settle for those raw ingredients of life, but rather, if we are patient we can be assured that something rather delicious is bound to come along.

At the end of this powerpoint it really made me think, how true is that! This is something that I have been talking about with my friends for quite awhile now. Whenever something bad happens to any one of us, we all agree that there is a reason that such a thing happened and something good will eventually come out of it (though at the time you think that nothing good could ever possibly come from that). And a few weeks later or even several months later we thank God, or what ever greater force there is out there, for making things the way they are.

I couldn't find the Walnuts so ended up decorating this Mud Cake with Skittles!

Pictures: Oil http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/how-olive-oil-works.htm/printable Eggs http://www.virginmedia.com/homefamily/fooddrink/food-poisoners.php?ssid=5 Flour http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/gallery/0,28548,1859001_1798718,00.html

Full Time vs. Part Time

Recently I've started a new job... a full time job. And this weekend marks the end of my first week at this new job. Right after being accepted for this new job I was thinking how great things were working out as I got this new job when I needed the extra savings and was ready for a new challenge in life. I was super excited! Then, a week or two before starting this new job I started to think... hmmm a full time job means I no longer get my 4 day weekends... I no longer get to go shopping and meet friends simply when I felt like... and I no longer got to roll around in bed deciding what to do next!

I have no doubt that pros outweigh the cons because I'm ready for this new challenge (of learning new things, meeting new people, growing as a person, earning the extra money and so forth). But then... saying good bye to a 4 day weekend (that is something I still can't get out of my mind)! 

But nevertheless it got me thinking about whether part time work is better or full time. So here are my pros for the two:

And the cons for either would obviously be the opposite of the other (so a con for Full Time would be less time, more stress and so on).

But then, I realized if you're working full time in a job that you are genuinely interested in and passionate about, you tend to look beyond the cons; the cons don't really stand out much and dissolve into the background so that the only cons about the job turn out to be waking up early in the mornings or not getting to watch your favorite morning show!

I guess in many ways deciding the pros and cons really depends on you as an individual. Though part time work appeals to me in many ways, I would have to say full time work appeals to me in many other ways. (Let's see what I have to say a year from today!)

Aireys Inlet- January 2010- the beauty of part time work!

~Changes~

Note: this post comprises mainly of just some random thoughts that have been swimming in my mind for the past few weeks. It might not really hold your attention for much... but felt it's something to ponder.
How many times have we decided to change something about ourselves? Whether we're changing because we're tired of the same old thing day in-day out or because we want to be a better person, there is always some point where we want a change.


But then changes can be scary... changes lead to something different... If it's not broken why fix it? So why are people looking for changes- whether it be a new hair style, a new job or even a new city?

Source: Art Therapy Blog

In my personal opinion, and through what I've experienced, I've begun to feel that the want for change comes from people's longing to grow and to learn new things. Or more simply, it's just a part of humans that are never satisfied with what they have. 


Let's imagine you get a job in a new city. This would be one heck of a change. You're not only getting a new job (most likely a better pay, better benefits and it'd probably be something that you really are passionate about otherwise you wouldn't really be ready to get up and leave everything you already have), but you're getting a whole new life as well! So the day you get the news you've landed this job is usually the happiest. You can't believe you actually got the job; you think of all the excitement in store for you; the world is basically your oyster.


Then slowly as the days pass by you begin to realize all of the things you need to do- find a new place to live... figure out your daily commute to work and back... learn a new language (if the new city entails a new country)... work out all of the paperwork... make new friends... and the list seems to continue. Then you start to think, why did I want this change? Is THIS big a change really something I wanted? 


I mean in the end everything is most likely going to be fine, if not great. And you'll adjust to your new life and realize that making this move was a really good decision... but it's just the fact that until this new change becomes an everyday part of life, you tend to constantly wonder if this was all a good idea. 

Random Pic... but sure shows changes in people!

Picture of "Changes Next Exit" from Art Blog http://www.arttherapyblog.com/c/art-therapy-ideas/