Looking Back at 2015

2015 is finally coming to an end and what a year it has been. Even as I look back I am so amazed at the wonderful memories I have been given and I am thankful to God for them.

Sharing theses memories in the form of pictures.

A group selfie to capture a dear friend's wedding

A dear friend from the States

My First International Trip - Dubai!

My first 3k race

Catching up with an old friend after 7 years or more

Celebrating dear sister's birthday

Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness and for these precious beautiful memories!

Captured Moments

These are moments captured on the camera. Fond memories.

Selfie moment

Stationary moment

Poised moment

Beautiful moment

Nostalgic moment

Happy moment

Photo credits: Nanda, Narendra, and Chayanika.

On Friendship

“Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.” -Charles Spurgeon

Tearful Goodbyes!!

Saying goodbyes could be so hard was something I did not expect. Farewells are painful. You get used to a place, working together, sharing a joke and laughing together with your colleagues, and who can forget lunch hours?? There is so much you learn when working together...you actually learn to work together, as a team!! Co-ordinating, getting things done, meeting deadlines. I am going to miss all of this. There will be a lull for a while.

I am thankful to God for the great memories I have of my workplace. Memories that will lighten my mood on a cloudy day or bring a smile when I am blue! Thank you guys!! I loved my lunch hours as I loved digging into different lunch boxes....for me it meant tasting a variety of cuisines and flavors. In my workplace, lunches were extended where conversations began with food and ended on global issues.

One of the highlights of my company were parties - to make it more specific- treats for practically everything!! Getting married, birthdays, anniversaries, freshers....all these called for a treat! There was no escaping from this! This meant biryanis, pizzas, vada paos, SPDP, bhel (which could turn out spicy once in a while)...The list is endless! :)

I start a new journey and I have no clue what it will be like. Leaving you guys will be strange but this is life!! And it must go on!! So long dear friends, life's journey has been wonderful with you all!!

Milestones-2

Continuing with the theme of completing a milestone in my life, when the clock struck 12, my sister wished me and presented with goodies that I was dying to open!! :)..Finally!! As they say, “Patience is a virtue”:P......

Honestly, I did not know where to begin! So, I started reading the cards first. It was encouraging to read what dear friends had to say on this special occasion........Then I read my sister's card. I was in for a surprise!! She had a taken a pic of us two and printed it on a card!! That was so cute!! I absolutely loved it!!! What did she give?? She bought me“The Lord of The Rings” as she knew I love books.....Wow! That was a neat start. Then came cosmetics and a classy clutch purse :) and of course a scented candle!! But the card with our picture printed on it was a stealer!!

As I continued with the gift opening ritual, out came cross-stitch manual, more books to read, cosmetics, earrings, a gift coupon, branded t-shirt and cash from my parents. I was truly enriched!! hahaha.....

My surprise, ecstasy, joy and excitement were all captured on the camera, courtesy my sister!! And I got flowers too...red roses!!!

As anticipated, I got a call from a dear ex-colleague and friend in the morning!! Thank you S.K!! oops!!! S.P.....:P Had to go to work, but it was kinda fun with all the attention and cake cutting(3rd cake). Got calls throughout the day from friends and my sister checking on me to see whether I was enjoying my birthday and not to forget emails and messages! Then I got a surprise flower delivery in the evening...ooohhhh!!!! That was a dear friend of mine....It stands today adorning my cubicle! In the evening I had a quiet moment with my sis in a coffee shop eating Chocolate Bliss pie...courtesy the coffee shop.....Well!! Everybody were so kind to me!

Had dinner with family in a Chinese restaurant and I must say, the food was delicious! After we reached home, another chocolate was waiting to be cut...Wow!! That was the 4th cake ...Loved the cake!! Thank you dear sis!!!

In the end, as I retired to bed, I could just thank God for His immense blessings upon me and for my family and friends who made my birthday a wonderful milestone to pass!

Milestones-1

This year as I celebrated my special birthday, I knew I crossed another milestone. It kept me thinking of the ways in which I had grown as a person, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, as a colleague and more so as a child of God! And I am just hoping that I have grown in stature(metaphorically speaking :)) and in a positive way which only time will tell!

This was the first birthday where everyone was excited about, right from my family and friends. My sister was busy contemplating ways in which to surprise me and the kind of gifts to give. You have no clue how I pestered her to tell me what she was gonna give me. Was she annoyed or what?? Haahaa...

I was so touched with the fact that friends asked what kind of a birthday party I desired. That was awfully kind of them. This was for those who could not see me on my birthday, so we had a pre-birthday celebrations!! Yippee!! I enjoyed it so much.

I had my pre-birthday celebration on Sunday. I put on brand new clothes and clicked many pics with my family and friends. My sister who developed a great taste in photography become my own official photographer!! She loves clicking pics anyway!! After church, my friends sang to me and another church member who was also celebrating her birthday. Then!! We cut a cake (chocolate cake soaked in wine!!) and posed for more pics!! It was fun!!!

Then off we went to a coffee shop and celebrated again with another cake cutting!! I was showered with gifts and cards....It was so special!! Met my old friends too...then more pics :). Then my sister and I went to watch a movie!! Reached home in the evening, tired but extremely happy!! My sister had already purchased a lot of gifts which I was dying to open. And boy!! she wouldn't let me go near that special bag which contained all the goodies!!!

All the gifts given by my friends and the ones which my sister had got were neatly arranged on our table, along with the cards....They looked so beautiful...for the simple reason that so many cared enough to write a note to encourage me and celebrate in my joy!!!

What makes birthday special is not the cutting of cake or the gifts but the fact that you have a family who loves you and friends who care about you and desire to encourage you.....

More to come in the next post :)

Memories...

Today as I signed into my email account, I was surprised to receive a friend request from the name that seemed vaguely familiar. The name was familiar but the surname was different, then I saw that the person had put her maiden surname. I was like wow! she's married eh?? Of course, I remember her-she was my next door neighbor in my dorm.

Suddenly I was flooded with memories of the past. It's been seven years since I last saw her man!! I am really excited about getting in touch with an old friend. So much has changed from what I was 11 years ago....When I think of this friend, certain things come to mind.

She was the first person who actually helped me find a room to stay (yeah, I was a hostelite then!). She was smart and handled the landlords well for a girl of petite built and only 17!!. She helped me open an account in the bank and took me to the bookstore to buy medical books for our syllabus. Yeah I was studying to be a doctor!!

Later on, when I shifted to the college hostel, she was my next door neighbor. The thing I remember about her the most was that she was very meticulous and her room was spic and span! Wow! the image is still fresh in my mind. I remember having long chats with her on various occasions where topics ranged from silly talks to politics (she loved to talk about politics).

As years passed, I moved on and made new friends and so did she. But whenever we met we greeted each other with a smile. After our internship, we lost contact, in fact I lost contact with all my college friends. The last I saw them was 4 years back. It will be wonderful to met her and recall those days where we made plans how we would like our future to be, little realizing that I hold nothing in my hands. How foolish we were back then! But whatever, they were some good memories to treasure.....

A journey just begun!!

Before I get busy with my work, just wanted to say that I have completed 6 months in the world of blogging!! Yipee!!!! It's been a wonderful experience so far and there is so much I have yet to learn. The journey has been very exciting and M looking forward for more :)

Hope to be more faithful in blogging and to get real serious in writing soul-stirring posts. Well, did I just say soul-stirring? Hmmm let's see how that goes for now. Wanna thank those who were kind enough to read my posts and give their suggestions and comments. Keep those comments coming!!!

60 Years

My dad will be celebrating his 60th birthday next month and I am very excited about it. But my dad is more excited on becoming a senior citizen.Hahaahaha.... He is so fascinated by this thought!! Looking forward to celebrating that day and making sweet memories to cherish.......