GIFTS

 

That pretty necklace.  Those soaps.  The purple tee-shirt.  The accident.  That book.  Those movie tickets.  That insult.  The bag. The photo album.  That break-up.  That scented candle. The warm throw. Those hoops.  That spell of joblessness.  The emergency roadside kit.  That porcelain angel.  Those home-made cookies. The death of a pet.  That piece of art.  The bottle of wine.  That illness.  The I-tunes gift card.  That Sharks sweater.  The market collapse.  Those bath towels.  That foot massager.  That ice-cream maker. That sudden financial loss.

Not all gifts come gift-wrapped in pretty paper with ribbons and bows.  Mixed in with pleasure-giving gifts are grains of sand waiting to be turned into pearls.  And pieces of coal waiting to be turned into diamonds.

You will be the craftswoman or craftsman, tasked with creating those pearls and cutting those diamonds.

Perhaps discovering your life’s meaning and purpose in the process.

Happy Craftsmanship (Or Craftswomanship, if you will) in 2012.

Wishing you love, luck and discernment to see the gift in everything that life brings you.

P.S.  Thank you for accompanying me on this blog’s journey this year – as a reader, guest-poster or commenter.

Occupy North Pole

I propose an Occupy North Pole for all those who want to protest being on the naughty list.  Anyone care to join? :) :) :) :)

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas

If you want to read my other Christmas post, Dear Santa, in which I make mention of OWS, and you can find out what your name is in Eskimo, you can do so here. As always, thanks for reading!!!!!

Dear Santa

12/20/2011

Dear Sants,

I hope you don’t mind my calling you that.  If you read my post The Porki and Bonkers Tradition, you will understand it is a tradition in my family to call people by invented names, often a shortened version of their name.  Hence Sants!

 I wonder what Mamma Santa used to call you when you were a baby. Was it “Shonu”? I recently heard one Mamma call her baby that. 

The Mamma’s name is Kanchan.

Since you come from the North Pole, you are probably Eskimo.  And your Mamma probably has an Eskimo name such as Iluak (a person who does good things) or Anana (meaning beautiful) or Nertornartok (meaning glorious).

I discovered you can generate any name in Eskimo using this Eskimo Name Generator available on the internet.…http://www.quizopolis.com/eskimo-name-generator.php

Just for fun, I typed ‘Rudolph’ as the first name and ‘the red-nosed reindeer’ as the last name in this generator and it produced Nagojut (which means friendly).

So if you ever hear anyone calling Rudolph Nago, that’s short for his Eskimo name.

Anyway Sants, here are some of the things I want for Christmas.

1. A few extra wags of the tail from her pets for my friend Anita, who had a birthday recently, and who, as everyone knows from her post “A Fresh Perspective on Pets” is the biggest dog-lover in the world. Actually, a few extra wags of the tail for all dog lovers anywhere on the planet and a few extra purrs for all cat lovers anywhere on the planet.  Because dogs and cats, like sunshine, are amazing for the soul.
2. Next, a jump in typing speed for my friend Ajay. He is half-way through typing up a novel he completely wrote by hand and I fear he may never finish at his current typing speed. 

 (By the way, Sants, watch out for Ajay when you are zipping through the skies. If you see a chariot, a jazzy car or a transparent bubble overtaking your sleigh, that’s probably Ajay. He time travels at the drop of a hat (or apparently at the whisper of an angel).  You can read his posts, Oh Bangalore, Oh Bangalore Part 2 and Oh Bangalore Part 3 for more on that.  And watch out for Ajay on the ground too, because he has been known to ride a Lambretta which does not go straight (no jokes, Sants, – read his post A Short Stint in Advertising and tell me if I’m kidding). 

3. Number 3 on my list, Sants – is a request to make 2012 a better year for people all around.  Besides improving the economy in the US and Europe and creating jobs with a capital J, please band with Bill Gates and Buffett to help eradicate hunger, poverty and avoidable illnesses like malaria around the world. Help get a mosquito net to everyone who needs it.  The only mosquitoes we need are the ones mentioned in my post “You Are a Mosquito In Somebody’s Room”.
4. Sants, Number 4 - Many people are lonely and I would like them to have the Gift of Company.  I’ve realized one can be powerful and successful and well taken care of and have everything  - and still feel lonely and unloved - like Audrey 3, the protagonist of Juliet Pinto’s sensational post of the same name.
5. Number 5 - Please give the Gift of Time to anyone who needs it, Sants.  People can do wonders with the Gift of Time as my post by the same title explains.
6. Number 6 - I know a lot of people will keep themselves going with spirits this Christmas, Sants, when what they really need is spirit.  The kind of indomitably cheerful spirit my friend Gerri has.  Or the people in my post How to Let Nothing Come Between You and a Fulfilling Life. Now if you can bottle up that spirit and give it to as many people as possible so they can keep themselves going with that instead of spirits, I will be very grateful.   Speaking of gifts to cheer someone up, emotional rainy day insurance is something to consider for everyone.  In my post How To Say Goodbye Part 3, I give an example of that.
7. Number 7 – Sants, however do you pull those all-nighters? Zipping around the world in your sleigh delivering gifts from sunset to dawn, going up and down chimneys non-stop like the Energizer Bunny.  I have 2 questions for you. Question 1 – don’t you feel sleep deprived?  Question 2 – don’t you suffer from jet lag? Your answers will be very helpful to all those who work a graveyard shift like my one-time neighbor Henry, who is an RN.  Your answer will also be very helpful to parents of young babies as well. Speaking of parents with young babies, all the people I am working with on my current Xactly Incent project have new babies, young babies or young children.  What’s with that?  Are you trying to tell me something, Sants?  It’s physiologically impossible, I’ll have you know – Abraham’s wife Sarah notwithstanding.  Back to the parents with new babies, please gift them your marvelous ability to cope with all-nighters.  How will you know who to give this to? Simple - I found out that they all watch Oprah - apparently it’s the only thing which is on when little Tabitha, little Teresa, little Tarkan, little Nancy and little Kristin are asleep.  Not to put down Oprah, but these stork-visited folks appear badly in need of sleep and time.  So be a good chappie and give them that.
8. Last but not least, please cut some slack to those who have been naughty.  We are already divided into the haves and the have nots.  Which is why there’s OWS and Time Magazine has named The Protester the Person of the Year.  We don’t want to be divided into the naughty and  nice as well.  I say this because I have been all kinds of naughty including academically naughty, fashion naughty, taking pot-shots at Simon Cowell and pot-shots at Oprah naughty, and more.

Thanks and best wishes,

Minoo

- or Desna (meaning boss) in Eskimo

(P.S.  Sorry that I am sending this letter to you at the Nth hour. If this means I have to accept standard shipping instead of overnight shipping, that’s fine. Just give me a date so the milk doesn’t curdle and the cookies don’t make the ants go "parteeeeeeee!")

Reaching 100 – Part 4

                Hidden Treasure...

Contained in the guest-posts on my blog is all this hidden treasure:

A grandma’s love

A trip to the beach

The birth of a baby

A venus flytrap with vegetarian leanings

Time travel

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Autumn leaves

Walking on water in the Lalbagh Lotus Pond

A love for dogs

Success

An unpaid bill by Winston Churchill

The magic of language

Spiked OJ

William Zinsser

A Lambretta with a mind of its own

A treatise on cricket

Past, Present and Future Bangalore

A goodbye to one’s youth

Fan-speak about P.G. Wodehouse

Courses from the Teaching Company

A poem called Feet Planted

Trips down memory lane

Coming of age in the ‘70’s

And more...

With my blog recently reaching the incredible milestone of 100 posts and with Minoo Jha Life Strategies coming up on the 1-year mark, I would like to thank all the hidden treasure producers.

In alphabetical order by first names, the Hidden Treasure Producers are:

Ajay Sachdev

(when he’s not producing Hidden Treasure, he is buying and selling stocks for his clients and is also finishing a novel)

Anita Saran

(when she’s not producing Hidden Treasure, she’s creating sensational direct marketing campaigns for a leading international direct marketing agency, painting, writing her next novel, and more)

Cindy Pinkston

(when she’s not producing Hidden Treasure, she’s writing poetry, cooking, and thinking of the next great movie she and me will watch together)

Don Gootee

(when he’s not producing Hidden Treasure, he’s coaching high school basketball, playing charity golf tournaments, making the most fantastic sushi, and steadily growing the implementations arm of Solution Partners, Inc)

Gursharan Summan

(when he’s not producing Hidden Treasure, he’s meditating and making plans for his future)

Jim Cobb

(when he’s not producing Hidden Treasure, he’s playing and reviewing War Games, discovering new wines and cigars and teaching history at college)

John Paraskevopoulos

(when he’s not producing Hidden Treasure, he’s riding his bike, going to college to study to become a teacher, and thinking of the next guest post to contribute to my blog...hint...hint!)

Juliet Pinto

(when she’s not producing Hidden Treasure, she’s teaching dance at a leading South Bay Dance School and doing freelance writing)

Shantel Chavez

(when she’s not producing Hidden Treasure, she’s playing golf for the Santa Teresa first all-girls Golf Team and tackling the tough school work of a junior in an American High School)

You can unearth the hidden treasure produced by these wonderful folks by clicking on the links or their names.

P.S. Since Ajay Sachdev, Cindy Pinkston, Gursharan Summan and John Paraskevopoulos have contributed more than one post, you can also do a search on my blog to read more of their writing.

P.S. Thanks again to each and every one of you guest-posters and looking forward to future contributions from you.

Reaching 100 – Part 3

- The School of Commentology

The School of Commentology - You’ve never heard of it, but like Hogwarts, it’s there.

You just have to get on the right train station to reach it (and it’s not Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross).  Of course, admission is by invitation, because you are either “commentical” or you are not!

When you get to the School of Commentology, here are some of the lessons you might learn:

Lesson 1: In the School of Commentology, you focus on your similarities, not on your differences

On Feb 6 of 2011, I wrote a post about a little known Japanese philosophy called Wabi Sabi. This post appeared to pass like a ship in the night.  Then boom... on April 21, 2011, comes this comment:

“Hi, I am lucky, I got to read the right article. Thoughts like these were brewing up…at last I found the words I wanted to voice…Thank you for the wonderful post. Looking forward to more posts.”

Or...

On July 2 of 2011, I wrote a post about the similarities between me and Lakshmi Mittal.  The response, on July 8, 2011, was:

“This post is hilarious...Some of the challenges you faced were mine too…so, I think it’s time I wrote something called -  What do Minoo and I have in common…lol... Got to check the link about Hormonal Balance”

Lesson 2: In the School of Commentology, you get instant attention by adding intrigue to your comments

On August 27, 2011 I wrote a post called Top Recipe Secrets, the main highlight of which was a recipe for kichdi.  On August 28, 2011, comes this enigmatic response, which sets off a back and forth question and answer session, worth reading in itself:

“This post is appropriate at this juncture.
'Anna' may resume eating solids with this harmless, humble (if you don't use cashew) dal-chawal dish”

Who is Anna?  And what’s wrong with cashews? I had to find out.

Lesson 3: In the School of Commentology, ideas smoothly carry over smoothly from one language to another (and from one family to another)

On September 10, 2011, I wrote a post called The “Porki” and “Bonkers” Tradition about the pet names used in my family. In response, on September 11, 2011 came this volley:

“Sort of samosapaedian... 'electric horn'-the one who gave shock with her periodical seizures as a baby. The same child was called aaru for what i don't remember. Some beatiful names have short forms-aari,vandi,rakshi,appi,bangari-babbulu,mummi,jalli,paapu,amunu, pappu. My paternal grand father would address his DIL as thaayiley(thayi=mother+ley=a term used by elders to address youngsters). My grandmother would chide her sons'anekara'. kari doddappa (dark uncle),'kirik'-who used the word kirik very often in his conversations, 'Fiscodi yeppa (square face) continent yeppa(round face)(yeppa=appa/man)  shabari ajji(an old neighbour who wore naar-madi and stored water in earthen pots. She sported sandle paste bindi(probably a spinster/a widow) pylvan,kaddi,sonakli-for a thin person. Dummi(u as in Gulmohar)for a fatty. A person who ressembled a skeleton was addressed-assp-'arogya shastrada prathama puta' when translated in English (first page in biology text book). The list seems endless. That's it for now Minoo. Thank you for the jolly post."

Lesson 4: In the School of Commentology, if there’s a list of any sort, you add to it

On October 2, 2011, I wrote a post called She Victories which listed several women and their breakthroughs in different male-dominated areas. On October 4, 2011, came this comment:

"I congratulate and wish Tanita and the team 'All The Best!'
There are quite a few women who are SHE VICTORIES. Among them Late Professor C.N.Mangala,Principal NMKRV college for women.
She established SHASHWATHI-a women's museum at the NMKRV college Bangalore.
She translated 'All My Sons' a noted English play under her pen name Chi.Na. Mangala, to Kannada and was responsible for the staging of the same for public at Ravindra Kalakshetra by 'Nataranga' an amateur theatre group in Bangalore.[The play was staged for the first time for only sympathising members of literary elites by "Ravi Kalavidaru" one of the leading amateur theatre groups.]
In an obituary note, a Kannada NEWS daily quoted her as "Chatuvatikeya Chilumey"(a fountain of activities.)"

Lesson 5: In the School of Commentology, you never hestitate to share new information

On November 23, 2011, I wrote a post titled You Are a Mosquito in Somebody's Room, in which I declared that several people in my life were mosquitoes, including my friends Krysia, Nadya and Julia. On December 3, 2011, included in a multi-comment response (which also contained a request for me to listen to the song Mukta Mukta on You Tube) was this P.S.:

PS: A few minutes ago, I read online about an anti-loitering device 'mosquito'

Based on this comment, I did a Google search on 'anti-loitering device mosquito'. And guess what? I discovered there really is a teen repellent device called The Mosquito.  You can read about it here.

P.S. The School of Commentology is a one-woman powerhouse commenter called Aarathi. She is so clever at commenting, I could probably find 10 lessons more on commenting if I studied all the comments she has posted on my blog. Currently you can follow her on Minoo Jha Life Strategies, where she is a regular commenter. If she joins Toastmasters (as I have been advising), or starts tweeting on Twitter which is also something she should consider, you will have other means to follow her.

 P.S.2:  Thanks Aarathi for all the lively comments contributed to Minoo Jha Life Strategies in its first year. Thanks to all the other readers and commenters as well. Much appreciation to you all.

Reaching 100 – Part 2

Numerology, Anyone?

What does the number 101 signify?

It depends...

To a mineralogist...

The number 101 is a crystal face with specific characteristics on the Miller Index

To a chemist...

The number 101 is the atomic number of Mendelevium

To a San Francisco Bay Area driver...

The number 101 is a freeway to get to work

To an inhabitant of Argentina or the Indian subcontinent...

The number 101 is a number to call in an emergency

To a freshman in a US college...

The number 101 is the first course she/he learns in any subject

To the writers and readers of posts on Minoo Jha Life Strategies...

The number 101 is the start of the next hundred posts. Yeah!!!! It brings me great satisfaction to be able to say that.  If you want to read some of the posts which were in the first 100, Reaching 100 - Part 1 is choc-a-bloc with links.

Thanks to all my readers, commenters and guest posters. You have helped what started as a lark back in December of 2010 reach an incredible milestone.

P.S. Look for Reaching 100 - Part 3 and Part 4 in upcoming posts. Next up: The School of Commentology

Reaching 100

This is the hundredth post on Minoo Jha Life Strategies.

Looking back, here’s a sprinkling of what was in the first 100 posts...

Posts about cities (Oh Bangalore, Part 2)

And posts about ditties (Why I Can Never Get a Job in Google)

Posts about births (Letters to Lucas)

And posts about mirth (Magical Wodehouse)

Posts about trees (Reprising Joyce Kilmer)

And posts about me (The University of Life)

Posts about history (Oh Bangalore - Part 1)

And posts filled with mystery (Commonality)

Posts about hobos (The Man in the Bath-tub)
And posts that made imagery come alive (Feet Planted)

Posts about Lobos (Family Songs)
And posts about 9-5 (A Short Stint in Advertising)

Posts about books (I am a Good and Faithful Wife, I Deserve to be Loved)

And posts about games (She Victories)

Posts about cooks (Cake Boss)

And posts about names (The Porki and Bonkers Tradition)

Posts about speeches (How to Zig like Zig Ziglar)

And posts about beaches (The Colors of Life)

Posts by freelancers (Gleanings from the Teaching Company)

And posts by dancers (Audrey 3 by Juliet Pinto)

Posts by gifted teens (The Importance of Language Arts)
And posts with advice (Advice From People We Love to Hate)

Posts about genes (23 and me)

And posts with spice (Top Recipe Secrets)

Posts about Facebook , Pinterest and Twitter (Reflections on Facebook and Twitter)

And posts about several adorable critters (A Fresh Perspective on Pets)

Posts about success (A 25 Point Check-list from Don Gootee)

And posts about making do with less (The Simple Life)

Posts about people with orange hair(The Link between Redneck Jokes and King Cake)

And posts about learning to live without a care (How To Be A New Person)

Posts about writing well  (Essay by Shantelle on William Zinser's book)
And posts about snatching victory from investing hell (How I Lost a Thousand Dollars on Donuts)

And last but not least...

Posts about friends who have shown me how to be strong (A Lesson From My Personal Heroes)

All these and more are subjects me and my guest posters have blogged upon. 

P.S. A big thanks for coming along on the journey - as a reader and as a guest-poster. Look out for 100 and Beyond - Part 2 & Part 3 (maybe even a Part 4) in upcoming posts. 

How To Say Goodbye – Part 3

As promised, this post is dedicated entirely to fun goodbyes.

First a fun goodbye gift to a co-worker...

Goodbye to Rads

When Rads (short for Radhika who is mentioned in my post How To Become More Unique ) left Contract Advertising, Bangalore, her goodbye gift included...

Goodbye Gift 1 to Rads...

A big envelope on which was written:  A Parting Shot From All of Us.

Inside the envelope, was a large print photograph of the entire Contract Advertising, Bangalore staff.

Goodbye Gift 2 to Rads...

Goodbye Gift 2 was a piggy bank (for some reason, I remember it as being fruit-shaped– maybe a mango).  Inside this piggy bank were the “real parting shots from all of us”.  Short messages to Rads – jokes, compliments, etc written on small slips of paper.  We told her to wait for an emotionally rainy day (the–when-your-spirits-sorely-need-a-lift-rainy day). At which time to break the piggy bank and read the messages.

Neat idea, huh? We all have our moments of inspiration. 

While we are on the subject of inspiration and Bangalore-based memories, you want to read Ajay Sachdev's  Oh Bangalore – Part 1, Oh Bangalore – Part 2 and Oh Bangalore-Part 3. Together, they constitute a totally inspired series of posts. Oh, my, yes!)

Moving on from goodbye gifts to interesting observations about goodbyes...do you want to know how men and women say goodbye?

Here’s how according to Erma Bombeck...

When Erma’s aunt and uncle came to visit, Erma would say to her aunt:  I think Uncle Kenneth is ready to go home.” “How can you tell?” her aunt would ask. “Because he’s in the car, revving the engine – and now he’s slowly backing out of the driveway.”

According to Bombeck, when a woman says goodbye “she will say, ‘I’ve got to get going’ a minimum of five times. Then hug you at least twice before she says once more, ‘I really do have to go ...” “Women’s goodbyes “never stop at the door,” adds Bombeck, “women walk you to the car, then hang on to the door for another ten minutes, then run alongside the vehicle down the street like a secret service agent.”

(Which leads me to ask the question, which came first? My friend Nadya? Or this description of how women say goodbye by Erma Bombeck?)

And now for the grand finale to this series of posts on goodbyes...

You may not know who Chris Kula is, but after reading the goodbye e-mail he wrote to his co-workers when he left his job, I’m 100% certain you will want to read more of his work, and who knows, possibly, defect to his blog for good.That will be terrible for me but fully aware of this risk, here goes...

Chris Kula’s goodbye e-mail to his co-workers:

Dear Co-Workers,
As many of you probably know, today is my last day. But before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what a great and distinct pleasure it has been to type “Today is my last day.”
For nearly as long as I`ve worked here, I`ve hoped that I might one day leave this company. And now that this dream has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your unending lack of support. Words cannot express my gratitude for the words of gratitude you did not express.
I would especially like to thank all of my managers: in an age where miscommunication is all too common, you consistently impressed and inspired me with the sheer magnitude of your misinformation. It takes a strong man to admit his mistake – it takes a stronger man to attribute his mistake to me.
Over the past three years, you have taught me more than I could ever ask for and, in most cases, ever did ask for. I have been fortunate enough to work with some absolutely interchangeable supervisors on a wide variety of seemingly identical projects – an invaluable lesson in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium.
Your demands were high and your patience short, but I take great solace knowing that my work was, as stated on my annual review, “mostly satisfactory.” That is the type of praise that sends a man home happy after even a 10 hour day, smiling his way through half a bottle of mostly satisfactory scotch.
And to most of my peers: even though we barely acknowledged each other within these office walls, I hope that in the future, should we pass on the street, you will regard me the same way as I regard you: sans eye contact.
But to those few souls with whom I`ve actually interacted, here are my personalized notes of farewell:
To Rudy: I will always remember sharing lunch with you, despite having clearly labeled it with my name.
To Steven: I will miss detecting your flatulence as much as you will clearly miss walking past my cubicle to deliver it.
To Eileen: Best wishes on your ongoing campaign to popularize these “email forwards.” I sincerely hope you receive that weekend full of good luck, that hug from an old friend, and that baby for your dusty womb.
To Felix: I left a new wristwatch on your desk. It is so that you might be able to still tell time even without your hourly phone call to let me know the copier is jammed. (Call Steven – he`ll come by.)
And finally, to Kat: you were right – I tested positive. We`ll talk later.
So, in parting, if I could pass on any word of advice to the individual who will soon be filling my position, it would be to cherish this experience like a sponge and soak it up like a good woman, because a job opportunity like this comes along only once in a lifetime.
Meaning: if I had to work here again in this lifetime, I would sooner kill myself.
Very truly yours,
Chris Kula

P.S.  Isn’t that a hoot? As always thanks for reading and please please do not defect enmasse to Chris Kula’s blog...phew...had to say that...thanks!

P.S. 2:  What are the memorable goodbyes that come to your mind?  Would love to hear about them.

P.S. 3:  If you want to read How to Say Goodbye Part 1 (which contains 2 poems by Tanita and links to tributes to Steve Jobs), or How to Say Goodbye Part 2 ( which contains 3 poems by Cindy Pinkston), you can do so here and here.