Unloading my think tank...

Sometimes it is just "mind-blasting", like Russell Peters says, to be at work. It is one of those days when it all about doing so much work, too much work, and getting very little done because you always have to wait on someone for something. Of course, if the work is not completed, you are screwed.

Not don't get me wrong, I love my work and all, no Monday morning blues ever experienced, but seriously, somedays, which is very very rare let me add - it gets all overwhelming! I mean come on, there's only so much pressure my dainty, well-sculpted shoulders can take! And if such days have the misfortune to be on Thursdays, then woe is me! I can't even do justice to the best of my ability to put my 100% in! Allow me to explain - that's because I fast (I typed "fat" hehehe) on Thursdays. I eat only fruits, no proper breakfast/lunch. Breakfast is tea, lunch is usually fruits, though I am allowed to eat 'poha'. But the said poha has only jeera tadka (cumin seeds tempering) and green peas - which is not as appetising as the rightly-made version - with kari patta, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and more which I don't want to write for the very-possible possibility of drooling all over my keyboard.

And it so happens that its only on Thursdays, I crave for food! Even if I eat fruits to my stomach's content. You can never eat fruits to your heart's content. Well, it holds true at least for me. I crave for spicy chaat, hot samosas, pakode, Mediterranean, and lasagna - in that order. On other days, when I can eat whatever I wish, I eat biscuits and its back to work. No craving whatsoever. Weird mind huh!

So it happens that today its one of those days I wrote about at the start, plus its a Thursday - so you can imagine my plight. I am craving mad for spicy bhel and pani puris. And its only 4 PM. Another 90 mins before I head home. But you know what? I'm taking an off tomorrow to catch up on sleep (what? its mid-autumn already!) and then hop on a train to London to see a family and some friends. Weekend looks promising.

Now only if I could eat some scrumptious spicy chaat this weekend, it'd be perfect.

Oh wait actually I am! I will be going to Southall and so have already made plans to gorge on chaat till my eyes are bloodshot red and my nose runs like a river during floods! Weekend is definitely going to be promising!

When I moved to UK, I was looking forward to a lot of things. The good thing about having friends in a country you've just moved to are that they help you get adjusted quickly. Needless to say, I made some Indian friends here. I use that term loosely because mind you, there's nothing Indian about some of them apart from their nationality. And no, they aren't even here since long - just 4 years. They take pride in India-bashing. Its like a sport for them - disucssing and cussing India over chai and samosas.
One particular friend, lets call her Monalisa, because she tricks/charms/floors everyone with her nice smile, much like the Monalisa painting.

So Monalisa landed in UK to do her Masters, and she's done it from a ok-ok university. Before that, she was in India working as a lecturer in the same college she studied from, and then worked at a call center for 6 months. Now I believe that if you end up working as a lecturer in the college you studied, chances are that you failed in getting a job outside of your college. Which basically means:

a. not intelligent enough
b. bad communication skills
c. general knowledge is so low that you don't actually know how, where to apply for jobs.

Of course, if you are genuinely interested in teaching as a profession, then all above is null and void. The case with Monalisa was not that - hence I say so.

Coming back to the topic, she claims that she received only Rs. 4000/- as her salary, as against Rs. 12000; the college management kept the Rs. 8000 with them. I say bullocks! No college/university pays a rank newcomer, a salary of Rs. 12000. Heck when I was with one of the top IT companies when I passed out of college, my salary was Rs. 10080 per month! So I don't buy the theory that she was given only 4K instead of 12K. So her reasoing is that she quit after a while, and joined this call center mainly to "make money since I was already admitted to blah-blah university in UK." Fair enough I say. There, she goes on to say, that her manager was really mean. Made her stay after-hours, work extra, never grant her leave when asked, cancel leave that were granted when he was in good mood etc etc. Now I fail to understand where are your balls? Can't you come up with lies and say I need to take leave no matter what? One cannot blame the entire IT/ITES industry's working based on your boss! It is sad and unfortunate that she had such a manager, but no way that can be generalised. i have worked with 4 companies in India, and barring one, all my managers were super nice to me, and my other team mates. She keeps saying to all and sundry in office that work environment in India is very bad and that she would never ever go back there. Well, you needn't go back and work if you've made up your mind to settle down in UK, but don't generalise the work environment when you've hardly worked there at all!

Today, at lunch, she was lamenting about how much time she's spending on the phone to get her address changed for all utility bills. She goe son to say that "Thankfully, in this country, I can do all this on phone. If I was in India, I'm sure it would have been much more difficult. I cannot imagine how could I manage with having to go to each office personally to get address changed." What the fuck! People in India buy houses too you know! And its not rocket science, getting address changed! If you have to do it, you have to do it. And she is so stingy that she doesn't even use her own mobile/landline to make those calls, she always uses the co. phone! She is so kanjoos that she re-uses the aluminium foil again and again to bring rotis in to office as many days as she can - till the poor foil is all torn! If someone in office has returned from a trip, he/she brings in some sweets/something special from that place - more often than not its something to eat. She packs some to take home to her family! Cheeeeeeeeeeeeap! She ... OK I'll stop rambling on about her thriftyness, because there is no end to it.

She's all complains about India. Climate, politics, corruption, level of education - on and on and on. Well, no country is perfect. UK has many flaws too. Politicians are corrupt, education is ok-ok in schools. No country is perfect, usse perfect banaana padta hai.

And not to mention her English is really bad. She doesn't know proper grammar, enunciation or even pronounciation. Really stupid and dumb. But like I said at the beginning of this post, she is very good at flattering people and buterring them up - so that she can get something from them. If she doesn't need anything from you, she hardly cares about you - never mind that you are friends. She always invites her rich friends home. Just because I am not here since last 4 years doesn't make me any small - but I don't care. If thats is your critieria for maintaining friendships, then screw you!

I won't let anyone take advantage of me. I will be your friend, help you even at 3 am at night, share my food with you even if I'm starving mad, but I won't take it lying down if you try to use me.

B.I.T.C.H!