week, for over an hour each time; this is one hell of a trainer. Unbeatable
price apart, the humble trainer easily fits the bill, to be carried back in
'Shweta's suitcase' when she leaves.
2. The new apartment rocks. Only I barely ever enter the other rooms at all.
Parents visited to stay over one night and fell in love with the place. It's
their kind of Mumbai residence. Not exactly my type, but as a perk
accomodation, works fabulously.
3. Breakfast is served at another apartment in the complex, that doubles up
as a cafetaria/ lounge by young Hindi/ Marathi speaking boys who insist on
serving you. They also dont let you pick up your plate after you are done. I
am not sure I really like that a lot, but have to give in to it somehow.
4. Breakfast at 8:30 am, lunch at 1 pm, Evening snack at 6 pm, Dinner dabba
brought home at 8 pm. Chai in the office, every three hours starting at 9 am
and ending at 6 pm. With this daily food routine, being spoilt then, is just
a matter of time.
5. Chai without sugar or with less sugar, is not an option. Lunch/ chai/
evening snacks come cooked to the site office, ready to be served, piping
hot, so no customisation is possible.
6. *"In India, people work so hard, that there is no life outside of
work"*applies to this office as well. I am quite sure, I am the only
one, or a
part of a very small breed, that try to have a life outside of work on a
daily basis.
7. The Metro project being constructed by L&T is moving along rapidly.
Outside the ITC Maratha, one by one, the precast concrete elements
interlock. India ranks very high in its concrete construction technique and
the Metro columns are nothing short of examples of superior workmanship. To
the last ridge on the column stem, they stand tall, in various forms; from
naked reinforcement, to casing, to poured concrete covered in jute, to the
final product, cast on site. Its funny how we are building Mumbai's first
elevated railway at a time when, New York City's first has been transformed
into it's newest park (The Highline). A must-visit on my NYC list, when I
visit in August.
7. A 6-day work week, can start taking its toll on you eventually. Maybe so,
because the 1 day weekend ends up being packed with 2 days worth of fun.
8. The best friend and her hubby landed in town, only to fly off to
Bangalore for a week. Plans are already in place for when they return next
week, to paint the town red :) Raga and I will be in Mumbai together, after
one and a half years. Hell shall break lose in Sahayog Society.
9. Frustration meter reads very high this week. From unpunctual drivers, to
unprofessional facility managers, to having to repeatedly ask for what I
need; I am not sure where the tipping point lies. While things can easily
put you off, there are others that you learn to appreciate, so it really is
a win some - lose some situation at times. The key is "adjustment".
10. Too much home-cooked food, finally gave way to a random pav-bhaji dinner
at Shiv Sagar, Juhu. Mental note to self: *Come back here more often*.
11. Mithibai Vada Pav, a must-have on every trip, is yet to be tested. Can't
wait!
12. Woke up Saturday morning to a water cut. The Monsoons are late and
Mumbai has a 20% water cut. Almost considered not coming in to work and
watching TV at home instead, while waiting for the water supply. But then
decided against it, as I thought most of Mumbai, still manages with this.
Proudly went to work, unbathed and smelling nice :)
13. Attended my first Bollywood movie's music launch ever :) Mazhar Kamran,
cinematographer of Ram Gopal Varma's *'Satya', 'Kaun'* and other Bollywood
flicks like *'Masti'* etc messages me on gtalk, seeing that I am in Mumbai.
He graciously invites me to the music launch of his directorial debut
'Mohandas'. I take the Sis-in-law along and we end up having a rather fun
evening at the Red Lounge, watching the 'filmy' types, in all their splendor
and some in their fake glamour. An IIT'ian, Mazhar may have worked in the
film industry for a few years now, but seemed more uncomfortable in the
filmy crowd, than either of us :) Humbly, he socialised with us for a bit
and then went around, completing his 'filmy' formalities.
14. Its finally raining. Cats and Dogs. Thank the Gods. I had forgotten how
much fun Monsoon could get. This is my first monsoon since I moved out of
Mumbai, 7 years ago.
15. L&T, in another one of their employee-pleasing programmes, handed out
rain-packs to all the employees. Rain pack includes, an umbrella, a rain
coat, rain shoes, construction hard hat, site-jacket and some other goodies.
Women get the same, except the raincoats and shoes are more feminine in
design. As a result, everyone in office (especially the men), literally wear
the same pairs of shoes, to work each day :) Big Boss to peon, all alike!
16. In an astounding (to me) revelation, I find out that regular L&T
employees are given internet access on their work stations for only two
hours a day. 9 am to 10 am and 1 pm to 2 pm. You need to be a certain cadre
and above, to be given full time internet access. Some kind of
control-mechanism this.
Here's Week 3 in pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/
Week 4 got done last night. Lots to write about it as well. Expect Week 4
diaries soon too.
Until then, its time for me to go dance in the rain :)
Much love,
Shweyts
No comments:
Post a Comment