Howdy to the Imaginary Folks who read my blog

Hey Hey Hey!

I am back to blogging after the longest time ever. The past year and half, when I didn't blog at all, has been eventful. So I present to thee, some key learnings from my interesting and not so interesting life events.

1. Finding an internship/ opportunity to collaborate



It is not a cakewalk to find a dream project that one would fall in love with at first sight (well if that exists). Last year, I wanted to find a thesis project that I would love - truly, madly, deeply. I wrote 75-80 individually crafted mails to companies over a period of 4 months which also includes follow ups with almost 50% of them.

some key learnings:

• No one likes to read your life story, they want to know how your skills and calibre would complete them, so at the end-of-the-day, writing mails crafted in this fashion mostly works. 
• Pitch mails should be seductive
• One shouldn't sound desperate, but calmly confident. 
• There might be frustration, but there is always light at the end of a tunnel.

2. Do not expect anything from anyone, expect from yourself

Some key learnings:

• It is not a good idea to date someone who has just got out of a long term relationship. You could be a dish on the side but never the bride. And you also get to hear a lot of memories from the previous relationship. Not fun.
• Whenever a sort of desperation is felt, or one finds themselves waiting for texts, or making plans for the weekend all the time, something is wrong. Love is between equals. Love is natural.
• 'Unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. Your presence fills my eye with your love, it humbles my heart, for you are everywhere'. A beautiful line from 'The Shape of Water'. Need I say more?
• If one doesn't love their own presence, how can they expect others to love their presence?

3. Damn Girl! Just watch your tongue sometimes!

So currently I am doing a job and previously I was doing an internship. In the internship, I didn't have much of a social circle, but in the job, I do. It took me a few weeks to realise that I have to watch my tongue, because all the people working with me aren't chuddy buddies and that I should keep mildly offensive content to myself.

Some key learnings:

• Keep your opinions to yourself. Or if one has too many, perhaps like me, it is better to keep shh and pour it out in a diary.
• If I am not particularly fond of some aspect of the work I am doing, I have learnt to keep it to myself. Otherwise, one day your manager might come and ask you, "I heard that...". Trust me, I have come pretty close to this situation. Office gossip spreads faster than wildfire. 

4. Health is Wealth

Two people who worked at my college died of stomach cancer and heart attack, which shook me to the core. They were just 40 something. Sitting in office the whole day is an obvious sign of sedentary lifestyle. So I have made it a point to be physically active as frequently as I can, which also means eating a balanced diet.

Some key learnings:

• There would be many parties and events. One doesn't need to have cake and fried chips all the time. It goes to the thighs or bum anyway.
• Free juice and coke in office = sugar overload, completely avoidable. Green tea is healthy and it has antioxidants too!
• Work reasonable hours, don't waste too much time.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are completely personal.
gif credits: giphy

Design for Dignity : Workshop with Margarita Matiz

The 4th year undergraduate students from Product, Furniture and Exhibition design came together to do a collaborative 1 day workshop with Margarita Bergfeldt Matiz on "Design for Dignity" on 11 August 2016. The main objective of this workshop was to be more sensitive, aware and empathic when designing future products.

Reading time : 3.5 minutes approx.
Content : Process of the Workshop

How I met Gujarati Peeps in Belgium

Opposite Sex Pen Pals: Love in a Digital World

Living in a super connected world, it is not uncommon to come across good looking people on social networking sites. Sometimes, we do feel like sending a friend request. But, perhaps we should think twice especially if the person is of the opposite sex.

Why do we befriend people whom we know we cannot meet in real life? Why are we digitising love/ lust?It is because we are insecure. Insecure that we do not have enough people in real life to enjoy and have fun with. So here are some pointers to recognize the faults in our stars and make amends.

Some common mistakes we all make

Okay, so here is a list of mistakes that we all make.
Hopefully this will enlighten you and lead you towards a path of perfection

1.You evade questions that you don't want to answer.

Suppose someone asks you something and the answer might be unpleasant, so its better to change the topic and shift the conversation to the other person.

2. When you speak to someone for the first time its better to ask them about their lives instead of ranting about your own. Because people love to talk about their lives.
But don't nag. Keep on adding excerpts about your own life otherwise they might think that you are rolling out a questionnaire. But the conversation should be focused on them. This is called DIPLOMACY.

More advice coming up!

How to wriggle out of situations

So, this will give you tips on how to evade socially awkward situations which we face everyday
Read on..

SITUATION:

Suppose you go over for lunch at someone's place but you do not like the lunch.
Host: How was the lunch? Come over next time too.
You: Mention not.
(by Amreeta Banerjee)

SITUATION:

Suppose you are stuck with a group of people and you reach a point where you are neither a part of the conversation and nor can you understand what they are talking about. What to do?
You: Hey guys. Excuse me. Gotta go to the loo.
Then call from the loo and inform that you have to go. Or even if you don't call, they might not notice that you have gone
OR
You: Hey some very urgent call is coming. Can't miss it.
Okay, so it will obviously be assumed that your phone is on vibrate mode. After that, just act and say hi! how you doing? hows your work going with the appropriate breaks for the fake responder to reply and slowly walk away. No one will notice.


SITUATION:

Suppose you are sneaking out of the auditorium in the middle of a boring lecture and luck favours you that day and the lights are dim. Suddenly the lights turn on and you are crawling on the floor in an awkward position.
What to do?
You: (Keep your cellphone or a pencil in hand) If the lights turn on and your lucky day seems to be over, just put your phone on the floor faast and pretend that you are looking for it.
So obviously no one will scold you for it because duh it's your phone.
And if it's a pencil, then again you won't be scolded because you can always say you have to take notes of the lecture with it.

clichéd perception of love

The most clichéd perception of love:
You look into his/ her eyes
She/he looks into yours
You feel that your souls connect and it is forever happily ever after
NO
not at all. Do you have Alice in Wonderland syndrome?