Internet is fun!

 Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach that person to use the internet and he won’t bother you for weeks…

I belong to the generation born in the mid 70’s, where the school’s favourite debate topic used to be the, “satellite television- boon or bane”… oh! we spoke so much on that. We were the Doordarshan generation, where the television telecast used to be available only in the evenings, a few years later we started getting the breakfast news. Our first encounter with the computer was in the mid to late 80’s when computer was introduced to us in our schools. We had to enter the divine room taking off our footwear outside the computer lab (room). We learnt computers more my drawing the flow charts of events in our computer notebooks… mind you, I am not talking about the Notebook!  Starting from input and ending in the output. The boxes used were oval, rectangular, diamond shaped etc.  College days, studying Hotel Management we had very basic computer science or application, can’t really remember what the subject was called.. there was dbase, Lotus 123 and those big floppies a few years later the floppies became smaller and more compact.  It was quite an accessory walking around with a bunch of them. Each having different data, instead of carrying so many books; one had to just carry the compact floppies.

My first experience with using computers for some worthwhile purpose was when I started working at a 5 Star Deluxe hotel.  Fidelio was the new software that had arrived in the hotels at that time, in the late 90s. It had modules for the Rooms division; front office and housekeeping used to use that. It was great, a big development over the earlier software. Not much of internet was in use, emails were unheard of, mobile phones had just arrived. They were the size of a walky talky. The incoming calls were charged too, it was quite a big deal to have a mobile connection. The handset was expensive so was the network connection. The monthly bill easily could go into thousands. At least 6 to 7 thousand is what I remember of my brother’s monthly BPL mobile bill to be.

I got my first email id, a yahoo id in the year 2000. I still have and use it. That’s when I started seeing the fun side of the internet. Could send emails to my friends and instantly receive their replies, no hassles of posting  letters.. what is called a snail mail now. Could send greetings and messages in a matter of a few clicks on the keyboard. Batchmates.com became a successful platform for people looking out for friends from their schools and colleges. Yahoo groups were formed for friends to exchange messages, basically socialize and catch up virtually with their friends and colleagues. Then came the era of social networking, Orkut was the first major one. Almost everyone had a profile there and we started looking up for our friends, neighbours, colleagues that we had lost touch with; suddenly everybody was here. People could check out profiles, pictures and chat as well. Again there were debates just like the ones we were used to regarding the satellite television. I guess the society just loved the debates and it was more of a walk down the memory lane for us, remember we belong to that generation or people even older who didn’t have all these lifestyle products and an amazing technology at our disposal. We loved just about anything foreign that we received from our friends and family members who made overseas trips once in a while.

Then facebook happened and it has changed the way people network socially. There are professional networks like the linkedin and many more. People do lots more over the internet now. Apply for jobs, check out reviews for hotels, movies, restaurants, travel destinations etc,  shop, pay bills, book tickets, create virtual albums, share  information with their friends. People even seek guidance from a similar interest groups. Now all this is available in our mobile phones. Mobile is always with the person and the world of information is with him on the go. Internet on the mobile is certainly fun. There is no scope for an individual to get bored at any moment, even if he or she is all alone.

For me internet has been a mode of connecting, keeping in touch with family and friends. I was a person who wrote letters, posted cards and greetings to my near and dear ones. That process has become so much convenient with the internet available on the mobile phones. There are so many apps available and the list keeps growing. Listen to the music, play games, check out articles and write ups, visit blogs and have reminders, get news flash and be connected with friends all around the globe, easily I have around 1500 contacts on facebook alone, if I need an information real quick I just need to post it on one of the networking sites and within minutes I’d have the information with me. If this is not fun then what is!

This post is an entry for the contest, Internet is fun on Vodafone, if you have liked it please do vote. www.vodafone.in/fun

Lakme’ and Me

The beach under the mighty sun - Are you ready for some summer  fun?

Lakme’ … In fact that’s my nick name. In school a few people preferred Lakme over Laxmi, as that was a lot easier to pronounce than my name. In fact in the entire country there are so many vocal versions of the letter X.  Just like Vidya gets annoyed hearing the Bengali version of her name in Kahaani, I have had my own versions of  'those' moments. Not just in India but the moment a foreigner tries pronouncing it I get to hear even more innovative versions. My friends used to call me Lakme during my college days as I always used the products by that brand. Yes whatever said and done I love my name, that’s my identity and its special as it was given to me by my late grandfather.  I do love Lakme’ my partner for all these years.   

I have had my favourites from the nail polish, eye liner, foundation, compact, blusher and lipstick to the perfume that they came up with… God knows where the perfume went though!  At my first job with the Taj group of hotels I carried my favourite brand even there and got the shade of lipstick, blusher, eyeliner and nail polish to match the one prescribed by the hotel. Lakme was the brand my mother used just like a whole lot of ladies from her generation, though hardly a person wearing any make up… just the occasional lipstick and nail polish.  She was also the person who gifted me my first make up kit, 3 lipsticks, a compact and a nail polish. Sounds like a walk down the memory lane! Didn’t realize how Lakme’ has been an eternal part of my life!!

Sunscreen came as a gift from my sister when I was going on a holiday and she told me to use it as it helped the skin. It was a long while ago when I was in my early 20’s and didn’t really bother about how the sun affected the skin. But later realized that my skin used to get itchy and totally damaged every time I would venture on a vacation. I also did my own bit of research and learnt that sunscreen protects the skin against the harmful rays of the sun. It should be at least an SPF 15 or higher. It can be used by everyone including infants as young as 6 months old. Not just in the summers but health specialists advise wearing it all year round as it protects against skin cancer by helping in the production of vitamin D that prevents most forms of skin cancer. Ultra violet light can damage the body’s immune system.

The benefits of using a good sunscreen are many such as it helps prevent skin cancer. It shields the proteins like the keratin, collagen and elastin that keep the skin feeling firm, smooth and protecting against the aging of the skin. In fact some amount of sunscreen is there in all skin care products and cosmetics indicating how important it is. It can also protect against other diseases such as cataracts and immune suppression. The ideal way to use a sunscreen is to apply it 20 minutes before getting out into the sun and re-apply every 2 hours. It is certainly a good idea to keep a small bottle of the sunscreen in your bag and be sun protected and ready for the adventures.

Now I am a regular user of the sunscreen and have always stayed with my trusted brand. I am ready… rather Sun-ready for a trip any time. So Elena pack your bags and be with me as we head for our next trip to the Bahamas, the place that you’ll love for its beaches, tropical climate, sun, music and loads of fun!

Fun in the sun

Thanks for passing by, this is an entry for the 'Lakme Diva Blogger Contest' if you like my post do vote for it...www.facebook.com/ilovelakme

The biker in me

What’s that sound I hear tonight? It sounds just like a Bike.

Big and tough and strong and tall,  Makes the bike one and all.

Tattooed arms to drive it straight, Leaning into distribute the weight.

Spokes so shiny, wheels so round, Pounding pavement through the town

Making noise to fill the air, Of crossing silence with shifting gears,

Tail Lights forming one straight line, bike riders sure look fine

                                                                                           -- Kimberly A. Manning   

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro man…  My memory of a passionate biker goes to the college days when I saw this movie and was totally floored by the biker….

I always liked the mighty bikes, what an adrenalin rush they led to. Growing up in a defence area, as a kid saw all the Rajdoots and Bullets just loved their roaring sounds. More than chocolates I loved the bike rides. Dad’s colleague who had a bullet was my all time favourite uncle. He lived just a block away so the rides were frequent.  For me scooter was a security metaphor, dad used to ride the Bajaj Super but the fun and the thrill of a ride was always the bike!

I may not be a biker, I don’t even drive….. never had the guts to! But I simply love the bikes. When I was getting married wanted to ensure that the guy was a biker. I was lucky to find my man, who is a fine gentleman and a fabulous biker. We have had amazing biking experiences together. He wants to teach me to ride a bike but… I simply can’t handle the traffic. I hold a driving license for both two and four wheelers; the irony is it only serves as an identity proof for me. By the way I did earn my license!

I know a whole lot of bikers and some of them just spend their Sundays on servicing their power machines. May be just dismantle the whole mean thing and put it right back again paying attention to every piece of art to perfection. Some own almost a dozen of them, and giving each one the due attention. Looking at them I understand the psychology of polygamy! To them preparing for and going on a long ride is a ceremony and the bonding just amazing.

The dream present for my hubby is the mighty Harley Davidson, I want to gift him that…. I dream of the rides just like the ones that I remember vividly about in the movie. The thrill will be even more when my sons have me as the pillion rider!

Four wheels move the body.  Two wheels move the soul……

This post has been for Castrol Power 1 Blogging Contest. Have a look at Castrol Biking  www.facebook.com/CastrolBiking . If you have liked this entry, do vote.

The best trip of my life

I love travelling, seeing new places, new cultures, interacting with different people. Travels are fun and have a whole lot of learning especially for children. Of the many outings that I’ve had the Lonavla trip remains one of the best as it was a very spontaneous one. Others have been well researched and planned to the last detail.

It was Thursday 1^st September 2011, I was in my office.  Around 1.30 pm got a call from my husband saying that our 5 year old son Arnnav had a long weekend, Monday 5^th September was a holiday for him. Hubby is in the Merchant Navy so is away from home for 3-4 months. He loves these little breaks with family but hates to make the itinerary or the bookings for that matter. I understand that fully being a Captain he has all his travel plans and hotel stays arranged for him so, while on leave he expects his hotelier wife to do the same! His logic being it’s my field and I do it better...He loves all the vacations that I plan, in fact he still talks about our 15 day honeymoon to Kerala, says that was the best vacation of his life. We explored the whole or Kerala, God’s own country! Talks often about it and I don’t mind making the arrangements for our travels and vacations. So what started from honeymoon still continues…… I am the travel planner/ tour operator for my family.

So I looked for places close by to Mumbai as we had just 3 days; Saturday afternoon to Monday. Hubby loves driving so I had to make sure that he fulfills his passion for long drives, it was monsoon in Mumbai so Lonavala had to be the place. Didn’t want to go up to Goa and make it hectic for our younger son Abhinav who is just 2 years old. I looked for the best hotel deals there in Lonavala. Most of them were booked. Finally settled for a resort there and told hubby about my plans. He liked it as always. On reaching home I saw that the boys seemed to be excited as hubby had already told them about our monsoon trip to Lonavala. We were ready preparing for our weekend getaway! Bags were packed Friday evening as I was working half day on Saturday. On the D- day 3^rd September 2011, hubby and kids picked me up from work and we drove to Lonavala. Had a beautiful drive. The visibility was almost zero, It was pouring cats and dogs! We reached the resort and had a relaxing evening.

On the way to Lonavla

I had looked for up places to visit while there and activities that would keep our sons not just occupied but enjoying  and making the most of this trip. It was also a kind of gift to our elder son who was turning 5 on 7^th September.  We had a function planned for family and friends on his birthday. The planning and bookings for the venue, menu, games and events all happened on the phone while we were driving around in Lonavala.  Both were great. We all had a nice time at Lonavala and the 5^th birthday party was a hit with everyone. People loved the get together and enthusiastically participated in all the fun games and other events.

The drive in the monsoons

At the end of the week, I had a very happy husband and kids who loved the trip as well as the birthday party! And me of course… a happy wife and a happier mom. Then got  back into our routine schedules, me with my work, Arnnav back to school, Abhinav enjoying his time with his grandparents and waiting for his elder brother to head home so that they can have their common adventures and Capt. Rajesh Todiwan back sailing. Our Next trip was to Corbett National Park during the December vacation. All arrangements, travel and accommotion and sightseeing was perfect, kids loved the jeep and elephant safari. The summer vacations will be here soon, the next destination for us will be Coorg.

At the Wax Museum

The waterfall

On the way to Bushi Dam

Out of the city

Kids enjoying the drive around the Lonavla hills

On our way back to Mumbai

The thick fog in the rains.

This post is an Official entry for Mahindra XUV's Incredible Stories  hosted by IndiBlogger.