Dark chocolate keeps the Doctor away!

I love chocolates! Who doesn't? If anyone who says he/she doesn't.....then either he/she is crazy or simply does not have good taste....according to me!

The white chocolates (chocolates are brown & not white!) or the milk chocolates, I never did like. For me, the darker the better and with full of nuts.....hazelnuts or almonds I love! Now, why am I thinking of chocolates? Reason being, I just read an article in the "Times of India".

Dark chocolate keeps blood-pressure at bay!
27 Apr 2008, 0926 hrs IST, Julie Steenhuysen

Chicago: According to German researchers - a nibble of dark chocolate a day helped lower blood pressure without packing on the pounds.

Prior studies have shown that foods rich in cocoa, like dark chocolate, offer heart benefits, but researchers are worried the added sugar, fat and calories would cancel out any good the chocolate might do. Now it seems just a 30-calorie (0.126 kilojoule) bite of dark chocolate, equivalent to 6.8 grams or a quarter ounce, can lower blood pressure without weight gain or other side effects. "Regular intake of small amounts of dark chocolate can help to lower blood pressure," said Dr Dirk Taubert of University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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I have been trying to cut my indulgence as I am waging a war against the fat that has crept up on me so silently that before I realized.....it's all settled in those unwanted areas and I am now having a hard time getting rid of it!

Reading this article, I am feeling less guilty of my indulgence! So, lets all eat Dark Chocolates and keep the blood-pressure in check!

Ah! Retail Therapy.....

Whew! Packing, shifting....it's sure is a great task. Even though I am single, I equally have a great amount of household things...washing machine, refrigerator, TV, DVD, gas stove, shelves, table.....apart from my clothes, shoes, bags and more clothes and shoes! People generally for some reason, think that Singles live out of a suitcase!

I need to dispose these things, clothes and shoes which I will not be carrying with me. The cartons have been brought for packing.....things are lying scattered all around. It's such a mess! I needed to get away. I head straight to the nearest mall.

Ah! Retail Therapy....it's so good for one's well being! A beautiful silk blouse and some equally lovely lingerie along with some cosmetics completed my trip to the mall!

Oh no! I now have more things to pack!

My Exit Interview

Leave aside giving an Exit Interview ever, I had never heard of this till I resigned a few days back.....seriously.

Today, I had My Exit Interview.....at 10.00 in the morning. There were 2 sets of Questions - one from the Company's HR Dept and the other from the Division I was in, which is the "Fashion & Footwear" HR Dept.

In any Interview there's always the Do's and the Dont's....but as always, I stuck with honesty and said what I personally felt....giving examples to support my statements. Though the interview was not important for me as it is for the company if they seriously want to retain their Employees....and if my feedbacks could benefit my colleagues who remains here, I would be very happy.

The 3 main grievance areas according to me are :-
(1) Monetary benefits
(2) Career Growth
(3) Bonus & Promotion

All the above 3 should be centralized and not rest solely in the hands of the Line Manager of a Brand. It is unfair that when one works very hard but is not rewarded with Bonus or Promotion just because the Brand the person is in, did not achieve/perform or due to Budget constrain. On the other hand a New Joiner in a performing Brand would reap the Bonus benefits should the Brand achieve at the end of the year.

Another area which needs to be looked at is the culture of being paid by one's nationality/color/religion so prevalent here in the Middle East and not on one's qualification/experience is really not fair in today's modern world. The world is closing it's gap on racism but it's so glaring this part of the world.

One leaves the Company....usually.....most of the time....because the grass is greener the other side.

I resigned!

Yesterday....first thing in the morning, I tended in my resignation.

The poor guy was zapped....didn't know what hit him. He tried asking why...what...if there was anyway that he could persuade me......

My mind's made up. 15 days notice it is......and 15 days exact hence...I am leaving the Company. I am leaving this country! The grass is greener the other side...it is! Hooray!

It's a Small World!

It's a small world....yes indeed it is. I was interacting with a reader online this morning....and discovered that we were connected at different levels.....it was a pleasant surprise.
Agra, city of Taj Mahal.....where I finished my schooling.....and where she is residing now after her marriage.....
Air Force....she had relatives, including an Uncle.....
Miranda House College.....my alma mater...and her daughter is presently studying there.

Memories of School Days....Air Force Station....College days tumbled.....

One of her distant relatives from her husband's side and I went to school together....studied in the same class....and went for cycling together in the evenings. (Air Force Brats, we were!) Then I was in college together with a niece again from her husband's side.....same class...same subject....and same hostel! A niece with whom I share my birthday....a niece with whom I share the similar juxtaposition of our name & surname that it was hard for people to decide which religion we belonged to.....a niece who like me is still single.....and is somewhere like me in the Middle East! Now her daughter is studying in the very same college that I went to and is also a Hostelite!

It's a small world....and modern technology has brought it so much closer. A stranger she was but now....no longer a stranger!

"Habibi"/ "Habibti"

Habibi, Habibti....
Everywhere you go around....
Here in the Middle East, you can hear.
The word means, Dear, Baby, Darling or Honey.
Masculine gender, it is Habibi.
Feminine gender, it is Habibti.
Anyone and everyone uses....
These words so freely here.

I am an Aunt, once again!

Early this morning about 5.15am, I get a call. It was my brother. It's a Baby Girl! My Brand New Niece arrived, I believe a month early. Mother & daughter are perfectly fine and doing well but being a Preemie, she is under the Doctor's observation. No name has been chosen yet. The "Pundits" will let us know after drawing the horoscope as to which alphabet the name should begin with. Thereafter, we will search for a name for her.

Welcome to our world, Baby Girl!

Beware falling grapes?!

It seems France is getting some 20 odd new road signs. Whats strange is that the signs are real mystifying!

The one on the left would be my favorite though. Beware falling grapes ahead! Nah! Ahead you can buy wine, if one is interested in drinking or buying!

Masters in Contemporary Dance, anyone?!

Couple of days back received a mail from Bharat (my "Apoorva Dance Theater" connection), announcing a new course for the academic year 2008-2009. It is a new innovative Masters Program in Dance with specialization in Contemporary Dance.

I am so tempted! I wish I could join too......but knowing myself I would be most eligible for the Beginner's Course....if there is one! Hmmm....but then I guess, it is better to be thought as a Clumsy Dancer than to join and remove all doubt! (Apologies if needed, took the liberty to change the original saying!)

Anyone reading this & is interested, please get in touch with:-

Bharat Sharma
Reader, Dance
Department of Dance
Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Arts
Fine Arts & Communication
University of Hyderabad
Gachibowli
Hyderabad - 500047
India.
Email - sn.nightingale@gmail.com