Tatyana in medias res

I am one of those people, advertisers create ads for. I fall for every emotional ad there is knowing fully well that it is made solely for the purpose of buying customers like me and making more money. I know this, because well common sense and because I have a minor in advertising. And so while I should know better than to fall for this, I also applaud creative ads when I see them. I stumbled across a page today that had links to 9-indian-ads-that-deliver-a-social- message  and it made me think about how even though the current state of Indian politics and economy is horrifying I have obstinate belief that we will be okay. While it is super easy for me to ignore the facebook rants of my friends about Modi/AAP/Congress etc because it doesn't directly affect me, I have a very cynical view of the future of the country, because each party surpasses the next in scandals and corruptions. It is extremely easy for me to turn a blind eye to the mess AAP has created in Delhi and being ...

While I am hoping with all my heart that 2014 is nothing like last year, because I had a consistently terrible year. I am going to list out all the good things that happened to me.  To start with, in January, I befriended two really amazing people. Very unintentionally we grew to like our company a lot and I can spend time with them even when they are a couple and totally not get awkward. And also both of them separately.  I also went on some amazing trips with old friends which were all in their own right nothing short of legendary.  I think I had my heart broken for the first time and then a couple more times in the first half of the year, and this is a silver lining because it proves I have one, contrary to my assumptions. Thanks to this, I am more in touch with my emotions.  I made more friends with whom I instantly bonded and I think I’ll be friends with them forever. Effortlessly we are a part of each other’s lives and it’s fantastic.  ...

To all those people who have been saying that my generation has had it easy and that the millennials are a ‘me’ generation, I want to say, we have found our fight and our voice. Every few decades there is a new uprising, fighting for equality and fighting to end discrimination. Happy to say we have found our revolution. 2013 overall has been a good year for LGBTQ community in America, in the rest of the world, not so great. With eighteen states and counting, America is fighting, recognizing and legalizing gay marriage in the country. We are not going to live in shame anymore, we are not going to apologize for who we are.  To quote Ayn Rand’s words in Anthem “Never, not in the memory of Ancient One’s Ancients never have men done that which we are doing. And yet there is no shame in us and no regret.” Indian, Nigeria, Russia and 80something other countries on the other hand are regretfully moving in the wrong directions. With the latest criminalization of ‘gay sex’ an...

I was recently tagged in an instagram meme (^)  by a close friend and we laughed about us being such narcissists. It got me thinking though, about how important it is to love yourself. The truth is if you can’t love yourself then no one else ever will, except maybe your parents – because that’s what parents do. It makes sense – you know you best. If you don’t love you, why should I? Humility is great, everyone loves grounded people but being convinced that you are not good enough is, frankly, pretty shitty. This one time at work we had training for better communication and public speaking skills. Part of the drill was to stand up and speak for a minute about a certain topic that you are fairly confident about in front of a small group of people. The only little twist, was that you would be on camera. We were then asked to watch once and then re-watch our video to see what needs to be improved and what our strengths are. The reason that we had to watch it twice was t...

**this is a longer than usual read. I probably have no right and am in no place to say all this but then that's the benefit of this being my blog. ** Dear uncle and aunty I would like to start with congratulating you on raising a perfect daughter. Having lived with her for two years, I got to know her fairly well and better than the rest of her friends. Never before did I meet someone who come-what-may never forgot to call you at 10:30pm every night. She could be out with her friends or in the library or in the middle of dinner – she never forgot to call you. She did everything she was told and was expected to do by you. So much so she even based her career choice on what YOU not her wanted her to do. Her career – the one thing that’s going to be her bread and butter is based on what her parents wanted her to study. And if this was not enough you made her – forcefully – switch schools in the middle of her graduate schooling. Now any reasonable person would think, that...

I can feel it in my toes. Things are changing and unlike a year ago, when I loved every minute of the change - I detest every second of it this time around.  Only because I didn't plan it. It’s frustrating because this is not what I want. I didn't want to leave my apartment, I don’t want to leave the country I have come to make my own and more than anything else I don’t want to leave my friends. It feels like the end of an era. The five best years of my life are coming to a close and it breaks my heart - because this is not how I had imagined it. However I am starting to come to terms with it. Because it just can’t get worse after this. This is rock bottom. These are the dungeons.  At this point I have nothing to lose, so instead I have stubborn determination. To get out of this. To be better than last time. To restart. To find new horizons. Last year was perfect in many ways; this year has been the exact opposite. I have faced more reject...

There are two peaks of success, one is which you think is the top, the other is the actual top. I went hiking this weekend, conquered the Angel’s Landing in Zion’s national park, so naturally I am going to blog about it. Because hiking is the same as living your life successfully. The journey upwards is very hard and very painful. There are no two ways about it. It takes time - more than you thought, and effort – much more than you planned and persistence – more than you can imagine. But you already knew this, what it also needs is a rock or anchor- to ground you as well as a strong and sturdy rope/chain to hang on to – just in case. And a peak, that may very well be a mirage but something that you are chasing. You need the rock, so it reminds you to stay true to yourself. It reminds you to be humble and down-to-earth, because on your way up – your head can get full of giddy ideas and images that are just a distraction. Because if you are bragging about starting at the bo...