Uncovering Ways to Treat Yourself and Reasons to Do it...more than just cheat days and guilt-free binging!

There has always been a certain segment of psychologically-rich lifestyle bloggers who talk a lot about treating yourself. I totally agree with this approach as a life-management skill. It is easy, too practical not to do and makes you feel better. Plus, you are not depending on anyone else. This self-pampering is rewarding yourself for something you stuck to, managed to be stoic when flowing with the moment was easy, could say NO when everyone expected you to nod your head...there are so many battles we fight each day and if we can make some rules and stick to them, the effort should be appreciated - by who?...YOU!

Romantic dates for more soulful relationships? Knock-Knock...you are a Moron with an "M"

Couples' therapy can be very DIY, still effective and so easy to find that you won't believe it. You don't need to exchange notes about your list of favorite movies, you don't need more candle-lit dinners and Viagra cannot infuse the warmth you want in your relationship. Couples need to spend time together and vacationing is not the only way to do it - you can do something every day to strengthen your bond, to understand each other more. Just knowing her favorite colors does not make you a good husband. If she remembers the birthday diary of your ancestors, it does not amount to her being a kick-ass wife. The real magic lies in watching TV together even if it is the most hopeless piece of digital content ever produced but just lying there, together without speaking too much - that makes it look romantic.

Standard Interview Tips R.I.P - time to bring out the ugly truth!

I have had my share of interviews, the good, bad, and ugly ones, and I feel shocked at realizing that most people just don't know about the simplest trick to ensure that you make a better first impression, and create longer-lasting impressions that can get you hired, with your wishes being granted. Just imagine this scenario at any organization's HR desk - you are decked-up in good business casuals, you have scored reasonably well in the first round of interviews, you are now waiting for things to take a more definite shape, perhaps fumbling with your smartphone...what is it that you are not doing? You are not taking observing things that can be turned into simple questions. Yes! One big thing that most interviewers don't realize is that HR practices tend to get too mechanical. So predictable that some candidates cannot be differentiated. Unless you look like Brad Pitt or speak with the intensity of Morgan Freeman, forgetting you as one of the many candidates is not that difficult - yes, perhaps one more thing you didn't realize.

An apple pie a day can make Jack a less enthusiastic boy
...not my best rhyme by far!

Like anyone who was born in the 80s, I have had some fascination about postcards mailed by people from faraway cities, especially international destinations. As I grew up, traveling seemed to get less challenging, more celebratory and without the premium that people once put on postcards. The traveling demographic today is rather different...so drastically convenient that perhaps a good journey or a memorable trips seems readily attainable. Back in the day, receiving these postcards meant a lot of sighing.

Reasons for My Cup of Tea vs Normal Folks | Everyday Babbling Thoughts Blended with Handy Lifestyle Management

Anyone who has been at my blog, even twice, would know there is a definite difference between how I perceive thoughts and situations and react and how the more normal world behaves. This includes the pattern in which a cup of tea makes appreciable contributions to my everyday life.

Usual:         To Awaken Yourself
My Take:    To Calm Overactive Senses

Most people I know talk about having tea to awaken their senses, earlier in the day to wake-up from the slumber and during the day to regain their mental acuity. However, with me things are rather different. Think of me as an overworked, almost always engaged mind. I have this habit of digging so deep into the work that often I start blinking too infrequently and, as a result, my eyes get dry and irritated. This is why, for me, taking a few sips of tea is about interrupting my self-righteous habits that tend to exhaust me. This is not therapeutic for me. This is more of lifestyle management. Simple thing like ordering the tea or pouring it in my cup and sitting back to catch a break really helps to disengage the slightly over-stimulated sense, helping me regain that sense of calmness.

Back to school for the simple love of learning?...wait, there are bills waiting to be paid!

This is about an insatiable need to study more, read more without worrying about the bills and monthly installments - will Life gift a chance to relive and recreate what was left incomplete? I have always felt that in terms of culture and social normality, I have been a very, very slow learner and in most situations where I should look suave and educated, I seem short-supplied, often searching for answers. My education was more than just academic learning but later it got too career-focused. I realize that I sacrificed many things that should have been experienced to grow, really develop as an individual.Now, that I am beyond 35, the cravings to learn, to excel in classrooms and study abroad are back and back, in a big way. But then again, ditching your full-time job to pursue the more dreamy stuff is perhaps not the best plan right now. For some, it might not seem like the best plan during any phase of life. Things like Music and Architecture make all the right music now but during the growing-up and early college years, the same subjects seemed mundane and stupid.

Should be GOOD because it’s LIMITED EDITION? Not sure about this bUyInG MinDseT…!

I realized one thing the other day when viewing some real fancy sneakers on Jabong the other day – every time the phrase limited edition was used, it grabbed my attention instantly. Immediately, I concluded that these items would be worth the big sticker price, the materials would be exquisite and the style…wouldn’t make sense to argue it because anything with this tagline would have all ticked every checklist ingredients…right?

Nothing Oceanic Perhaps but this Shade is Calming for Sure…

This shade of blue is trending a bit these days – around me and in my life. I just bought a dumpster-cum-storage sort of home accessory in this color. Why?

There is something very appeasing about it. I specifically found an image where this hue of blue is used in a typically sad background. However, this shade manages to retain its cooling charm but I don’t want to use words like ocean or river-like in my description. Actually this is not about describing the color but just that it seems to be found in the smallest accessories, in the most unnoticeable forms and still it manages to make an impact. This is not about blinging the ambiance. There is nothing oceanic about the color but just that it has an adrenaline-boosting aura to it. You don’t need to choose complimenting or contrasting colors with much care. Nearly every shade, from dark grays to pale pastels make sense with this shade of blue. I recently bought a couple of lanterns for the living room, that can accommodate a tea-light or LED, in the same shade. This color has another thing that stands apart - despite what hue you are looking at, there is a certain amount of texture involved. Don't know the scientific reason for it but must be about how this color reflects light.

Condition that makes dotted patterns visually overwhelming is called___??

There is something wrong with my perception of fashion and prints in particular. Just the other day, I shared a fact that white trousers or lowers or any kind look lost on most men. My friends were aghast. I believe some of them must definitely have at least a couple of white track-pants or casual lowers in white. I then decided not to share another thing that stays a constant in my mind - the failure of polka dots or dotted patterns of any sorts to make an impression on me. In essence, I am slightly overwhelmed with them.

There is too much going on there - the visuals tend to fight for attention and I cannot figure out the actual silhouette. The shape or pattern of things seems lost. I first felt this when watching a zebra close-up on one of those wildlife Sunday marathon shows. The zig-zag pattern was still easy to digest but when they compared more patterns, using the close-up of a leopard cup, it had the same effect. It was as if I was trying to find symmetry which did not exist. Is there some medical condition or cerebral limitation that causes this? I find this issue with too many dots on steering wheel covers, jackets, handkerchiefs, umbrella prints, Tees, stationary, etc. 

Still stuck on green tea? These guys are doing Tea Spirits! #teatrends

Tea Infographic from www.divinitea.com

I have been dedicatedly exploring green tea and herbal tea combinations that can be very handy in hydrating and boosting immunity. However, this genre seems to be rather big. While I have been rambunctious about my first impressions and emerging trends in this domain, every now & then I find something that seems beyond my horizon of green tea literacy. Now, I was just browsing through when I chanced upon this link on liquor.com that talks about a young distillery that is trying to do spirits in a different way. The approach seems intent on moving away from the hangover of hangover perception associated with consuming liquor. Rather than sticking to the traditional base ingredients, these guys are using fermented tea.