So what if I enjoy thinking about things that dont matter to anyone. So what if i have actually done a research on the loyalty cards that are given out by almost all the cafes in Auckland:-)
So here the insights from my extensive research...
I love the different ways they punch the cards. Some have hearts on it, while others have superhero figures. I have close to 20 such cards and all of them have been stamped/punched differently. How cool is that.
Now the question is what is the impact of these loyalty cards? Is it making me more loyal to the cafes that use these cards than those who don't?
Well, in my case its definitely working. I know I will get the 10th coffee free and I want to get that free coffee. Its not about money. Its as if I have worked hard to get that free coffee and its my reward. You should see my excitement when i get my well deserved free coffee!!! I look forward the day of free coffee. I show off the card while ordering my coffee. I tell my husband i had free coffee today. You get the drift, dont you.
Oh and my friends at the cafes are pretty smart. Let me tell you how they got me hooked on to this habit of keeping, maintaining and using these cards. When I first started going to cafe Melba (my destination for morning coffee) they used to give me extra stamps for every coffee. So for the first few times, I reached my 10th (free!!!) coffee in like 3 days!!! And I was hooked on to the concept for life.
And...they never forget to mention how far are you from your free coffee...' hey your free coffee is in 3 days." and that my dear blog readers will stop you from going to any other cafe for the next 3 days at least:-)
I will keep updating you on the delights of being a loyal user of loyalty cards in the coming days.

Yes I have an accent!!!

Living in a foreign country teaches you a few things about yourself and one of them is that you have an accent that some (ok ok most!) people find difficult to understand! I used to have a good laugh watching stand up comedies about Indian accent but I never realized that one day I would be part of similar stories and actually enjoying the whole thing. And the funny thing is locals think that ‘outsiders’, like me, have accent and not them. Read this. I was having coffee with a newly made Kiwi friend and I mentioned to her that I find it difficult to get a hang of her Kiwi accent. And she looked blankly at me, blinked her eyes a few times and said “Do I have an accent?” So the moral of the story is that we all live in our own little world thinking that what we do, what we think, how we talk is the rule and everything else is an aberration.

Oil drops on the spoon

While reading The Alchemist, one question that kept coming to mind was "what are the drops of oil on my spoon?"

The story goes like this:
When a boy asked a wise man the secret of happiness, he was asked to walk around a beautiful palace holding a spoon with oil. The boy returned after a could of hours and told the wise man that he couldn't look at the beauty around him as he was constantly worried about spilling the oil.
The old man advised that he should take another round of the palace focusing on the beautiful sights.
The boy returned with an account of beautiful garden, paintings, architecture etc. But there was no oil left on his spoon.
That is when the wise man told him that "secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."

So this makes me wonder "what are the drops of oil on my spoon?" that I must NOT spill while enjoying the wonders of this life.

The answer to this might lead me to find a balance between what I need to do and what I love to do.

Will share once I have the answer to this question:-)

The real Yoga

Today I found out the real meaning of yoga from a friend, Manu.

Yoga has 8 principles:
1. Yama - meaning restrain
2. Niyama - observance
3. Asana -proper exercise
4. Pranayama- breathing techniques
5. Pratyahara- preparation for meditation
6. Dharana, concentration, 
7. Dhyana, meditation
8. Samadhi, absorption, or realization of the essential nature of the self.

And all this while I believed yoga to be nothing but various weird postures and exercises.

There is so much to learn in this world. 

What is the third most frequently asked question by new people you meet after 'what is your name' and 'what do you do'?

"Where are you from?"

Why is it so important for people to know which community, region you belong to? 
And the excitement to find out that you belong to the same community is something that baffles me completely.

"Oh you are also Punjabi. Wow. Great. So am I".
"Oh so you are also Bengali_________" and then rest of the conversation is in Bengali as Hindi is not to be used ever again.

We do we feel scared of differences and feel comfortable in similarities in a country which is nothing but full of diversities? 

Happy ‘MY DAY’

There is mother’s day to appreciate mothers, father's day to thank fathers, valentine's day to show love to your loved ones, children’s day to celebrate childhood. In all these days where is MY DAY?

I am not going to wait for some greeting cards company to come up with this idea. I am going to choose the day myself. 

And I choose EVERYDAY to be MY day.

Every day I pledge my support and love to myself. 

I am going to do at least one thing that makes me happy. 

I am going to look at myself in the mirroer and tell myself how lucky I am to have me.

I am going to gift myslf my love.

Everyday.

So guys if you have't already started celebrating YOUR day, then do it right now. 

Go hug yourself and thank God for giving you YOU.

When you dont know how to say NO, you end up saying OH NO most of the times!

Oh how I regret not having the power to say NO! 

I always thought that my best quality is that I am ever so willing to say yes to everything that life has to offer without thinking twice, actually without thinking even once. 

Friends need help. And I would be the first one to say Yes i will help you.
People I have just met pouring their heart out about their problems. Yes I will solve them.
A new challenge at work which no one want to take up. Of course Yes I will do it.
Always looked at it as a sign of my enthusiasm for new things, my willingness to face new challenges, my unending desire to help people and be a nice human being.

Never realized that all these 'feel good' factors come along with some really 'feel bad' effects.

When you say yes to anything, its a kind of commitment that is not easy to come out of. It comes with responsibilities which can actually weigh you down and lead to repercussions that will make you regret every yes you said.

I am learning to say NO. It was difficult initially, now it liberates me. I am no longer afraid to say NO though it still needs a lot of effort to do so. I am actually keeping a track of all the times when I said No in the last few months.

You need to think of yourself before others. You cant help everyone, you just cant. You cant be everyone's savior. You cant take up every project just because no one else would. You cant keep feeling bad because you couldnt help someone. 

This Ayurvedic doctor I used to visit said something that opened my eyes. he said 'You are not God. So you shouldn't try to behave like one. You can only do so much and beyond that its out of your control.' 

So guys I am sorry to inform everyone that I AM NOT GOD:-)