Ring It In

I like taking stock of the year as it comes to a close and I have to say that I’m in a much better place now than I was a year ago. At the end of 2012, things were just plain old good. On the other hand I’ve been dealt a very fine hand for the end of 2013. First off I negotiated myself a bigger raise for 2014, secondly I got news that my condo’s maintenance fees are not going up for the next year, and finally my partner surprised me with an engagement ring just before Christmas! Needless to say 2014 is looking up, but no doubt it will have its own set of challenges like:

• Getting started with wedding planning. No date has been set and we haven’t finalized a budget, but within days of the announcement I was bombarded with information and requests and calls for compromise. For a woman who never really thought much about weddings, it’s all a bit overwhelming.
• Related: saving up for the wedding. I already have a ton of money saved up and I don’t want to spend a ton on it either. But it would be nice to not have to dip into my savings and just use some money gathered in the upcoming year instead. Just call me the Budget-Conscious Indian Bride!
• Unfortunate side effect of wedding planning: worrying about your appearance. I’d like to shrink my gut down a couple inches if possible, but more than anything just get back in shape and be more physically active for my own health’s sake. Also, thanks to coffee and tea every day for the past 3 years I think I need to get those teeth whitening strips. :P
• Before fiancé popped the question, my big plan for 2014 was to get my professional certification, which involves a lengthy application process, in-person interview, and a difficult examination. Not sure how I’m going to fit this into my plans now, but it needs to be done! My manager and the company CEO are eager for me to have that certification under my belt. Maybe I can actually use it as an excuse to put off wedding planning? ;)

Blog Topic #85 - How I Went From Very Shy to Less Shy

It was a two part process!

Part 1 - Grade 10. We all have to pick a semester of some kind of creative art for one of our course selections. Instead of musical instruments (which made sense since I was in the school band) I decided on drama instead. Because despite my introversion and quietness, there was a diva dying to get out. ;) I ended meeting some fabulous new friends in that class, and for the first time I was prancing around and dressing up with people that I felt comfortable around. It really built up my confidence, and I had a great time finding my voice and expressing myself.

Part 2 - 2005. Freshly graduated from post-secondary education and I landed a great job right out of school, at a multinational company. My boss was senior management, therefore I was suddenly rubbing elbows with high-powered executives while we talked about stocks and sipped expensive wine. Stranger upon stranger would waltz into my life, experts in their field with mounds of education and experience. In that sort of environment, I knew one thing: confidence was key. Maybe it was the company's culture as well (I remember people like the CEO asking me to call him by his first name), people were very professional but open at the same time. So I didn't approach the situation as me being the newbie in the midst of sharks. I saw the men and women around me as my peers, my equals, and interacted with them like it was no big deal. Sometimes, I would fly across the country and run meetings with teams of people I'd never met before. I was forced to be at ease in strange and new situations, and it paid off. Now, chatting new people up at a party is nothing compared to shmoozing with rich execs. ;)

Ringing In The Season

This past week was the office Christmas party, which was so amazingly fun! One of the things that surprised me the most is how the CEO actually went out and bought every single employee a personalized present, so very thoughtful. :)

I got a bunch of fantastic DVDs:


Glenn Close! I love her, and I've heard good things about this documentary.


This is actually three films in one package: Manufactured Landscapes (ZOMG I've wanted to see that since forever), A Crude Awakening, and The Refugees of the Blue Planet.
All in all, so amazing, even if environmentalist documentaries isn't the first thing I would have picked for myself, hahahaha. The CEO actually apologized for not asking us beforehand like he usually does every year, which is probably why he didn't get me something more appropriate like a book on, say, string theory. ;)